TES Class of 2026 Celebrated at Commencement
June 06, 2026
As the Trinity Class of 2026 processed into the Gym for their Baccalaureate and Commencement on June 1, 2026, it must have felt like it was just yesterday that they were walking down the steps of Jamie's Courtyard on their first day of Kindergarten.
The theme of how quickly their Trinity experience came and went was common in the student reflections shared at 8th Grade Chapel service prior to commencement.
“This moment felt like it was an eternity away," said student Aleyah Whitaker, one of 30 Trinity “lifers" in the graduating class.
Fifty-one students received a graduation certificate from Head of School Imana Sherrill and Board of Trustees Chair Eugene Brown, followed by a blessing from Trinity chaplains Rev. Lindsey Peery, Chaplain Matt Moorman, and Father Mitchell Felton.
In her remarks to the graduating class, Mrs. Sherrill noted that students not only recognized how quickly the K-8 years passed, but they also noticed they formed a school family along the way.
"There is just something very special about this class," she said.
Student Eliza Peery, in her reflection note, advised students in other grades to appreciate the time they have remaining at Trinity.
“Work extra hard on that project," she said, “because you'll remember the effort more than the grade. Try out for that solo, ask to hang out with someone new, be kind to everyone in your grade, because these are the moments that will stay with you forever.”
Twelve 8th Grade students were nominated by their classmates for special awards that were presented at the ceremony:
- Community Builder Award: Sarah Jane Jarmosevich, Reese McKeon and Eithan Moreno
- Honor and Integrity Award: Hawkins Atchison, Margaret Coyne and Tyler Peery
- Scholarship Award: Lucy Burris, Josie Smith and Cate Wright
- Spirituality Award: Eliza Peery, Brooklyn Stanczak and Aleyah Whitaker
Trinity alumnus Stryker Kelligrew TES ‘25, a recipient of the previous year’s Community Builder Award, was selected to deliver the commencement speech. She told graduates that they would make mistakes in their high school years, but said to treat them as learning opportunities.
The Class of 2026 will be continuing their education at the following schools:
- Myers Park High School
- Charlotte Country Day School
- Charlotte Latin School
- Covenant Day School
- East Mecklenburg High School
- Mountain Island Charter School
- Myers Park High School
- Northwest School of the Arts
- Providence Day School
- St Timothy's, Raleigh
- South Mecklenburg High School
Sherrill said those schools will benefit from having these Trinity graduates “because you're confident, you're kind, you're thoughtful, and you inject joy.”
Continuing a commencement tradition, 8th Grade leaders for Middle School Koinonia groups presented the graduating class's banner to be hung from the Gym rafters. The banner was designed as a ChatGPT prompt and conversation, symbolizing the rise of technology and artificial intelligence.
The students' Koinonia leaders presented their own traditional gift to the graduating students: a personalized wooden box that is left empty so that new memories and experiences can be contained within the memories they take from Trinity.
“We believe in you, and we can't wait for you to go and change the world,” Sherrill said.
First-Ever Giving Day a Success, Exceeds True North Goal
May 05, 2026
Trinity's first-ever Giving Day on Friday, May 1, was a success, exceeding the amount needed to reach the $5 million goal for the True North capital campaign.
When Giving Day launched, Trinity was $315,000 away from the goal. By the end of the day, the community made more than $418,000 in gifts and pledges, for a grand total of $5.1 million for True North.
41 percent of Trinity families have now made a gift or pledge toward True North, investing in the campaign's priorities of increased faculty and staff compensation, strengthened financial support, and enhanced classroom experiences.
To inspire Giving Day gifts, two anonymous families — one current family and one alumni family — matched the first $50,000 raised that day.
“We are so grateful for the show of support for Trinity and its people,” said Katie Keels, Chief Advancement Officer.
The public phase of the True North campaign began in September 2025 as Trinity marked the 25th anniversary of its ribbon-cutting. Prior to the public launch, True North's steering committee spent two years canvassing the Trinity community to gather input on what the campaign could accomplish.
