Together for Trinity Celebrates 25 Years of Philanthropy
March 19, 2025
Trinity families and staculty members gathered for the annual Together for Trinity on Friday, March 14 to celebrate the community's generosity to the 2024-25 Trinity Fund.
For 25 years, the philanthropy to the annual fund has been a Trinity cornerstone, helping to provide financial support for families and professional development opportunities for staculty.
Head of School Imana Sherrill thanked the 93 percent of families who gave or pledged to the 2024-25 Trinity Fund, raising $518,000, while 89 families increased their giving from last year.
Ninety-eight percent of new Trinity families gave to the fund, and - for the 25th year - 100 percent of Trinity staculty members participated in the campaign.
Gifts to the Trinity Fund, Sherrill said, are just one of the many ways families show their commitment to Trinity, in addition to volunteering for service learning, coaching sports, and organizing community festivals.
“Thank you for all the ways you share your time, talent, and treasure, and the impact you are making every day for students and teachers,” she said.
Trinity alumni parent and Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker was the evening's featured speaker. Barker shared the impact Trinity had on her son, James TES’ 09, and Trinity’s part in the early days of Girls on the Run.
“Every day was joy” for James, Barker said. “He always felt loved at this place. There was never a moment that he did not feel that he did not belong.”
Founded in Charlotte in 1996, Girls on the Run has served more than 2 million children across the country. Trinity was the organization’s second independent school chapter and continues to be a popular program for students in grades 3-5.
Like Girls on the Run, Barker said “the culture here (at Trinity)... celebrate(s) our children and the essence they bring to this place and to the world.”
A key moment of every Together for Trinity is the reveal of the Light the Fire recipients. Made possible by the generosity to the Trinity Fund, the Light the Fire grant allows staculty members to pursue a passion that ignites their love of life-long learning, and provides them with an experience they can bring back to benefit the entire community.
This year’s recipients are Learning Catalyst Kimberly Monteleone and 2nd Grade Teacher Tatyana Corley.
Mrs. Monteleone will use her grant to continue Trinity’s school dog program following the retirement of Gus at the end of this school year. The Monteleone family’s dog, Teddy, will be trained to become a certified therapy dog.
“A therapy dog has been found to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, and improve social skills,” she said. Teddy’s presence at school will be another example of how Trinity “provide(s) an environment where students feel safe and comfortable so they can do the hard work of learning.”
Ms. Corley’s grant will take her to Australia to explore the Great Barrier Reef - a subject that 2nd Grade studies every year and brings to life in its Under the Sea Museum.
“By deepening my understanding of the reef’s delicate ecosystem and its challenges, I can better equip my students to explore environmental issues and their global impact,” she said.
Three-Peat! Trinity Mock Trial Team Wins Third Consecutive Championship
February 05, 2025
For the third consecutive year, Trinity Episcopal School’s Middle School mock trial team was champion in the North Carolina Bar Foundation’s annual Mock Trial competition.
It is a unique achievement for Trinity’s team to be the winner three years in a row, said Jennifer Bader, Trinity’s mock trial and speech and debate coach.
Trinity’s team of Middle School students competed at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Jan. 31 against five other schools from across North Carolina. School teams acted as the prosecution and defense in a felony hit-and-run case and took on the roles of defendant and witnesses.
“I think one thing that sets our team apart is how well our attorneys can argue the rules of evidence and handle objections,” Bader said. “That is something that is very hard to do. They’re arguing the same rules of evidence that are used in real court, which even professional attorneys find hard to argue.”
In preparation for the competition, teams spent months building their cases, crafting their questions for witnesses and their cross examinations, and writing opening statements and closing arguments.
During each round of the competition, the prosecution from one school’s team faces the defense from a different school. Students “have not seen any of the other teams prior to the competition, so you have to be prepared for whatever may come your way,” Bader said.
The verdict? Trinity was the only school in the competition to win each round and top every judge’s ballot.
Not only did the presentation of the case set Trinity’s team apart, Bader said, but also students’ performances on the witness stand. “Our witnesses really take on the character of their role and it shows in their performance,” she said.
Bader began Trinity's mock trial team in 2022 and has been coaching middle and high school mock trial programs for nearly two decades, beginning in California where she and husband Bert coached teams before moving to Charlotte.
“I just love when the light bulb comes on for kids,” she said. “It’s really challenging material, but they really get into it. Once they understand everything and are able to execute (a case), I just love that moment.”
