Thank You!

A very big THANK YOU to our teachers and students for the amazing level of cooperation during yesterday's severe weather outbreak. As you know, our series of tornado warnings occurred at one of the worst possible times - the opening of the school day! As I walked into the building, I found teachers calmly directing students to safe places, and students cooperating fully and without disruption.

Give your child a big pat on the back for doing such a great job yesterday! They certainly deserve it!

Middle School Notes

Good Afternoon, Parents:

This is the first installment of a weekly update on things going on at Trinity Middle School. I hope you find this communication tool to be helpful!

Our classes are off to a great start, and our teachers are doing a fantastic job. As of this afternoon, I have had the chance to visit nearly every middle school classroom. The quality of instruction is outstanding and the students seem engaged and cooperative. We're beginning to feel like a real middle school, and I'm excited about the year ahead!

Let me encourage you to attend our PTO Back to School night next Tuesday, August 26 at 7:00 p.m. This is an important opportunity for you to go through your child's schedule and meet the individual teachers. Please understand that this is not a time for individual conferences. Those may be scheduled by contacting the school. Back to School night is designed for you to get an overview of the various subjects that your child is taking, as well as the classroom expectations of each teacher.

In an effort to be open with regard to communication, I will be posting upcoming tests each Friday. There should be no more than two major tests scheduled for any school day in the Middle School. Teachers post these tests weekly, and I will make that information available to you so you will know what is upcoming. However, please understand that there are times when test dates have to be moved for various unforeseen reasons. Posting of tests will begin Friday, August 29.

One final note: You might want to check out Miss Head's English Class Blog. It can be found here.

Here are some upcoming events that you don't want to miss next week:

Tuesday, August 26

4:30pm - MS Volleyball vs. ACA (Home)

7:00pm - PTO Back to School Night

Thursday, August 28

4:30pm - MS Volleyball vs. Prattville (Home)

5:30pm - Tailgate Party

7:00pm - Varsity Football vs. St. James (Home)

Thanks for your support as we have cranked things up this year.

GO WILDCATS!

Technical Difficulties

Parents,

If you have been attempting to correspond with some of our teachers via email and have not received a reply, it is probably due to some problems that we have been experiencing with our server. Please be assured that we are working on this, and hope to have everything restored very soon.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Open House Error

6th Grade Parents:

There was an error in the email sent yesterday regarding the upcoming PTO Open House (August 26). Parents of 6th-graders are to report to first period immediately following the assembly instead of homeroom. Last year's schedule was posted by mistake.

I look forward to seeing each of your next Tuesday night!

College Day Early Dismissal

Parents,

Trinity will conduct a College Day for our Upper School students on Tuesday, September 16. In order to accommodate this event, the Middle School will dismiss at 12:00 p.m. on that date.

Please mark this on your calendars and make plans now to pick your child up at noon on the 16th .

Have a great weekend!

Off and Running!

School finally started today and the halls were full of activity as students reunited with friends, fought with their lockers, and got into the swing of things. Our middle school students looked particularly good today as most were in dress code and took great care to wear their uniforms properly.

We had the opportunity to gather this morning for a brief assembly where the expectations for a great year were outlined. Students were most attentive and polite, so give them a big pat on the back!

Here is what we're shooting for this year:

We are going to strive for Christ-like Excellence in the following areas (think of it as earning "Straight As"):

Academics
Athletics
Arts
Appearance
Attitude

Our students have a clear understanding of our expectations in these areas, and we're geared up for a great year. Please help us by reinforcing these ideas at home.

See you in the halls!

Back to School!

The halls of Trinity are abuzz with teachers getting classrooms ready, students decorating lockers, and cheerleaders, athletes, and band members preparing for the fall season. Next week, we'll be in full swing and off to another great year.

A friend of mine, Dr. Frank Buck, is the Supervisor of Curriculum and Special Education for the Talladega City Schools, and author of the book Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders. Dr. Buck maintains an excellent blog on organization, and has included some posts for parents helping their students get their act together for the school year.

You might find some great tips in the following articles:

"Write it Down"

"Break Big Projects Down Into Little Parts"

"Empty the Bookbag Totally Every Night"

"Learn to Deal With Papers"

"Get Everything Ready the Night Before"

Hopefully these articles will help your child get organized and stay that way.

See you next week!