The campaign was co-chaired by Trinity parent Sommers Errington and alumni parent John Laughlin. Comprising the Steering Committee were: Eugene Brown, Board of Trustees chair, Ashley and Kwame Alexander, Katie Cornwell, Tere Ey, Angus McBryde, Mary and Danny Merlin, and Grady Smith.
To learn more about True North, click here.
2026 Light the Fire Grants Announced
March 10, 2026
Congratulations to the 2026 staculty recipients of Trinity's Light the Fire grant: Middle School and Music Chaplain Matt Moorman, and Band Director and Grades 3-4 Music Teacher David Wallace.
The grants were announced on March 6 at the annual Together for Trinity event celebrating the Trinity community's generosity to the Trinity Fund.
Chaplain Moorman will travel to Scotland on a pilgrimage that will allow time for retreat and research of Scotland’s religious history. He will weave the experience into the Middle School’s faith studies curriculum and the school’s wider spiritual life, including Chapel.
Teacher Wallace will attend the Creative Musicians Retreat in New Hampshire. The program allows musicians, composers, and teachers to be immersed in new music and creative approaches in a natural setting. He said the retreat would nourish his creativity and help “support students and staculty in their creative endeavors.”
The Light the Fire program is a unique professional development opportunity for Trinity's faculty and staff who have been with Trinity for at least three years. The grant is intended to provide experiences that align with a recipient's passions, push them outside their comfort zones, and amplify their personal and professional growth.
In addition to celebrating this year’s recipients, Together for Trinity looked at the impact of last year’s grants from the 2025 recipients, Kimberly Monteleone and Tatyana Corley.
The Trinity community’s generosity to the Trinity Fund makes experiences like these possible. As was shared Friday, the 2025-26 Trinity Fund has raised more than $531,000 — exceeding the goal of $500,000 in record time. Meanwhile, Trinity’s capital campaign — True North — has raised more than $4.6 million toward its $5 million goal.
We are grateful to those who have supported each of these campaigns through your generosity, as well as those who have served as ambassadors or served on committees.
To learn more about the Trinity Fund and True North campaigns and to make an investment in Trinity, click here.
Trinity Artists Honored in Local Exhibits
March 07, 2026
Trinity artists in Lower School and Middle School were selected recently to have their art showcased in two exhibits.
As part of Youth Art Month in March, an exhibit at the Carolina Theatre included art pieces by six Lower School students:
- Hera North (Kindergarten)
- Zion Young (1st Grade)
- Mary Wishart (2nd Grade)
- Eli Dalton and Julia Harnett (3rd Grade),
- Henry Pelletier (4th Grade).
“I am truly so honored to teach these wonderful artists,” said K-4 Art Teacher Shelby Hawk.
The exhibit, which includes art from students in grades K-5 in the Charlotte area, continues until March 30.
During Black History Month in February, 17 7th and 8th Grade students from the Middle School Studio Art class displayed their artwork in an exhibit at the VAPA Center, “Deeply Rooted,” illustrating Charlotte's Black history.
Two Trinity students received a stipend in special recognition of their art pieces: 8th Grade student Adrian Martinez for “The Laureate,” celebrating Jaki Shelton Greene, North Carolina’s first Black female poet laureate; and 7th Grade student Cate Bonner for “The Boy Who Flew,” which was based on the experience of two boys whose uncle’s house was bombed.
To view the Middle School artwork, click here.
Trinity Magazine Wins International Award
February 12, 2026
The Trinity Voice, Trinity's semiannual magazine, received an international marketing and communications award from InspirED School Marketers.
Trinity's silver award in the magazine writing category was for the Spring 2025 article on the history of Trinity's campus as the school commemorated its 25th anniversary. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with historians, the article – “Langston Hughes Slept Here” – told the story of what stood on Trinity's location in First Ward long before the school's founding, and the impact of 20th Century urban renewal policies in First Ward.
The annual InspirED Brilliance Awards is the only international competition that honors excellence in marketing and communications for private and independent schools.
Entries were evaluated by a volunteer panel of 69 marketing experts from around the world, all of whom are professionals in private schools or businesses that focus on private school marketing.
Judges commented that Trinity's winning entry was a “(u)nique piece on the unsettling history of the school's location and responsibility to reverse engineer the city's history of racial segregation.”
To read the article, click here.
