Start of School 2013

Trinity's Alpha Omega Pin

School opened smoothly on Tuesday, August 20, with a total enrollment of 206.  That is up for the second consecutive year…..an indication of new families moving to Galveston who are getting the good word about Trinity from current parents and families of graduates.  Very few moms and dads decide to send their children here based on paid advertising.  The decision to visit the school is almost always based on word of mouth from one parent to another.

Thanks to the Robert L. and Ann Moody Activity Center, this will be a year of many firsts.  At the time of this writing, we just placed on the schedule the first “home” volleyball game in the history of Trinity Episcopal School!  The Chargers are scheduled to play Holy Family Catholic School at 4 PM on Monday, September 16.  Entry to the building will be from the main entrance off Tremont Street.  The cost of admission will be $3 for adults, $1 for students, and admission for current Trinity students will be free.  We plan to have the snack bar open for the game.  Schedules are subject to change, so please check the website to confirm.  Go Chargers!

Early in September, the school will recognize a group of 7 students who entered Trinity Episcopal School in Kindergarten (or before) and have continued in school every year since and including Eighth Grade.  In other words, by the time of graduation each of these will have been enrolled here between 9 and 12 years!  We honor this group by designating them as the Alpha-Omega Society with a lapel pin created for this purpose.  The Rev. Susan Kennard and I will meet these “long-timers” for lunch on the day they are honored and encourage them to reminisce about their Trinity experience.  The students honored this year are Libbie Lee Ansell, Hunter Blackwell, Kelli Blackwell, Charlie Cragar, Lee Jaworski, Gabby Prets, and Kelley Shepherd.

Summer Update 2013

The Trinity Episcopal School Class of 2013 on Graduation Night

Trinity Episcopal School’s commencement exercises were held on May 30.  Please join me in congratulating the following 16 young men and women who are our most recent graduates: Francesca Bertini, Michael Dean, Cali Dolfi, Krista Freed, Jackson Gaido, Taylor Garcia, Lindsay Garland, Abigail Grant, Cade Harrington, Reagan Lasswell, Daniel LeGrand, Maci Marullo, Gillian Nelson, Paloma Prida, Austin Schwab, and Kyle Wheeler.

Speaking of graduates, we learned recently that 2 alums from the TES Class of 2009 earned distinction as the salutatorians of their respective high schools.  Bryce Willey earned this honor at Ball High School and Erin Laird at Santa Fe High School.  Bryce plans to attend Rice University and Erin plans to attend Texas A&M, College Station.  Go Chargers!

I’m proud that we have several alumni joining the staff; I know they will do their part helping Trinity maintain the valued traditions of Mind, Body, and Spirit!  Anna Hyatt (TES, C’ 2003) has begun work as the Program Director of the Robert L. and Ann Moody Activity Center, Stephanie Peña (TES, C’ 2003) joins our middle school faculty teaching Literature, and John Wheeler (TES, C’ 2001) also joins our middle school faculty teaching Math and History.  We needed to add new faculty to the middle school due to the unexpected departure of Kerry O’Malley and also to enable the middle school to grow by one section as well as to give Sue Langston more time to devote to her duties as Middle School Coordinator.

It’s the middle of summer, and preparations are underway to get things ready for the first day of classes on August 20.   Students will find that the “Soft Surface” playground really is soft because the sod planted at the end of the previous school year has taken root. Arrangements have been made with a local provider to place a bed of playground mulch under the new swings at the middle school playground, and some old water damage on the 2nd floor of the Parish House has been repaired.  Later this summer, we anticipate that the Beginning School playground will be updated with a new play structure, and the Beginning School “Annex” will be outfitted with enhancements for science education. 

Admissions activity has been robust….at 203 students thus far, we’re about 12 students ahead of this time last year.  Our Summer Camp for the little ones is in full swing, and the first-ever TES Summer Basketball Camp was held in early June!  

Please note also: the School Finance Office has moved from the Parish Office complex to its former location directly across the hall.  This location should be more convenient for parents and also makes room in the Parish Office for The Rev. Jeremiah Griffin, the new parish curate and part-time director of Willie T’s.

Whew!  That’s not everything but at least gives some idea of what is being accomplished during these so-called “quiet” summer months.

-DCD

The "Homestretch" at TES

May Fête 2013

I still hardly know what to say about all of the kindnesses I received on the occasion of my 25th ordination anniversary on Sunday, April 28.  I've gone through the humongous scrapbook, the notes, cards, photo albums, and gifts....I'm just humbled to no end! I absolutely love my new Children-of-the World stole and the gifts to my favorite organizations, TEC and TES, all in my honor…wow!  My wonderful wife, Layne, and my colleague on the "front lines of ministry," Susan Kennard, seem to be the main conspirators in the "David Project!" To them, to all the staff, students, and parents at TES, to the good folks at our parish church, to friends from times and places past who were in on this celebration....I give thanks!  May God grant us all more good years to come!

TES observed the school’s 44th annual celebration of May Fête on Friday, May 3.  Unseasonably cool weather and strong winds did not deter us from having the festivities in the traditional spot on the beautiful Garth.  We did learn that in high winds the tight basket weave our 5th graders usually produce at the top of the May Pole turns out to be more like a colorful bird’s nest!

