November 21, 2009 |
|||||
Trinity school adds ‘Peace Works’ this year
Music teacher Kate Robles talks to kindergarten students at Trinity Catholic School in Tallahassee. The school began its 2008-09 academic year Aug. 14 with an enrollment of 509. TALLAHASSEE | Trinity Catholic School has been around a long time, but it still makes changes every year to keep its students up to date. One of the highlights this school year, which started Aug. 14, is Trinity’s new “Peace Works.” A schoolwide program for all grades through fifth, it’s been incorporated as part of the school’s curriculum. Teachers attended an all-day training session to learn how to teach children to solve problems and issues peacefully, Principal Janet Gendusa said. “It’s better than anti-bullying. It brings the love of God and how Jesus Christ treated his disciples. Respect is the core of the program and our teachers enjoy it. One of the presenter’s comments at the end of the workshop was, ‘What if your school is too peaceful?’” said Gendusa, smiling. Peace Works was made available through the Archdiocese of Miami and has been implemented in some Pensacola schools, Gendusa added. “It’s been widely accepted. It includes books, posters and CDs with music. It involves parents and will make a tremendous difference in our school. We look forward to using it.” Another new offering at Trinity this year is a class for prekindergarten 3-year-olds. Trinity has offered a pre-K for 4-year-olds program before, but has just added the pre-K3. The school has added a new computer-based program in its music classes, too. “We’re constantly working toward staying up to date,” Gendusa said. “We’ve introduced the ‘StarBoard’ music program in our music classes. We want to see how functional it is and if it could be applied to other classes. All the components are in our Dell (computer) lab.” Trinity has added two new fifth-grade teachers who replaced two who retired. The school is very stable and has very little turnover. “We have some people on our staff and faculty who have been with us for 30 years-plus,” Gendusa said. One of those is Michelle Harrison, who has not only taught at the school for 28 years, but also attended Trinity herself as a young girl. “I must like it because I’ve been here so long,” Harrison said, laughing. She teaches sixth- and seventh-grade math, eighth-grade pre-algebra, and first- through sixth-grade earth science. “We haven’t had many changes in math through the years, but we place more emphasis on algebra now because of the requirements on placement tests for high school,” she said. Because there was no Catholic high school when Harrison finished Trinity – John Paul II Catholic High School in Southwood didn’t open until 2001 – she went to Rickards High, a Leon County public school. She went to Florida State University for her education degree, then back to Trinity as a teacher. “I like the atmosphere here. I like the kids and I like the Christian environment,” Harrison said. “We can talk about God, we can pray, we can do the living rosary and the Stations of the Cross. The kids get their religion and we practice the corporal works of mercy.” By Aug. 18, three days after the first day of school, enrollment was at 509 at the last count, said Gendusa. “It’s up a little, by five students. There are always ranges as students come and go,” she said. Trinity has 50 faculty and staff members, about 30 of whom are teachers. The majority are Catholic, although there are a few non-Catholic Christians. Harrison said she’s now teaching children of students she taught when she started her teaching career at Trinity. “Having John Paul II here now is nice. Our kids are very ready when they enter high school, even if they go to public school,” she said. “We’re in a unique position because we see the fruits of our labor – eventually. We have a lot of fun here. Every day is a new day.” One of the most exciting new things at Trinity Catholic School is its first-ever all-class reunion, scheduled for 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 30, at the school. “Several individual classes have held their own reunions through the years, but this will be the first time we’ve ever had an all-school reunion,” Gendusa said. “It’s not common for elementary schools to have reunions. But our graduates are everywhere – you find a lot of them in successful careers all around Tallahassee. I hope this one will be the start of an ongoing tradition to help perpetuate Trinity Catholic School. We want to make sure Trinity lasts well into the future.”
|
Advertisement
|
||||
| |
|||||