The Trinity Leader Winter 2002 News for the Trinity Family HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM TRINITY! Trinity High School Nationally Recognized School of Excellence Louisville, Kentucky CAMPUS STORE 4011 Shelbyville Road Louisville, KY 40207 Parking is available in the visitors’ spaces along Alumni Hall at the corner (502) 736-2125 of Shelbyville Road and Sherrin Avenue. Enter through the Rotunda and proceed [email protected] to your left. We are open Monday-Friday, 7:30-8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. www.thsrock.net 1 President’s Notebook By Dr. Robert (Rob) J. Mullen ’77 ometimes you just have to stick out reported, “Ten years ago I did not think that I would ever really your neck and live with the conse- use technology. Now if the computers go down I feel at a loss.” quences. Whether it is in the classroom or the office, we have woven tech- S Trinity did just that a few years nology into the fabric of what we do at Trinity. Here is a sam- back by proclaiming itself as pling of how we are using technology in the classroom. “Cyber School.” You may remember the odd-looking imagery of a student with data I Mike Domzalski ’85, Chair of the Religion Department and ports and wires connected to his head. That Director of Merton House, reports that all his class notes are on image campaign stimulated lots of comments. (Interestingly, the Power Point. This allows him to include maps, pictures, charts, student in the photo was Mark Conliffe ’00. He is a student at the etc. He reports that the use of color and animation helps keep stu- U.S. Military Academy at West Point.) Beyond the imagery, the dents’ attention. If a student is absent, he can simply e-mail the position itself — that of being a leader particular slides to him that he missed. in technology — was starting us on a “Whether it is in the Mike makes use of the ceiling-mounted journey with no clear paths to follow. projector in his room that is connected to Trinity took a risk. We said that this classroom or the office, his computer workstation. Many teach- new wave of technology was one we we have woven tech- ers use Power Point and other graphic were going to ride. We were determined software programs in the same way. to think boldly, act creatively and invest nology into the fabric of Mike also teaches one psychology wisely. Much credit goes to the board class each day. His students take an members, administrators, faculty and what we do at Trinity.” online personality test and analyze the staff who decided to make the adventure results. Various websites that are devoted real. Special recognition goes to my to psychology are frequently visited in predecessor Peter Flaig H’00 and for- class, again via the projector for viewing mer technology director Chuck Weining by the entire class. ’73. They launched many initiatives that got us thinking broadly. I Alison Singleton, religion teacher and Director of Seton House, It is interesting to look back on those initial “Cyber School” was astonished at the sophistication of the various House web- years. sites. As a House director, Alison found some Seton House mem- Deciding to be a pioneer means that you try many things. bers to create and post their own site on the Trinity website. Some ideas have lasted to this today; other ideas were replaced House websites were examined and points awarded for those after a time with new ones. I think the main computer lab area in judged best. The sites are a tool for House members to stay the bottom of Old Trinity Hall has been reconfigured, redeco- informed, connected and enthused. rated, rewired and reengineered about a dozen times. Those early years were filled with students learning about this I Debbie Sweitzer, one of our English teachers and moderator of new thing called the “Internet.” Lots of students “surfed the our literary magazine, The Axiom, has students examine Shake- web” for the first time at Trinity. It was like going to a friend’s speare’s Julius Caesar from a variety of vantage points. One house to watch TV because their neighborhood was the first to assignment has students creating a scrapbook of the story. Pictures get cable. Of course you had some old folks, like us 30-year-olds, are found via the Internet that correspond to the storyline. who just knew we were going to break the computer. It all seemed complicated, foreign and extremely impractical. I Bob Davenport directs our Learning Support Program. This ini- My how times have changed. tiative helps students across ability levels who have an identified Technology use at Trinity has become as common as turning learning difference. Bob spends lots of time working one-on-one on the lights. As counselor and math teacher Mike Magre ’83 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 with students. The networked features found in our system allow I Aaron Striegel is a veteran teacher and counselor in his first him to merge his own documents to create messages for students year at Trinity. He has found the in-house e-mail system an or parents. He states that this is a tremendous time-saver, which excellent way to share articles and the latest research with leaves more time for students. With our electronic grade books, Trinity’s other counselors. he and other counselors can access information found in teacher grade books. This saves time and keeps teachers from being dis- I Tony Lococo, Co-Chair of the English Department, a mentor in rupted during the day. Flannan House and moderator of our student newspaper, The ECHO, explains that technology is a way of life in the production I Gary Owens ’88, Director of Romero House, teaches English of the newspaper. Every element of the paper’s layout is pro- and coaches football and basketball. His class recently completed duced through the use of Macintosh computers. Articles, photos, a unit on Macbeth. In order to review for the test he created a cartoons and ads are brought together through technology. “Macbeth Jeopardy” game using Power Point. When a point Student journalists are not just learning about news reporting and value was clicked, the answer appeared. Another button would the creation of a publication. They are also learning the ways take users back to the categories. Music and other special effects technology can be a tool. from the show were included. Test results were very good. I Paul Vale ’86 is Chair of the Social Studies Department and a I Several teachers, including Maggie Beyer, Alison Singleton mentor in Merton House. He posts study guides with answers and Jennifer Solinger (Director of Gonzaga House), have down- online along with interview questions for war veterans. His stu- loaded pictures of their students from our website. Their seating dents e-mail elected officials to get quick responses to “hot but- charts now contain photos of the students. These have been lam- ton” issues during election cycles. Like many teachers, Paul’s inated. This process has helped speed learning the names of stu- students are required to make presentations using Power Point. dents. They can also quickly check off whether homework was completed and then wipe the seating chart clean at the end of I Mike Magre, Director of Patrick House, cites many examples class. It has proven invaluable for substitute teachers in these where technology has enhanced presentations to large groups. In classes. At conferences parents can be shown where their child recent weeks such technology has been used in a school-wide sits in the room. presentation for the Broken Hearts program and for freshmen during their day of recollection. Mike is using the television stu- I Jason Daniel teaches English, is a mentor in Aquinas House and dio equipment in a collaborative project with Chuck Servino ‘73, is our tennis moderator. He has his students post their poetry and a longtime social studies teacher and mentor in Romero House. stories on various websites that feature discussion forums. He is They are working on recording sites in Jefferson County where amazed to think that people from all over the world are reading Civil War battles were fought. What they produce will be used in work produced by students in his classrooms. Jason reports that Chuck’s history classes. students are very gratified when their work elicits a response from In his role as a counselor, Mike is able to access student data some far-off place. It gives validation to their work. on grades and discipline matters in moments. This helps in his role as an advocate and counselor. I Ken Bechtloff is our music teacher. He uses computers and syn- thesizers for choir accompaniments. He also uses these tools to I Rick Renninger’s (Gonzaga House mentor) geometry class present examples of various styles of music in his classes. makes use of a lab that houses 14 computers. His students are continued on next page 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 the Trinity Office for School Roger Burkman, Senior Development Officer Advancement, 4011 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, KY 40207. Postage paid Trinity Travis Wagoner ’90, Director, Annual Fund & Alumni Relations at Louisville, KY.