School News

We are looking forward to the Spelling Bee on Monday morning! Parents are welcome to attend. Classroom bees will begin immediately after Morning Prayer. Three to five finalists from each room in Grades 3-8 will go on to compete against one another in the school Spelling Bee starting at approximately 9:00 a.m.

We raised $326 dollars in December for the School of Promise in Thailand! Thank you for your generosity. Special thanks to our students who made cards and prayed for the School of Promise students. Mrs. Bodine has been in contact with the school’s founder. He expressed his gratitude and sent us a video link to share with the Trinitas community.

WORK is our virtue for the month of January. We hope you all had the opportunity to rest from some of your work over break. The new year is a natural time to focus on developing some good work habits. We will be doing this at school and hope you will do the same at home. Look for our helpful ideas sheet in your student’s backpack or come up with your own ideas as a family.

Chess Club will meet Friday afternoons (2:10-2:55) on January 10, January 24, February 7, and February 21. All grades will take part. Homeschool partners are welcome and should contact their classroom teachers if they wish to participate. Click here for FAQs and links to online tutorials.

Parents, if you are free on one or more of the Chess Club afternoons, please join us! We need helpers to play with students who are just learning the game. After you check in at the office, Mrs. Bodine will direct you to a room.

Dollar-for-dollar match ends this month!

Thank you to all who have responded to our Annual Fund drive. We have received $14,940 in gifts which equals $29,880 when you add the dollar-for-dollar match. We still need $40,120 to meet this year’s goal, but half of that amount could be raised through the matching funds. The remaining matching funds expire at the end of this month. Every gift matters!

Worth remembering: Your gift reaches beyond the classroom.

The gifts we receive each year have an impact beyond the classroom. Ongoing parent and community education events, like Protect Young Eyes, are made possible through the generosity of our donors. Our teachers are able to attend professional development conferences. This year, we’ve been blessed to have Mrs. Benedict and Mrs. Poortenga sharing the role of Dean of Students, providing support to families and staff. While a part-time volunteer role at present, we would love to see it become a permanent staff position so we can continue meeting the needs of our growing community. The gifts we receive this year could help make that happen!

Winter is the perfect time to curl up with a good book. We are pleased to announce the return of Thoughtful Reader Book Club. Now is the time to set a reading goal and get started! Please see the information that went home with students earlier this week which included this year’s selections.

Grades K-2: Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Grades 3/4 and 5/6: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Grades 7/8: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Our discussion groups will meet during the school day on Friday, February 28. Please note this is later than previous years, so students have even more time to read.

Discussion guides will be emailed during the break.

We were blessed on Wednesday morning by Fr. Andrew Honore’s chapel message about SELF-DISCIPLINE. Ask your child about how Fr. Andrew learned habits of self-discipline in the U.S. Navy before becoming a priest. Also ask your child what assignment he gave everyone to start each day. (Christmas break may be a good time to work on forming some new habits!) Fr. Andrew also reminded us that as we seek to “run the race” like St. Paul, we are not alone. May you and your families be blessed this Advent, Christmas, and New Year by the presence of fellow runners in the Christian life.

Thanks to our 7th and 8th grade Latin students for presenting their Latin at Lunchtime Nativity play today! Fabula optima!