The Robert L. and Ann Moody Activity Center is up and running.  May events in the building already include a school uniform fitting by Parker Uniforms, our annual sports banquet, a middle school dance, physical education classes, and an end-of-year pep rally…more to come!

Each May TES honors students who have been designated by their teachers as outstanding citizens.  It’s a tough task, but we ask teachers to identify those in their classes who have been the most polite, responsible, and kind.  The students so honored and their parents are treated to a breakfast in Eaton Hall.  Of course, we are proud of all our students’ accomplishments, but this particular group gives us the opportunity to celebrate what we believe to be solid character.  Our Citizenship honorees for 2013 are:

Brionna Gluski, Sophia DeOre, Olivia Gluski, Issy Wisner, Ella Sullivan, Brody Rogers, Anna Xia Lyons, Isabella Alvarado, Emily Cook, Isabel Resto, Sara Gabriel, Maggie Farmer, Megan Maxwell, Maggie Cragar, Julian Bauer, Landon Parsons, Rocio Prida, Kennedy Harrington, Tara Donnelly, Aidan Knupple, Zoe Faus, Marie Louise Livanec, Jonathan Henry, Carrington Traylor, John-Austin Gaertner, Kelley Shepherd, Krista Freed, Francesca Bertini and Gillian Nelsen.

Graduation Evensong will be 7PM on Thursday, May 30, in Trinity Episcopal Church.  The commencement address will be given by The Rev. Canon John Newton.

The Nurturing and Educating Paradox

The Trinity Episcopal School website, brochure, and other marketing materials are designed to introduce prospective parents, as well as potential benefactors, to the School’s stated mission that begins: “…to nurture and educate children in a God-centered environment.”  In order to state what we do at the School as succinctly as possible, we state right off the bat a kind of paradox…. We nurture by listening, modeling kindness, taking time to re-teach when a student needs patience from us most of all, while at the same time we educate by furthering students in the growth of mind, body, and spirit.  Trinity’s traditional approach to education means that we must hold in balance the ideals of an individual approach that adapts to each child and a rigorous approach that serves high standards and expectations.  Doing this all in a God-centered environment reminds us that we cannot have nurture if there are no expectations any more than we can have love without justice.  The life of faith calls on us to wrestle with seemingly incompatible ways of being, and so there it is:  we will both nurture children and, at the same time, put them through a rigorous education.  That is the ideal for which we strive. Please pass the word to others who might be interested in our parish day school.

Here are some upcoming Spring school events for our calendars:

March 28	Stations of the Cross at Chapel, 8:15AM
March 29	Good Friday (No School)
April 1	Easter Monday (No School)
April 6	Trinity Booth @Grand Kids Festival
April 10	Rachel’s Challenge School and Community Events
April 11-19	Scholastic Spring Book Fair Open
April 13	Annual TES FUN RUN
April 25	TES Art Showcase
April 27	“Burgers on the Bayou” Spring Casual

Faithfully,

The Rev. David C. Dearman

Head of School Report for the Annual Parish Meeting of Trinity Episcopal Church

Robert L. and Ann Moody Activity Center on January 17, 2013

Trinity Episcopal School

Graduation is always the high point in our school year.  Our commencement speaker last May was our new rector, The Rev. Susan Kennard.  For the record, our 2012 Graduates were as follows:

JULIA ALEMAN, JORDAN BASSETT, TAYLOR BLACKWELL, GEORGE CRAGAR, SOFIA FAUS, CHLOE FLORES, ALAN HAMILL, KEVIN HARRINGTON, JOANIE KELSO, MARIA KOUTROUVELIS, SAVANNAH LANIER, JIM MARION, MARISSA MATTHEWS, AARON METYKO, ARKADYIA MILLS, KAY PINEDA, KELSEY PLANT, CARA QUIGLEY, CATHERINE THOMAS, TAYLOR TRIMBLE, and CHASE WALDROP

The obvious “big news” for 2012 was the $2.7 million grant from the Moody Foundation to build the Robert L. and Ann Moody Activity Center.  As of mid-December, 2012, about 75% of this grant had been used (including retainage), and the project remains at or under budget. The latest estimate calls for building completion by mid-February.  At the time of this report, work was continuing on the main covered entry at the Southwest corner of the building.  Parking lots, landscaping, and a new playground should take shape over the coming weeks.  Although the building is an outright gift, the school must find a way to pay the costs of operating and maintaining the building.  This will be the most expensive structure to insure on the school side, and there will be increased utility and staff expenses from the start.  Libbie Ansell is chairing the “Building Our Future” drive to create a fund for the school to meet this challenge.  $102,514.00 has been given or pledged toward this purpose as of January 10, 2013.

Also in 2012, Trinity Episcopal School….

• expanded our e-reader program into 5th Grade

• learned that 13 of our 19 Seventh graders qualified to participate in the Duke University Talent Identification program based on their achievement test scores from the previous year

• received the date for our 10-year ISAS/SAES re-accreditation visit: February 9-12, 2014.  The chair of our visiting committee will be John Morvant, Head of Christ Episcopal School, Covington, LA.

I am thankful for the symbiotic relationship between the Trinity Church and its parish day school.  A renaissance has blossomed at the parish under the leadership of Reverend Susan….I am proud to have seen this day and look forward to another year of service as your head of school!

Respectfully Submitted,

(The Rev.) David C. Dearman, Head of School