General Information: Parents as Partners
Parents as Partners
We are a community of learners, intentionally interdependent in our roles and intertwined in our lives. As full members of our community, your role as a responsible and contributing parent-partner is critical. Your privileges include automatic membership in the Parents’ Association (PA). Please refer to the Parents’ Association Section for detailed information about opportunities for involvement in the PA.
As a partner with your classroom teacher, we hope that you will:
- Communicate frequently with your child’s teacher, as well as with other adults within the School. Each classroom teacher has established a system for two-way communication. We encourage you to use this – early and often – for any questions or information we need to know. Look for a link to Good News from Trinity, a school-wide newsletter, each Tuesday in your email inbox, or visit our Web site anytime after 12pm for the latest issue.
- Attend scheduled conferences in November and March and initiate additional conversations, as needed
- Call ahead to schedule a time for conversations with your child’s teacher so that (s)he can offer – and you receive – the kind of undivided attention deserved
- Treat faculty, staff and fellow parents with courtesy and respect and assume positive intent
- When questions or concerns arise, do not wait to seek clarification; we welcome you and your input. Use the various channels available to you. First, talk with your child’s teacher. If the matter is not completely resolved, please contact the appropriate dean. If further conversation will be helpful, Father Smokey is always ready to hear from you.
- Join us in the Dickson Dining Hall for lunch. You may purchase your Wildcat Café ticket for $6 at the front desk before you go to the Dining Hall. You will not be able to get your lunch without a ticket.
- Ensure that your children arrive in their classrooms on time and are properly dressed in clothes that meet the dress code and will ensure your children’s comfort as they walk about Uptown Charlotte.
- Check out the Wish Lists posted around our school building. Perhaps you have the very thing we need in your attic, basement or garage (books, magazines, games for rainy days in Extended Day, lamps, rugs, pillows, etc.)
- Join your child for school activities such as our Friday community chapel, Service Learning partnership adventures and field trips. Drivers and chaperones will be needed for many of our field adventures beyond uptown, as well as for Middle School sports. If you are volunteering in any capacity with students, we will ask you to fill out a form giving Trinity permission to do a background check and to participate in a child protection training session. If you are driving students, we will also ask for a copy of your insurance card. When you join us for field trips or assisting with special activities in the classroom, we ask that non-school age siblings NOT come along. We need your eyes on our children at hand!
- We welcome parents to our classrooms during special activities and for quick drop-ins. There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the School. Extended, un-programmed time in your child’s classroom is not recommended.
At home, we hope that you will:
- Invest time in daily family experiences (walks, talks, shared books, preparing meals, etc.)
- Put limits on TV, cell phone, video and computer activity
- Strive to find that perfect balance between demonstrating support and involvement in your child's school life and honoring your child's need to become independent and self-supporting
As a member of the Parents’ Association, we hope that you will:
- Read the Good News and The Trinity Voice with great care to learn more about what is happening at Trinity and how to be more involved; visit www.tescharlotte.org to find out what is happening at Trinity and how to become more involved
- Get to know your Room Parents (Lower School) and Grade Representatives (Middle School); they are great resources for information about volunteer activities and/or special events, both within the classroom and our community
- Volunteer to take on a project, or serve on a committee such as Office Support and Book Fair, or serve as a “host family” to help a new family learn the ropes; complete the Give Us a Hand form available at the front desk, or on our Web site at www.tescharlotte.org
- Work with your Room Parents (Lower School) and Grade Representatives (Middle School) and say, “YES!” when you are asked to help
- Participate in the Annual Fund and other giving opportunities
- Participate in the Harris Teeter school program. OUR NUMBER is 3989. (Please remember that you need to re-enroll in this program at the start of each school year.) Other opportunities to contribute to Trinity include collecting Harris Teeter milk caps, General Mills “Box Tops,” signing up for UPromise and letting them know at Target and Office Depot that you want a portion of your proceeds to go to Trinity through their community initiatives.
