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Trinity School

School Overview:

School Notes:

• Trinity School , established in 1961, embodies and brings to life the highest standards for developing critical thinking in children.
  
  Our faculty ushers the child’s intellectual and spiritual growth through a rigorous curriculum carefully crafted to empower students to think, believe, and act. The small size of the School, one class per grade, means that each child in the community is well known and has an important role that grows over time. As an Episcopal school, Trinity School is rooted in a tradition that values cultivation of the mind, spiritual inquiry, diversity, and service.
  
  The legacy of a Trinity education is a curious mind and a discerning heart.
  
  Educational Program
  
  We provide a rigorous curriculum that reinforces our students’ intrinsic desires to learn. In early childhood and elementary years of education, children thrive on a broad and deep curriculum crafted with a clear eye on basic skills and knowledge related to literacy, math, social studies, and science. Our innovative program features specialist teachers for science/garden, Library, advanced math, Spanish, music, art, physical education, and religious studies.
  
  From grade to grade, Trinity’s educational philosophy and academic standards, that broadly define what we want children to know and be able to do, provide both a coherent academic structure as well as room for the arts of teaching and learning. Because we value critical thinking, character development, and social responsibility, we encourage students to engage in leadership, public speaking, and service learning. Helping children understand and value human differences provides special focus on the varied backgrounds and perspectives of our student body.
  
  Please refer to our School website, for a more detailed description of our curriculum.
  
  Faculty
  Through our small class sizes, we are able to provide a student-teacher ratio of approximately 8 to 1. This compares to a local public school ratio of about 16 to 1. ECP 3-4 classes feature a lead teacher and three additional teachers. ECP JK has a lead teacher and a full time paraeducator. Kindergarten through Grade 5 classes each has a lead teacher and a part time paraeducator per class.
  
  Trinity School teachers understand and care about the children in their classes. The teachers’ educational expertise combines with their ability to perceive the child as a unique person at a unique point in his or her development. With imagination and compassion, teachers create a class from a group of individuals and shepherd students’ academic and social-emotional growth.
  
  Our faculty is committed to continuous learning through in-depth professional development. Each teacher embodies a love of learning, leading, and teaching by example. Trinity teachers participate in a variety of School programs designed to foster professional development such as our annual Summer Institute, Boyhood Advocacy Teacher Training, summer grant program, access to professional development conferences, and tuition assistance for graduate coursework.
  
  Our faculty is supported by a Director of Studies who facilitates and mentors the day-to-day teaching in the classrooms as well as oversees the curriculum planning from grade to grade. Diversity, community service, and leadership are woven into the curriculum by our Director of Community Relations. Teachers work hand in hand with our Librarian to take full advantage of our vast 13,000+ volume Library.
  
  From ECP and Beyond
  Children admitted as three-year-olds will matriculate directly to the Early Childhood Program for Junior Kindergarten or Kindergarten program without re-applying. We encourage all parents interested in our ECP Program to tour the upper campus and see first-hand the exceptional learning environment for Kindergarten to Grade 5. Qualified outside applicants are admitted at all grade levels when there are openings.
  
  After completing Grade 5, Trinity students are highly competitive candidates for the area’s middle schools, including but not limited to Castilleja, Crystal Springs, Hillview, La Entrada, Menlo School, Sacred Heart Schools, and Woodside Priory. We are very proud as our graduates embark on their middle school experience in the area’s best schools. They represent the tangible benefits of a Trinity education.
  
  Accreditation
  Trinity School is an independent school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS). The Trinity ECP is accredited by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
  
  The Trinity Community
  
  Students, Kindergarten through Grade 5, come together each day for flag salute and Chapel. Chapel is a wonderful way to start the day and a time for personal reflection and community building. Students actively participate in Chapel by enacting skits, making announcements, and sharing their prayers and thoughts. ECP students attend Chapel once a week.
  
  We believe that helping children understand that they are part of a larger community is important. Interwoven into age-appropriate curriculum and community service is the development of the sense of self (as an individual and a group member), and understanding the group experiences in a holistic way. We promote values, attitudes, and behaviors that value diversity. We cultivate decision-making and social participation skills.
  
