ACHIEVEMENT SOARS! THE STUDENT TRINITY SEE PAGE 20. LEADER SPRING 2006
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TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY WWW. THSROCK.NET The Father Kevin Caster Annual Fund
Hang Trinity art in your home. The suitable-for-framing print shown on the front cover will be sent to all contributors of $250 or more to the 2006 Father Kevin Caster Annual Fund Appeal. The print captures some of the public art displayed around Trinity’s campus. It was created by Nick Bonura ’87 (photographer) and Cary Meyer ’88 (layout). Make your commitment of $250 today and Trinity will mail you this print.
Demonstration of need What is the Father Kevin Caster Annual Fund Appeal? As of Jan. 31, the amount pledged to the 2006 Father Kevin The Father Kevin Caster Annual Fund Appeal is the cornerstone Caster Annual Fund is $335,118.07. fund-raising tool we have to offset the actual per student cost. Last year, the demonstrated need of Trinity families was Tuition for 2005-06 is $7,825; the actual cost to educate a $1.42 million. student is more than $9,800. Your contribution helps keep The amount of aid available to distribute was $900,000. tuition more affordable. YOUR gift to the Annual Fund is the difference. Currently, less than 15 percent of alumni contribute to the When does the Annual Fund Appeal begin and end? Annual Fund. Trinity operates on a fiscal year running from July 1 of one year through June 30 of the next. In other words, the 2006 How does Trinity raise funds? Annual Fund Appeal began on July 1, 2005, and will end on 1. Tuition (annual) – Nearly 80 percent of our revenue is spent June 30, 2006. on employee compensation. Tuition will not decrease; it will increase approximately $300 to $500 per year. Will there be an Annual Fund Appeal every year? 2. Father Kevin Caster Annual Fund Appeal (annual) – Yes. The Annual Fund Appeal was initiated in 1991. It is the The Annual Fund Appeal funds all tuition assistance programs. most successful and widely used method for private high schools Memorial and endowed scholarships are part of the Annual and universities to raise funds for tuition assistance. Fund Appeal. 3. celebraTion (annual) – Formerly known as the Benefit Why should you make a contribution? Dinner, celebraTion funds Trinity Athletics and Trinity Student Give to give back. Activities (drama, intramural sports, Speech Team, etc.). Think about your life without a Trinity education. There are 4. Capital Campaigns (as needed) – Since 1998, Trinity has many young men in Kentuckiana who want that same successfully implemented two capital campaigns: the Shamrock experience but simply do not have the financial means to attend Spirit Campaign (1998) and the Spirit of Trinity Campaign (2003). Trinity. Please help them become the next Trinity legacy and Capital campaigns provide funds for building construction, brother alumni. campus improvements and adding to the school’s endowment.
KEVIN GOLDEN ’06 PATRICK POOL ’09 STEVIE MARSHALL ’06 Being able to attend Trinity is an It means a lot to me to be a Trinity Being at Trinity means a great deal opportunity for me to be with student. It’s a privilege to attend to me. It’s my home away from people, teachers and friends who Trinity simply because it’s such a home. My experience here has been genuinely care for my well-being. miraculous and wonderful school. awesome since day one. 1
PRESIDENT’S NOTEBOOK By Dr. Robert (Rob) J. Mullen ’77 This is Dr. Mullen’s second of two articles on athletics. See the Winter 2005 issue of the Trinity Leader for part one.
