Contributing Author: Mr. Lance Duffield, Grammar School Principal
As the year draws to a close, it is good to take a moment to reflect on our faculty's journey this year. I'm concluding my first year as Grammar School Leader. As my family and I unpacked and settled into our life in the US, it wasn’t long before the entire school was "unpacked" by the visiting ACSI accreditation team. This was very useful as it also allowed me to get a good view into all aspects of Trinity Christian School.
The team’s report encouraged me and confirmed what I had already witnessed. On arrival, conversations with faculty and class observations further substantiated the that fact our teachers are truly a special group of called, passionate, and dynamic leaders. Every one of them faithfully serves the children God has placed under their care.
“The teachers and administrators of the school partner with parents to provide students with individual care and attention both academically and emotionally. It is a campus that cares.” ~ A Trinity parent.
Our accreditors’ findings that our "school fosters a Christlike culture" within a "caring, and respectful environment" encouraged me the most. The team was incredibly complimentary about this. It is a testament of the unity we have within our team and their past leaders. Trinity has kept the calling God has placed on our lives central. Our highest priority is the spiritual development and nurturing of our students’ relationship with, and identity in God. This pursuit includes many means including class discussion, one-on-one moments, and even discipline as opportunities for discipleship and identity formation.
In our Wednesday faculty meetings and Friday morning devotions, staff are encouraged to study, share, and pray together, making sure that we lead by example with our own individual faith walks. Added to this, our faculty’s exceptional open communication has meant that our partnership with parents has remained strong, with teachers being transparent and accountable to create a collaborative atmosphere. As Luke 6:40 states, “A student, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher.” Our teachers carry this and, with God’s help, aim to be the best examples of godly living as they can. This contributed to the ACSI team’s use of the phrase, “Christian worldview permeation,” in that it was infused in all aspects of our school.
“Sending our son to Trinity is one of the best decisions we have made for our family. The love and support he receives from the teachers and staff at Trinity have caused him to flourish.” ~ A Trinity parent.
Aside from the spiritual growth of our students, there's the business of educating them academically. A true teacher never stops learning. We started the year with rather intensive in-house classical training. The faculty were also allocated cohort days used to refine and enrich our curriculum and create space for new ideas. The in-service days covered online courses and conference attendance. Our faculty meetings focused on specific tools of Classical learning (for example, narration and memorization). We will certainly be doing more of this (with workshops included) in the next year.
“The help and support I have received this year has been a huge blessing.” ~ Amy Edwards – 2nd Grade Teacher
Again, the ACSI team recognized some of our strengths in this area, particularly with regards to incorporating a variety of challenging, motivational, learner-centered, and authentic learning experiences to promote student engagement and independence. The team was also very complimentary of our Bible curriculum and teaching.
Looking forward, we have already started growing our 12-K approach, with more emphasis to come. In short, this means that all teaching, from kindergarten upwards, should be done with the end in mind: to train and equip young believers to go into the world bringing God the glory with every fiber of who they are, and to be world-changers as they share God’s truth and love to a world desperately in need of it. With the integrated space we are creating, we are looking forward to improving the handover of students from one grade to the next, as well as more cooperation between upper school and grammar school, particularly with the transition from sixth grade to seventh and all that that entails.
Finally, a goal this year was to facilitate greater connected unity within the faculty team. I introduced the vision I had for the team by defining for them the term “ubuntu.” This is an African term that simply means, “I am because we are.” Although not a biblical term, it certainly echoes Jesus’ instructions to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:39), and can also be seen in action in the early church.
As idealistic as it sounds, with the Holy Spirit’s help we are making great progress. I have heard very encouraging feedback from faculty and parents. With a continuing environment of trust, and acceptance; I believe that this ideal will take stronger root. As the team steps further into this next year, we look forward to seeing some of the fruits with a faculty team that celebrates one another’s gifts, and grows together continuously, observing and learning from one another, and being all that God has created us to be for this noble calling.
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