  Through the School’s innovative Student Teacher Leadership Team, students are encouraged to take initiative in finding specific ways to exercise their responsibility to others and to meet the needs of their community. Each quarter, Grade 2 through Grade 5 students volunteer to participate based on each individual’s demonstrated initiative, interest, and prior service. This group is charged with answering who needs our help and how can we best engage with them. Students develop a service project from conception to implementation and communicate it to the entire student body, bringing the community together to fulfill the idea.
  
  Our very active parent community also provides an abundance of their time, enthusiasm, and skills in a myriad of activities and events that strengthen our strong sense of community year round. The Trinity Parent Association sponsors and produces many annual traditions such as The Back to School BBQ, Halloween Carnival, Christmas Craft Fair, and Fun Day. The TPA also leads and coordinates the Annual Celebration and Auction, raising significant funds for the School’s operating expenses.
  
  We are fortunate to have an extraordinary community of families committed to the School’s mission and the quality of education their children receive at Trinity. This commitment is demonstrated financially each year in the high participation rate of our Annual Fund, Annual Celebration and Auction as well as other fundraising campaigns.
  
  Parent Communication
  The teacher and the parent form a communication partnership, so parents learn about their child’s experience through verbal and written communications, including parent/teacher conferences, family sharing of special classroom projects, and field trips. The teachers routinely publish classroom newsletters to families in print and on the School website. ECP 3-4 hosts monthly parent meetings on topics such as upcoming projects, special events, current classroom topics, and the interpretation of child work.
  
  Demographics
  Trinity values diversity, and students of various ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds attend. Families live in several local communities: Menlo Park, Atherton, Redwood City, Woodside, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and others. Approximately 20% of families identify themselves as Episcopalian. Financial assistance is provided to 12% of Trinity students.
  
  Campuses
  Trinity School is one school with two campus locations. The Early Childhood Program (ECP 3-4) is located at our lower campus at 330 Ravenswood Road, Menlo Park. ECP JK through Grade 5 is located at our upper campus at 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park.
  
  The upper campus includes seven large classrooms, on-site Chapel, and a Great Hall as well as a state-of-the-art library comprised of 13,000+ volumes. Technology is integrated into the Library and every classroom with 80 computers and campus-wide Internet access. All of this is set in a beautiful small school environment with a series of outdoor learning and display spaces, including a greenhouse and garden, indigenous planting, an outdoor stage with seating for all students, a grass athletic field, two ball courts, a lunch terrace, and other creative outdoor spaces.
  
  In 2005, the lower campus will move into a new facility at the same location. The new building will feature two classrooms designed specifically for three and four year olds, an art studio, and an enclosed playground adjacent to the building.
  
  ECP Threes & Fours (ECP 3-4) Lower Campus – 330 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park Program Hours – 9:00am – 12:00pm; Monday through Friday Age Requirement – Three years old by December 1st; toilet trained by opening of school
  
  ECP Junior Kindergarten ( ECP JK)
  Upper Campus – 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park Program Hours – 8:15am – 1:00pm; Monday through Friday Optional Extended Day – 1:00pm to 3:00pm Optional Extended Care – 7:30am to 8:00am, and 3:00pm to 6:00pm Age Requirement – Five years old by December 31st
  
  The ECP for JK program is appropriate for: 1. Children who have not met the September 1 Kindergarten age cut-off, yet are ready for a five-day early childhood school experience. The majority of JK students have birthdays in the Fall.
  
  2. Children who could attend Kindergarten according to age, yet may benefit from an extra year to gain certain social, cognitive, or small motor skills. These students may have late summer birthdays.
  
  Kindergarten to Grade 5
  Upper Campus – 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park Program Hours – 8:15am – 3:00pm Optional Extended Care – 7:30am to 8:00am, and 3:00pm to 6:00pm
  
  Extended Care
  Extended care is available from 7:30am to 8:00am, and 3:00pm to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday. This is a time for students to socialize, finish homework, read books, and play outdoors. Families can use extended care occasionally as drop in, or sign up for the entire year.
  
  For More Information
  Please contact our Admission Office at 854-0288, ex. 100 or admission@trinity-mp.org
• Profile last updated: 12/01/2008

In the News:

• Holy Trinity Episcopal Church names new rector (The Almanac)
  posted on August 18, 2009 at 08:10:38 pm
  The Rev. Matthew Dutton-Gillett, who most recently served as rector of St. Elizabeth's church in Knoxville, Tennessee, has been named the 17th rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park.

View all past news stories

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