ere’s a shocker. Athletics activity clubs and athletics simply and vitally helps us bring that are huge at Trinity. mission to our students. In this column I want to Our School Board maintains a strategic planning process that is lay out as clearly as I can built upon a framework we call the 10 Pillars. These are 10 areas of my view of the role that the school’s operation that we believe combine to drive us toward Hathletics currently play at Trinity. success. It makes perfect sense to us that one of the 10 Pillars is During the past six years, we have won 25 focused on student activities and athletics. To this end, we staff a state championships (team or individual) in director of athletics and a director of activities. the following sports: football, wrestling, track, ice hockey, vol- We offer a wide range of athletic teams each season. Many are leyball, lacrosse, powerlifting, crew, golf, bowling and cycling. “non-cut.” A student wants to be on a team and participate? We We have beaten St. Xavier three times in the past year to win a have several available each season that do just that. Oftentimes state championship (football, lacrosse and ice hockey). the requirement to “cut” is made by the Kentucky High School Our founder and first principal, Monsignor Alfred Steinhauser, Athletic Association (KHSAA). If it were solely up to us we was an academician and intellectual first would have fewer teams that limit par- and foremost. His Ph.D. dissertation, ticipation. written in the 1940s, was a visionary SEE THE ARTICLE ON Our students who play on one of our piece on secondary education. It pre- PAGE 2O OF THIS ISSUE KHSAA-sanctioned teams or on one of sented the framework for what became our many “club” teams (non-KHSAA Trinity’s approach of offering a rigorous FOR AN UPDATE ON sanctioned teams that compete against high school curriculum to every student other schools) maintain their eligibility regardless his academic strengths and TRINITY’S TEST SCORES. to practice and play each week by per- weaknesses. This was quite a departure forming well in the classroom. Weekly from the trade/vocational school mind- grade checks are conducted, and those set of the first half of the last century. who are not passing the required num- Yet, he also understood that an institution of high school-aged ber of courses cannot participate. Once the ineligibility list is boys had better have something to do with sports. In our Hall of posted on Monday, the student cannot turn in a missing assign- Fame display, we have Monsignor Steinhauser’s original notes from ment or such and become eligible. He is out for the week. If the the first student assembly ever held at Trinity. Agenda item number student remains ineligible for too long, he is permanently three on that first school day in September 1953 was athletics. removed from the team. He would have a great deal of satisfaction that Trinity is fre- Our athletics program generates revenue for the general opera- quently mentioned as one of the non-public schools in Kentucky tion of the school. In other words, it pays for itself and returns with too much athletic success, thus the need for separate state money for the academic needs of the school. This is uncommon championships. Knowing our humble beginnings, he would among high schools. chuckle at the thought of an “un-level playing field.” Starting a This year we offer competition against other schools in these high school from scratch in five months housed in an abandoned sports: golf, soccer, cross country, football, wrestling, swimming, grade school building is the epitome of un-level. He didn’t whine. diving, basketball, tennis, track, baseball, ice hockey, lacrosse, He just went to work. Within the first month of school, we won bowling, powerlifting, volleyball, cycling and crew. We offer the first ever Trinity football game played against St. X. Within intramural or House competitions in these sports: basketball, four years, we won our first state championship in cross country. table tennis, bocce ball, ultimate Frisbee, softball, volleyball, We are absolutely, 100 percent proud of the success we have in fencing and bowling. All told, nearly 75 percent of our students athletics. At the same time, we keep the role of athletics as a piece participate in one or more of these activities. of our total school program. It isn’t the whole. It really isn’t hard National studies continue to show that students who are to do. We are driven by our mission. Student involvement in continued on next page
MISSION STATEMENT Trinity High School’s mission is to provide students with a superior high school education in a supportive atmosphere based upon Christian values in the Catholic tradition. 2
PRESIDENT’S NOTEBOOK continued from page 1 involved in after-school clubs and teams have higher grades, letic directors into our Hall of Fame. better attendance and participate in more leadership opportunities. Athletic Director Father John Lenahan took several steps in our In a high school setting, being on a team is an excellent vehicle first decade of operation to launch our rich athletic tradition. for teaching teamwork, goal-setting, discipline and sacrifice for a These included beginning a booster organization known as the common good. Trini-Dads and orchestrating fund-raising efforts such as an ama- Knowing this, our coaches work extremely hard. I will gladly teur baseball league on our grounds. He was inducted into the invite any comparison of our coaches’ work ethic with that of any Hall of Fame in 1999. other school. They may get out-coached here and there; they Athletic Director Father Harry Jansing was a giant among ath- don’t get outworked. letic directors, locally and nationally. Our alumni have also come to expect . . . STUDENTS WHO ARE He was the first person from a non-pub- our teams to excel. They are the ones who lic school ever elected to the KHSAA