2018 Christmas Letter

Dear Trinity Academy Friends and Family,

Warm Christmas greetings from Trinity Academy! This time of year, we like to take the opportunity to look back on the many ways Trinity Academy has been blessed: by the Lord, by our faculty and staff, by our students and families, and by our donors and supporters. We also continue to look forward in anticipation of great things to come.

When I think about the past year at Trinity Academy and the new academic year we are well into, the image that comes to mind is a whirlwind – a whirlwind of learning, energy, excitement, and joy. Day in and day out, the halls, classrooms, and common spaces are filled with a swirl of learning as students and their teachers pore over texts in animated discussions, work through challenging math problems, develop and test hypotheses, speak and act with growing confidence, create beautiful works of art, lift their voices or place bows to strings in song, and put their thoughts into words as they write. Add to this maelstrom of learning the rich human experience of being known, respected, and loved. Trinity Academy students know that their teachers and classmates will listen to their thoughts and ideas, pose difficult problems and intellectual claims to be turned over and examined together, correct them and challenge them when necessary, and praise and encourage them when deserved.

In the past year, this whirlwind of learning and growing took on many forms. We kicked off our first year of high-school sports teams by joining the OSAA with teams competing in cross country and basketball, growing in athleticism and teamwork. Our older students welcomed new students and cultivated friendships across grades, leading and setting a good example. Our new students continue to come from a wide range of backgrounds, public schools, private schools, home school, all excited about learning in an environment that takes learning and good relating seriously. We had several wonderful concerts and drama productions, including the Junior and Senior drama class presentation of The Tempest and the sixth-grade presentation of The Hobbit. Last June, we graduated seven beloved seniors and celebrated with them and their families, remembering their years at Trinity Academy and recognizing their incredible contributions to our school. This small but impressive group was its own whirlwind: curious, lively, engaged and a joy to teach. As a class, they had a wide variety of interests and gifts, but used those varied strengths to support, encourage and complement each other, and to build the culture of hard work, joyful fun, and camaraderie among the students of Trinity Academy. 

In other news, Trinity Academy applied for and received a grant for institutional growth from the M.J. Murdock Trust which enabled us to create a new administrative position of Executive Director. We were then incredibly blessed and excited to find and hire Mr. John Kurdelak to fill this position. John is already proving to add velocity and direction to the whirlwind of Trinity Academy and we look forward to seeing his energy and leadership continue to advance our mission and vision.

The amazing things we’re accomplishing at Trinity Academy require contributions from so many people: our dedicated faculty and staff, our hard-working students, our supportive parents and grandparents, and our generous friends and benefactors. We work hard to keep Trinity tuition low enough to make the school accessible, but we even go beyond that, offering need-based aid to 62% of our current students in order to make sure the cost won’t deprive them of the many opportunities afforded them by a Trinity education. We need your help to continue this important work that the Lord has called us to. Please consider making a generous gift to Trinity Academy this year, to help us ensure the strength of our school as we continue to grow, transforming the lives of more students in the Portland region. We ask you to prayerfully consider what you can do to help us accomplish our mission this year.

We pray for you this Christmas season and ask you to continue praying for our work at Trinity Academy and for everyone in our extended school community.