A n n u A l R e p o R t I s s u e The Fall 2007Leader News for the triNity high school family www.trinityrocks.com maria rocha engages her spanish students. photo by nick bonura photography 1 9 5 7 C l A s s R e u n I o n Trinity High School was founded in the commonwealth of Kentucky, September 1953. Seeing the growth our nation and our world in many of Louisville’s East End suburbs capacities. At Trinity, we have the and the need for a Catholic boys’ Class of ’57 and the bold priests high school in the area, the Most and teachers who taught, coached Rev. John A. Floersh, Archbishop and guided them to thank for the of Louisville, chose the site of the foundation that was laid and many former school and church of Holy of the traditions we enjoy today Trinity Parish in St. Matthews as — outstanding academics, our the location for Trinity. Shamrock mascot, the school colors, Father Alfred Steinhauser was the ECHO student newspaper, appointed Trinity’s first principal, championship athletic teams, our and 106 freshmen began the Catholic character and a reputation 1953-54 school. Four years later for doing the best we can at all times. they matriculated as Trinity’s first In June, our Class of ’57 gathered graduating class. for the first 50-year class reunion in Since then, that pioneering school history. The class and several Class of ’57 has gone on to do of their former teachers enjoyed a great things. Its alumni have day at Riggs Lake, a tour of Trinity served the Louisville community, and a dinner. Many thanks to the reunion committee: Joe Ackermann, Bob Arnold, Bruce Deckel, Phil Ernst, John George, Hank Glass, Bill Greenwell, Todd Hollenbach, Bruce Kapfhammer, Jack Riester, Ken Rogers, Jerry Sheehan, Terry Stich and Dave Weber. On behalf of the Trinity Family, thank you, Class of 1957, for the beautiful Trinity legacy you built. More photos on the inside back cover. Photos By J. Dawson Photography From top: Hank Glass ’57 (left) and norm Riggs ’57; Bob Arnold ’57; Todd Hollenbach ’57; (JAMES Dawson ’06) the Trinity Class of 1957 with several former teachers and staff members. To all Friends of Trinity, With this fall issue of The Leader, we are continuing the practice of presenting our Annual Report. We hope this is an effective way of keeping you apprised of our stewardship of your gifts, which are greatly appreciated. With your financial, moral and prayerful support, Trinity is able to offer significant advantages to our students: n Our beautiful and modern campus is alive year round with teaching, learning, athletics and activities. n We are able to attract and retain a skilled and devoted faculty and staff. n Hundreds of families are able to afford to send their son to Trinity with the help of tuition assistance. n We are able to provide an enriching learning environment for all students, regardless of their academic strengths and weaknesses. We received excellent financial support from alumni, parents of alumni, parents of current students and friends of Trinity during 2006-07. Because of our non-tuition revenue, we were able to charge a tuition that was nearly $2,000 less than the actual per-student cost. your gift to our annual fund appeal is crucial to our financial stability and our ability to provide tuition assistance for our students. Because of the annual fund’s importance, we have taken a fresh, new approach to it under the new name, The Trinity Fund. you may have known it as the Father Kevin Caster Annual Fund Appeal. The Trinity High School Foundation Board of Directors has approved a bold, new approach in launching The Trinity Fund. What hasn’t changed is its sole purpose: tuition assistance. The Trinity Fund expands affordability for all students. you might ask “Why the name change?” Our quest is to enhance the culture of charitable giving at Trinity. We no longer use the words “annual appeal.” We invite people to invest in Trinity’s mission, not beg or appeal. We invite people to contribute regularly, not just annually. Father Kevin Caster was a leader in supporting our annual fund efforts. We are preserving his legacy by designating all first-time donors in fiscal year 2008 as members of the Father Kevin Caster Inaugural Society. As you plan your charitable contributions this year, please consider making a first-time gift or increasing your last gift to our annual fund. ALL gifts are used for tuition assistance — not shoulder pads, soccer balls, salaries or supplies. your gift will help make a Trinity education affordable for all students, regardless of their social-economic background, so that each may excel academically and develop a social conscience to become Christ-like leaders of tomorrow. Donations to Trinity are made to the Trinity High School Foundation, a fully insured, 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. All gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible. Its records are audited annually. Please make a gift to The Trinity Fund this year. In His name, Robert J. Mullen ’77, Ed.D. President p RI n CI p A l ’ s C o R n e R success in All sizes By Daniel J. Zoeller, Princi Pa l My summer is largely spent thinking ahead. Another quiet measure comes from the remarkable I prepare letters a month ahead of time to go out to day-to-day work our teachers do in classrooms. Last parents and staff. I oversee the meticulous work our year, freshman counselor Sharon Bohannon affirmed academic deans do to get schedules ready for both stu- that work. Whenever she meets with freshmen, she dents and staff. The calendar itself is largely complete always checks to see how things are going. She also by summer, but “filling in” the days and agendas takes always asks what they like best about Trinity. Mrs. place in June and July. So, writing this article has come Bohannon tells us that without fail freshmen say that at a good time and allows me the opportunity to pause the teachers are what make this place so special. and reflect on last school year. These same teachers often share their talents outside For a variety of reasons, the Class of 2007 will go down the classroom. numerous teachers did so last year at 2 in history as one of our finest. By now you have no doubt conferences around the country. Already this year I heard about their record ACT scores and about the over have been notified that John Kahl ’69 will present at $19 million in scholarships. Our chorus, theater and print the annual convention of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in Orlando. A month later, Jason Daniel, Adam Klein and Rob Seng ’85 will present to the “Once again we find ourselves national Council of Teachers of English convention in new york City. Such work doesn’t always get the atten- amid another school year doing the tion it deserves. work we love to do, sharing with As I interviewed seniors last year, they told me similar stories. I talked to 160 seniors one-on-one and asked and learning from our students, them to rate their Trinity experience on a scale of 1- and living out the mission handed 10. There were lots of 10s and a few sixes. Overall, the down from Father Steinhauser and average was 8.6, not bad considering I was talking to teenaged young men itching for college after finishing other giants of Trinity’s past.” high school. When I asked them why they gave the school good marks, most said they’d made fantastic friends here. The second most frequent answer was, “I journalism programs all enjoyed great years with sev- got a good education here.” Such comments were shared eral recognitions and honors. you probably felt the same quietly, behind a closed door, but these conversations pride I did as we celebrated state championships in cross affirmed so much of what we do here. I also got some country, ice hockey, powerlifting, lacrosse and football, good suggestions to make Trinity even stronger. culminating in Trinity being named by Sports Illustrated One final quiet measure: At the conclusion of the as Kentucky’s top high school athletic program. 2006-07 school year, we had only one teacher tell us All of those honors are reason for celebration. Several she wanted to go elsewhere. And that was toward those times during the year we patted each other on the backs golden years of retirement. The fact that so many tal- in a variety of ways. At the same time, every school year ented teachers continue to come back year after year there are hidden successes, and often these are an even expresses another quiet but profound truth about the better measures. quality of our days here. For example, we typically begin each new school year All in all, last year was a great school year. Our seniors with a very small number of students on probation made us proud and were forthcoming and positive about agreements. For a variety of reasons, these young men their experiences here. Many struggling students found went astray of our mission and found their continued their niche. Our faculty positively influenced another education here at risk. After a meeting with counselors group of students, even as they shared their expertise and administrators, such students and parents agree to a outside our walls. set list of behavioral, academic or attendance outcomes The end result: Once again we find ourselves amid that must be met.