poured their sweat into building our tradi- INVOLVED IN AFTER Board of Control. He taught many pub- tion of excellence. They want it main- lic school athletic directors how to run tained. They trust we are maintaining and SCHOOL CLUBS AND TEAMS their shop. I can only imagine Father improving the academic experience. HAVE HIGHER GRADES, Harry’s thoughts regarding the current Since they have been here as students, hubbub over separate state champi- they know how we balance classes and BETTER ATTENDANCE onships. It would not be pretty. athletic contests. So they expect us to win Father Harry had a gruff exterior and at both. (See the article on page 20 of this AND PARTICIPATE wasn’t known for his customer service issue for an update on our test scores.) mindset. At the same time, he had a The parents of our current students IN MORE LEADERSHIP heart of gold and a passion for Trinity whose sons participate on teams expect a OPPORTUNITIES. that may make him the single most comprehensive program with ample important person in our first 50 years in opportunity for their sons to participate. terms of athletics. He was inducted into While each hopes a state championship our Hall of Fame in 1993 at the first is within reach, I believe most accept the ever Hall of Fame Banquet. Our ath- role that athletics has in the total high school experience. letic field was named after him in 1993 and keeps that designa- We have been blessed with school principals who value athlet- tion today. ics. Dan Zoeller, our current principal, was the head coach of a Dennis Lampley H’92 carries the mantle of athletic leadership Trinity state championship tennis team. Father Duerr was an avid today. As director of athletics he has continued to breathe fire into and vocal cheerleader at our games as well as an accomplished the operation and holds our coaches to the same high standards he sail boat enthusiast. Dave Winkler’s son played soccer at Trinity. followed as head coach for five of our football state champi- The R.W. Marshall Sports Center and the new Shamrock Hall onships. He is the only member of the Trinity community elected were built under Peter’s Flaig’s leadership. Of course, our main to the KHSAA Hall of Fame. gym is named after Monsignor Steinhauser in recognition of his Such successes and successful people bring with them lots of visionary leadership. media attention. You may have seen the USA Today feature on We have had athletic directors who oversaw the program — Trinity football last September. You may have seen references to squarely in line with our values. It is noteworthy that the Trinity Trinity on numerous national sports telecasts as our alumni excel Alumni Association has seen fit to induct two of our foremost ath- continued on next page
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY Trinity High School admits students of any race, color, nationality, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally available to students. Trinity does not discrim- inate on the basis of race, color, nationality or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship or loan program, athletic or other school-administered programs.
Office for School Advancement The Trinity Leader is published four times a year for Trinity High School The Joey Porter ’78, Vice President for School Advancement alumni, students, parents and friends by Trinity High School, Office for Steven Tompkins ’81, Senior Development Officer School Advancement, 4011 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, KY 40207. Trinity Travis Wagoner ’90, Director, Annual Fund & Alumni Relations Postage paid at Louisville, KY. Sandy Camerucci, Administrative Assistant, Fundraising Leader Marie Diehl, Administrative Assistant, Marketing POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to: Trinity High School, Office GAMAKA Studios, Design and Layout; Beechmont Press, Printer for School Advancement, 4011 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, KY 40207. Tim Culver ’82, Executive Director, Trinity High School Foundation, Inc. Phone: (502) 893-7625. Fax: (502) 899-2052. 3
PRESIDENT’S NOTEBOOK continued from page 2 on various college and professional teams. Daily and weekly news- Our success as a school and in athletics opens the door for papers across the state routinely carry news about Trinity athletics. praise and admiration, but also for jealousy and criticism. In one The attention our sports program receives goes so far that when one recent incident involving a school disciplinary matter, critics of our coaches turns down a job elsewhere it becomes news. have been free to take on a self-righteous tone, absent much Having a successful program is a blessing. It can also be a has- civility, even though they do not know all the facts. I won’t go sle. Since expectations are always high, when things go well fans into detail because it involves some students not abiding by our are happy; when expectations are missed, it can get testy. Code of Conduct. Bob Beatty H’03 moved his family to Louisville six years ago What they did is between their families and the school. These to be our head football coach. He has led Trinity to four state are teenagers. They make mistakes. We apply our rules. We don’t championships and one runner-up finish in his six seasons here. publicize these matters to others. I mention it in this article The dissatisfaction after the regular season loss to St. X last because the students played on the football team and thus the mat- September was high. Even as some Trinity fans were pointing out ter attracted more attention than usual, even though it occurred their deficits, the coaches must have been swallowing smart pills after the season was over. What has been bandied about very because they rebounded nicely in the state championship game. freely, mostly by foes of the school, is unfair to the young men The old adage about