Middle School Test Update

Parents,

The 7th grade English test scheduled for tomorrow has been changed to a quiz.  Students will be given a test in 7th grade English this Friday instead.

Thanks!

Middle School Matters

Good Day, Everyone!

We have completed another outstanding week here at Trinity, focusing on Enthusiasm and how it is an important cornerstone in our Pyramid of Success.  You my read more about our Pyramid and Enthusiasm in particular by referring to this post from Thursday of this week.

Thank you so much for attending our PTO Open House this past Tuesday night.  We had a great crowd, and I have heard wonderful things from teachers and parents alike.  Thanks also for your help with carpool. Things are running a little more smoothly and will continue to improve with cooperation from everyone.

Please put the following Fall PTO dates on your calendar.  More information about these events will be sent via email as the specific dates approach:

Monday, September 13: 

Middle School Blast - TPS vs. MA Middle School Football Game

Wednesday, September 15: 

7th Grade Partner with the Principal

Friday, October 1: 

Homecoming

Wednesday, October 13: 

8th Grade Partner with the Principal

Organizing Your Child's Spaces

As we typically do this time of year, we are helping your child (especially 6th-graders) adjust to using lockers and changing classes.  Additionally, many students are having difficulty organizing themselves, which can cause trouble across the board at school.  This post from the 2008-2009 school year focuses on organizing your child's spaces.  I hope you'll find it helpful.

Here are our tests for this week:

6th Grade:

Tuesday - Math

7th Grade:

Tuesday - Math 7

Wednesday - Civics, English

8th Grade:

Friday - Algebra I

Have a great weekend!

Building the Pyramid of Success - The Second Cornerstone

Enthusiasm
"Your energy and enjoyment,
 drive and dedication will stimulate
and greatly inspire others."

This semester, we are learning about character as we build John Wooden's famous Pyramid of Success together.  Each week, we will focus on another "stone" in the pyramid, culminating with Competitive Greatness the week of first semester exams.   Please take some time this week to discuss Enthusiasm  with your child.


The following is an excerpt from Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections:  I have included in this excerpt a section which is directed more at adults than children.  We can certainly learn some valuable lessons from the Pyramid as well.

Enthusiasm

On the other side of the Pyramid's foundation is my second powerful cornerstone: Enthusiasm.  Simply put, I mean you must love that which you do.  Your heart must be in it.  Without Enthusiasm you cannot work up to your fullest ability and potential; you're just going through the motions.  And just going through the motions won't bring you to the level of competitive greatness we seek whether in basketball, business, or life.

If you don't like what you're doing - knocking it all the time - get out.  Don't whine, complain, and continually make excuses.  Leave.  Maybe you can't leave immediately, today, right now, but understand you must eventually do so.  Why?  If your heart's not in your work you cannot prepare and perform at your highest level.

Enthusiasm brushes off on those with whom you come into contact, those you work with and for.  You must have Enthusiasm especially if you're a leader or wish to become a leader.

So, as the cornerstones of the Pyramid of Success I put these two essential and irreplaceable qualities in place: Industriousness and Enthusiasm.  You must be willing to work hard, to be Industrious.  You must join that with Enthusiasm.  Separately each is powerful in its own particular way.  Joined together they become a force of almost unimaginable force.  They power all that follows in the Pyramid.  Industriousness and Enthusiasm are the engines of your success.

And if you are a leader who possesses them, you will instill Industriousness and Enthusiasm in those under your supervision by your example.

Middle School Matters

Happy Friday!

We have enjoyed a spectacular week here at Trinity!  I hope yours has been good as well.

I enjoyed meeting with many of our 6th grade parents at our Partner with the Principal luncheon Wednesday.  Many thanks to Craig and Jodi Dillard for opening up their home to us.

Speaking of 6th grade parents - you will want to be sure and mark your calendars for our annual trip to Camp Cosby.  The dates for this year's trip are November 3, 4 and 5.  Kay Kirtland and Ahna Baggett  work very hard to make this week special both academically and spiritually.  Please be in prayer now that the Lord will use this time as a life changing experience for your children.

