English teacher and alumna Hannah Schuttler reminisces about her Dickens’ Day as a seventh grader. She recalls that a lot of the elaborate details, including the quad decorations, the street market and the feast did not exist when she experienced Dickens’ Day. Schuttler has come to appreciate how Jeff Wilson, seventh grade English teacher and Middle School Dean, has brought meaning to the event.
Dickens’ Day is now an event that every seventh grader looks forward to as their end-of-the-semester project. Trinity Prep has many other traditions and events that students look forward to every year. Although some have stayed the same for over 50 years, many changes have occurred to these events. As a teacher who now teaches Dickens’A Christmas Carol, Schuttler looks back on changes that Wilson made.
“Mr. Wilson started teaching here when I was a junior,” Schuttler said. “And so when he came in, he looked at Dickens’ Day and was like, ‘Why do we do this? Let’s make something of it.’ And that’s where the project came in.”
Not all traditions have changed over time, some have stayed the same. Many traditions are forced to change positively with the times.
“Everything should always be evolving,” Schuttler said. “The fact that we’re able to keep some traditions so strong and secure, such as graduation and the rock, but also able to evolve and adapt to an ever changing society, is one of the best things about Trinity.”
One tradition that has stayed the same throughout Trinity’s history is graduation. Between passing diplomas around the rock and showcasing musical performances, not much has changed. English teacher Steve Krueger’s favorite part of graduation is the musical performances.
“They get to showcase their talent…so mixing it up with a little music, I think spices things up nicely,” Krueger said.
Not only are musical performances a staple at graduation but so is the passing of the diplomas. The sixth graders mimic this tradition when they meet their big brothers and sisters. The diploma passing has always been around, but the senior buddy tradition is not original to the school.
“The concept of bookending those two ideas like this, the sixth graders don’t really get it, but then when you’re a senior, you get to pass your diploma, that’s pretty fun,” Schuttler said.
Another tradition that is long standing is Headmaster’s Day. It started in 1970 as a school holiday after the football team brought home their first victory. To this day, the students participate in competitive events, like frisbee, kickball, and relay races, and then get to leave school after a half day.
“Faculty would sometimes play in some of the games and things like that,” Krueger said. “Which was fun when I was younger, but now probably I shouldn’t, so I’m OK with that.”
Headmaster’s Day has only seen slight changes over many years, including the rope pull and adding more games for middle schoolers. Oppossingly, Author Fest continues to evolve over its nine years. One of the most notable changes is that there is a significant increase in attending authors.
“The fact that we have New York Times best selling authors that are dying to come here is amazing,” Schuttler said. “We only will accept a certain number because we don’t need 50 people to come to campus. We really only need 20 and we need them to be awesome and amazing, and we’re able to get those.”
Krueger and Schuttler both predict that Author Fest will continue to grow regarding the number and quality of authors. Another fairly new tradition that is highly anticipated is Culture Fest.
Culture Fest has quickly become many students’ favorite event at Trinity. Students will argue that the best part about this event is the amount of countries represented and the food that comes from them.
“That thing blew up fast.” Krueger said. “Kudos to the crew who put that together. That’s actually one of my favorite things now. It just came on the scene lightning fast. I can only imagine that potentially more and more cultures get represented over time.”
Unlike Culture Fest, some events including Grandparents Day and the Eighth Grade Moving Up Dance have been around for a while. These long-lasting traditions are just part of what makes Trinity so special.
“It’s been a fun place to work for a very long time,” Krueger said. “Working with the kids has been awesome.”
Changes and growth in traditions does not take away from the overall Trinity experience. As Krueger mentioned, there is much more to the enjoyment of this school than just the events, like the students. Although it might be sad to see some traditions go, everything is for a reason. There is always something bigger or better coming.
“Trinity has never been stagnant,” Schuttler said. “It’s always been attempting to get better and be better whether that’s through the population of our students, through the teachers that we bring on or through the activities that we do, as long as we are evolving and changing in a positive light that reflects the values of the school, then it’s always a good thing.”