winning makes everything look better was and their families. Such rumors and innuendos about teenage mis- never more true than this football season. Our fans should know takes and the school are wrong and un-Christian. We know the that Coach Beatty answers to, our director of athletics, Dennis facts and cannot discuss them. Lampley H’92, in terms of coaching and to me in terms of the foot- Thus, we humbly ask, given our solid record of teaching and ball program’s position in the Trinity community. It was a compli- guiding young men into adulthood, that you trust we are doing ment to Bob and our program that Georgia’s Valdosta High School our best to be fair and just, and that you pray that our handling of tried to lure him away this winter. Valdosta has the most football this and all other such incidents will lead to the best results for wins among all high schools in America and the most national students, their families and the school. championships. It is a testimony to Trinity that he elected to stay in If Monsignor Steinhauser were still alive, I could look him our program. We presently have four former coaches who are head straight in the eye and report very favorably on how his school is football coaches at other schools. doing — in the classroom and on the athletic field. 4
PRINCIPAL’S CORNER By Daniel J. Zoeller, Principal his year in order to continue Goal No. 2: Students will improve thinking and reasoning skills our school improvement that will be reflected in improved standardized test scores. efforts, we will begin another Instructional methodology will be aligned with current research. Southern Association of Action Steps: A major study of curriculum and methodology will Colleges and Schools (SACS) be conducted that goes beyond the current established scope and Taccreditation cycle. sequence procedures to ensure alignment with PLAN/ACT mea- The School Improvement Team (Jennifer surable skills. Departments and individual teachers will revise all Browning, Betsy Dunman, Keith Rapp, current syllabi, curricula and methodology to reflect this focus. A Donna Rice, Frank Ward H’01 and Dan Zoeller) is directing these three-tier standardized testing system will be created for the mea- efforts, but the entire school community is invited into the process surement and comparison: EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT. Further, a in some form. consistent system of test preparation will be adopted, culminating For example, we recently sent letters to all current parents in school-wide practice tests that are recorded in the school’s with instructions for taking an online database for analysis by the data man- survey on many aspects of school life. agement committee. An ongoing test Already we’ve surveyed students once OVER THE PAST SEVERAL preparation training program for the and faculty twice. More are planned. instructional staff will be established MONTHS . . . WE’VE GATHERED Survey results are then shared for fur- and maintained. ther responses. When we’re finished, COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF what we’ve learned will help us write a When our self-study was complete, section of our report on stakeholder STATISTICS CONCERNING a SACS team visited the school. perspectives. On Nov.13-14, 2001, an outside peer Over the past several months, with ALL AREAS OF SCHOOL LIFE. review team comprising education the help of Trinity’s IT Department, professionals from around the region we’ve gathered copious amounts of sta- visited, read our self-study and reported tistics concerning all areas of school back to us. The Peer Review Team life. Armed with this information, reviewed our strengths and weaknesses we’ve compiled a school profile that includes a narrative and hard and the Action Plan created by the School Improvement Team. data on school characteristics, student and community demo- We were commended for each of the following: graphics and student performance. The model of internal shared-decision making evident through- Finally, all teachers and departments spend time studying out the School Improvement Process national standards and best practices. Studying current educa- The inclusion of all stakeholders tional thinking and how our own methods stack up is an essential The focus on the whole student step in the process. The living out of its mission Where is all this going? Perhaps it would be useful to look over The promoting of diversity a short review of what happened last time we completed the The commitment to continuous improvement process in November 2001. The school began by researching and preparing the School The Peer Review Team recommended that we consider the fol- Improvement Plan Report, which included an updated school pro- lowing: file; a review of the school’s beliefs and mission statements; a Emphasize the evaluation and improvement of curriculum report on how we define and determine student learning; a short design, instructional practices and classroom assessment strate- analysis of our instructional and organizational effectiveness; and gies as a means to improve students’ critical thinking and reason- our own school improvement plan. ing skills. Balance the use of standardized test data as evidence of student Our Action Plan was as follows: performance with a variety of assessment tools based on national, Goal No.1: Administration and faculty will make student instruc- state and institutional curricular standards. tional and curriculum decisions based on verifiable and reliable Develop a comprehensive curriculum framework that guides data. and aligns departments in curriculum planning, adds cohesive- Action Steps: Form a data management committee that will deter- ness to the academic program and defines what a Trinity graduate mine data needs and regularly report to all appropriate stakeholders. will know and be able to do as a result of a Trinity education. 5