About Trinitas

Trinitas Classical School was founded by a group of parents passionate about Christian classical education. We believe children flourish in a joyful community dedicated to both a common Christian vision and to academic excellence. The Trinitas faculty and staff is comprised of experienced and enthusiastic individuals who are dedicated to this vision.

Our approach to education is distinctive because it is multi-directional. It looks to the past and the present to prepare students for the future. On the one hand, we employ what Dorothy Sayers calls "the lost tools of learning." This includes providing our students with a firm foundation in grammar and logic, which itself includes the teaching of classical languages. In providing these skills, we equip students with the very best tools to think clearly and creatively. On the other hand, we take seriously the best contemporary tools of education. This means, for example, that we teach creative writing as well as inquiry-based science.

Moreover, we believe that education has an unmistakable moral and spiritual component. We want our students not only to learn grammar and logic, but also to be lovers of what is good. We do this by teaching them about the virtues and vices, as explored throughout Scripture and in the great figures of Christianity. Participating in communal charitable activities and regularly praying for our local and national leaders are practical ways we apply biblical virtues.

In uniting the best of the past and present tools of learning, Trinitas prepares its students for a future in which they are faithful stewards of God's world.

Christian

Trinitas is a school committed to the historic Christian faith — a faith that affirms that God is a trinity of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This faith informs all of what we teach and do. The ability to learn about God's creation — and to delight in such learning — are among the greatest blessings God has bestowed on us. Our goal is to produce students who view learning in this way.

The school's founders come from a variety of Christian traditions, including Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox. Therefore, we strive to offer an ecumenical environment where children can celebrate the commonalities of the Chrisitan faith, as well as provide a place where we are able to learn from each other.

Classical

Trinitas employs the first two stages of the Trivium with its emphasis on developing skills in grammar and logic in the early stages of education. Classic texts and classical languages are studied through a variety of methods such as chants, songs, memorization, debate, and writing exercises. We are also enthusiastic about math and the sciences and endeavor to produce students who are equipped with excellent reasoning and quantitative skills. Finally, we view learning as a creative process that engages the imagination. We are committed to including activities such as creative writing, art, and music in our curriculum.

In the spirit of true classical education, we wish to train both the mind and body. We find that exercising the mind beautifully complements exercising the body. At Trinitas, neither sort of education is approached haphazardly. Our physical education time, then, is not simply for unstructured exercise, but we use this time for our children to develop their bodies and have fun while learning such games as basketball, soccer, and field hockey as well as other physical fitness skills and good sportsmanship.

Community

We believe that each student is a beloved child of God and desire to create an environment in which each student's individual gifts and character are appreciated and nurtured. Each morning we worship and pray together as a school. We also encourage parents to participate in the life of the school, thereby bringing their gifts to the entire community. We aim to be a joyful community in which each student, parent, teacher, and staff-member can celebrate his or her place in a community of learners dedicated to the project of Christian education.

Statement of Faith

As an intentionally ecumenical community, Trinitas Classical Association finds its unity in the beliefs articulated in the Nicene Creed. This rule of faith, proclaimed by the first and second Ecumenical Councils (at Nicea in 325 and Constantinople in 381), is a confession common to Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions alike. The creed as it was originally handed down by the Council is translated as follows:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father*, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;

And we believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church .

We acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

We look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the Life of the age to come. Amen.

*Most Western churches (both Roman Catholic and Protestant) include the phrase "and the Son," reflecting an addition approved by a local Council of the Spanish Church in 589.

In addition to the teachings concerning the Holy Trinity, creation, the incarnation and virgin birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and bodily resurrection confessed in the above creed, we also hold those truths believed by Christians of every time and place. Among these, we mention specifically the following:

• There is no salvation apart from Christ Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)


• The Holy Scriptures are "given by inspiration of God, and [are] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Because we are deliberately ecumenical, the forms of prayer and worship that we use reflect beliefs common to Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians. Different devotional traditions (lifting the hands, bowing the head, making the sign of the cross, etc.) are respected, and we encourage teachers and students to pray as they are accustomed to do at home and in church.

Whereas differences with respect to belief and practice do exist among Christians, we believe that beliefs specific to particular Christian denominations are most appropriately taught in the homes and the churches. When diverging beliefs and practices are appropriately discussed in the course of usual academic study, our teachers do not promote the views of any one tradition over another. Rather, our teachers aim to cultivate among our students an understanding and appreciation of both the variations within and the fundamental unity of the Christian faith.