Greetings from the Head of School

Joe addresses all students at the welcome assembly in August. Joe and Stripes lead students and teachers in the wiggle dance during the first Trinity Together Time since March 11, 2020.

Dear Trinity Community,

This year, we are taking every opportunity to celebrate togetherness! I cannot describe the joy experienced by all students and faculty members on August 19, when we held our first Trinity Together Time since March 11, 2020. We opened this special schoolwide welcome assembly with the Pledge of Allegiance, our school prayer, and our school song. How incredible it was to hear all our students, from our three-year-old Early Learners to our 11- and 12-year-old Sixth Graders, raise their voices together. Oh, Trinity, Oh, Trinity, A great community. With unity, this has to be, The perfect school for me. With much respect, We will reflect, On all the things we’ve learned. The friends we met, We won’t forget, Our years at Trinity. We laughed; we danced; and we discussed how we will all be responsible, respectful, kind, and helpful this year. And just as I present these core values to students at our welcome assembly to keep them top of mind, at the start of every school year, I remind our teachers of the three components of the Instructional Core. Developed at Harvard’s School of Education, the Instructional Core stresses the integration of three components: the student, the content, and the teacher. To optimize student learning, academic content needs to be challenging and relevant to students, teachers need to utilize effective instructional practices and classroom management techniques, and students need to be engaged in and focused on their studies. Education professor and author John Hattie refers to these components as the ‘skill, will, and thrill’ of learning. To maximize their learning, students need to be inspired (thrill), develop perseverance and resilience habits (will), and have appropriate prior knowledge (skill). While the three components of the Instructional Core may seem obvious, educational practices have historically tended to emphasize one component while neglecting the other two: the focus might be more on a challenging curriculum or on student effort and attitude toward school. The uniqueness of the Instructional Core is its focus on the interrelation of the components. In reading through the content for this issue of Flourish, I was struck by how vitally important, talented, and hardworking our faculty and staff are. While the three parts of the Instructional Core are complementary, to me student learning is undergirded by great teachers: how they shape classroom culture, how they develop and deliver curriculum (both how and what is taught), and how they get to know every student in their class and differentiate teaching and learning to meet each student’s needs. We all know how blessed Trinity is in its resources, from facilities to finances; still, our most valuable resource is our faculty and staff. Trinity is renowned for never resting on its laurels and striving to become more effective and efficient tomorrow than we are today. Our faculty members continuously look for emerging research and innovative ideas in education to further their students’ experiences and learning. They truly exemplify why our mission states that Trinity is a ‘community of learners.’ As you peruse this edition of Flourish, you will see the talent and dedication of our employees. You’ll read about five legendary teachers, who after dedicating decades of their career to Trinity decided to retire and were honored by our community. You’ll see the incredible strides we have made in the Inspire Excellence campaign in order to provide the best facilities and learning environments for all our teachers and students. You’ll read about the faculty and staff who were awarded grants from the School’s endowment for excellence and extraordinary performance. You’ll see how our teachers continue to bring special, time-honored grade-level traditions to life, and how one teacher, Mr. Benefield, continues to cheer on his first class at Trinity, seven years later. And finally, you’ll hear from members of our Class of 2022 about how their teachers and time at Trinity influenced and shaped their academic and character foundation.

Our students and teachers are at the heart of everything we do, and this is shaping up to be an incredible school year as we come together and flourish as a community. Sincerely,

Joseph P. Marshall Head of School