The students on Trinity’s 2024-25 mock trial championship team are: Turner Allen, Andrew Arriola, Charlotte Bloom, Elle Bonner, Oliver Brown, Hampton Bundy, Ansley Hankins, Ethan Lavoie, Anna Glenn McCready, Claire Niemann, Stella Simonsen, India Thompson, Mary Madison Tonsmeire, Aleyah Whitaker, and Sally Zolak.
Freedom Fete Explores Lessons from Charlotte's Past
January 24, 2025
“I always have hope.”
Dorothy Counts-Scoggins, one of the first Black students to integrate Charlotte schools, shared her experiences and perspectives alongside Mecklenburg County Commissioner Arthur Griffin and author Greg Jarrell in a conversation Thursday at Trinity’s annual Freedom Fete. The panel discussion was moderated by Ayeola Elias, Trinity's Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging.
Trinity staculty, parents, and guests listened to a history of Charlotte’s decades-long transition, and the impact those changes have had on individuals and communities.
“We are all in this together,” said Griffin, “but you’re going to have to put forth a personal commitment and personal effort to make Charlotte work” for everyone.
Jarrell, whose book “Our Trespasses” chronicles the urban renewal movement of the 20th Century and the destruction of communities such as Griffin’s native First Ward, encouraged the audience to cultivate friendships and experiences beyond their normal circles.
“You can shop for your groceries in different neighborhoods,” Jarrell said. “If we don't want to live in a segregated city, then we can make some choices to desegregate our lives,” he said.
The point of this education, as Jarrell called it, is to become knowledgeable enough to advocate on behalf of those who have been affected by Charlotte’s growth and change.
At a government level, Griffin said policy changes would be needed to protect neighborhoods from further erosion at the hands of growth.
“The intentionality of policy makers like me (is) to make sure that there are opportunities for our neighborhoods to stay intact in a diverse way,” he said.
Beyond individual actions, Counts-Scoggins said entire neighborhoods need “to learn to work together.” During the conversation, she shared her work as a mentor to public school students. “It's our responsibility to be able to teach our children their history,” she said.
Her dedication to young people was forged as a 15-year-old student who was jeered and spat on as she and others integrated the all-white Harding High School. After leaving Harding to escape the violent reaction from her classmates and the school community, “one of the things that I (vowed to) do is to ensure that what happened to me would never happen to another child.”
In response to an audience question about the country’s current climate of questioning continued diversity initiatives, Griffin said “we are going to keep moving, whether it's above ground or underground, to make sure that our story is told and that we're committed to a better world.”
Counts-Scoggins encouraged the audience to remain hopeful: “We’ve gone through worse struggles, and we can get through this.”
2025-26 Academic Calendar Now Available
January 22, 2025
There’s still plenty in store for Wildcats this school year, but to help with planning around the 2025-26 school year, the academic calendar is now available.
Here are some key dates for next school year:
- First Day of School: Aug. 19, 2025
- Thanksgiving Break: Nov. 24-28, 2025
- Winter Break: Dec. 22, 2025 - Jan. 2, 2026
- Spring Break: March 16-20, 2026
- Last Day of School: June 3, 2026
Bishop Michael Curry Returns to Trinity
December 06, 2024
Trinity was honored to welcome the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry back to campus to lead the school community in a celebration of Advent.
“It really is a blessing to be here,” said Curry, who recently retired following a nine-year term as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Curry has been associated with Trinity since its founding in 2000, when Curry served as bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina. Over the years, he has been present for key moments in the school's history, including the blessing of the school's First Ward property and its main building, and Head of School installations.
Bishop Curry's visit coincided with the beginning of Advent - the season of anticipation and waiting for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. In his sermon, he said Advent was also reminder of God's presence.
“Wherever you love, God is looking out for you,” he said.
His message of love resonated around the world in 2018 when he delivered a sermon at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Following the Chapel service, Bishop Curry met with a group that included Trinity founders and local Episcopal clergy. He thanked current leadership for continuing the legacy and mission on which Trinity was founded.
Head of School Imana Sherrill arranged a FaceTime call between Bishop Curry and founding Head of School Louis “Smokey” Oats. During the call, Bishop Curry asked how Trinity chose Wildcats as its mascot. Students were given the task of finding an animal that could be found in the region and wasn't already used by another area school, Oats said.
In her introduction of Bishop Curry at Chapel, Mrs. Sherrill read a quote of the bishop's that “is exactly what we need right now”:
“We are all God's children. We're a part of a Jesus movement to change the world with the power of love. That love will turn the world upside down. If it's not about love, it's not about God.”
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