We all are painfully aware of how frustrating carpool can be.  When Trinity was first located here, there was absolutely nothing around the school.  Today, however, we find ourselves landlocked, thus making for a challenging drop-off and dismissal.

Please help us by following our carpool rules.  All middle school students are to be picked up on the steps of Willett Hall each afternoon.  Students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades will not be allowed to exit through the front door of the building, and we ask that parents remain in your cars during the loading process.  Additionally, please pull all the way forward in the circle adjacent to the Willett Hall steps.  We will send your child to you at the bottom of the hill near the band room doors.  This keeps traffic from backing up onto Trinity Boulevard and, ultimately, Carmichael Road.  Thanks so much for your cooperation!

Please be reminded of our PTO Back to School Night next Tuesday beginning at 7:00.  You will have an opportunity to follow your child's schedule, meeting teachers and learning about the various courses your child is taking this year.  I look forward to seeing each of you there!

Being the parent of a middle school student is a tough job!  Here is some advice from Common Sense Media that I hope you will find to be helpful as you guide your "tween" through these years.

Here are our tests for the coming week:

6th Grade:

Thursday - Science

7th Grade:

Tuesday - Civics
Friday - Pre-Algebra

8th Grade:

Tuesday - Science
Friday - US History (Weeks, McLemore)

Have a Fantastic Weekend!

Building the Pyramid - The First Cornerstone

INDUSTRIOUSNESS
"Success travels in the company of very hard work.
There is no trick. No easy way."

This semester, we are learning about character as we build John Wooden's famous Pyramid of Success together.  Each week, we will focus on another "stone" in the pyramid, culminating with Competitive Greatness the week of first semester exams.   Please take some time this week to discuss Industriousness with your child.


John Wooden on Industriousness 
(Excerpt from Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections)

Industriousness?  In plain language, I mean that you have to work - and work hard.  There is no substitute for work.  None.  Worthwhile things come only from real work.

Businessperson, clergy, doctor, lawyer, plumber, artist, writer, coach, or athlete; all share a fundamental trait if they achieve competitive greatness.  They work very hard.  It is essential and only you really know if you're doing it - giving it everything you've got.

Grantland Rice understood this when he wrote "How To Be a Champion."

You wonder how they do it,
You look to see the knack
You watch the foot in action,
Or the shoulder or the back.
But when you spot the answer,
Where the higher glamours lurk,
You'll find in moving higher
Up the laurel-covered spire,
That most of it is practice,
And the rest of it is work.

So I chose work - Industriousness - as the first cornerstone in the foundation of the Pyramid of Success.  I called it Industriousness to make very clear it involves more than merely showing up and going through the motions.  Many people who tell you they worked all day weren't really working very hard at all, certainly not to the fullest extent of their abilities.

You can work without being Industrious, but you cannot be Industrious without work

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. - Colossians 3:23

Back in Business!

The halls of Trinity have been abuzz the last few days as we have successfully opened another school year.  This year is very special as we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Trinity Presbyterian School. We will be remembering the people who helped found this school while looking toward what promises to be a very bright future.

If you are new to the middle school, please take a moment to subscribe to this blog by typing your email address in the "subscribe" section on the right side of this page.  This is my primary means of communication with parents, and you won't want to miss out on important information each week.  Parents of last year's 8th grade students may wish to unsubscribe from this blog.  You may do so by clicking on "unsubscribe" at the bottom of the email you received today.

If you are the parent of a 6th grade student, you are cordially invited to our "Partner with the Principal" luncheon Wednesday, August 18 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. at the home of Craig and Jodi Dillard.  You should have received an email today with contact information and an address.  If not, please contact the school office.

Beginning Monday, we will introduce our new character education program for this year.  We are basing  our program on the famous Pyramid of Success developed by legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.  Each week, we will discuss a different theme, gradually building the pyramid throughout the first semester.  Next semester, we will focus on Coach Wooden's Seven Point Creed and Twelve Laws of Leadership.  You may read more about Coach Wooden by clicking here.

Here are our tests for this week:

6th Grade - None

7th Grade - None

8th Grade -

Tuesday - US History (McLemore), US History-Map (Franklin)

Have a great weekend!