Half a century into its existence, Trinity celebrated 50 years of learning, service and tradition on Sept. 12 through 15. The four days of festivities were meant to reach out to students, parents, staff and alumni, all of whom were able to partake in the celebration and gain their own perspectives on the school’s past and future.
Fiftieth anniversary events such as the service assembly, the chapel service and Fifty Fest attempted to connect students with the values of the school that have lasted since its founding in 1968. Parent Regulations Manager and Major Gifts Officer Elizabeth McIntosh helped to plan and create the anniversary activities alongside a committee with members from the Board of Trustees, the Alumni Advisory Board, the faculty and administrators.
“You don’t want to create a situation for the students that keeps making them look backward because it is a 50th celebration,” McIntosh said. “We tried to strike a balance between honoring our foundations and our founders and looking into the future.”
The chapel service on Thursday, Sept. 13 connected many of Trinity’s values and traditions to the students. The song “ad astra per aspera,” written for former Headmaster Craig Maughan by Michael J. Miller, was performed by the Honors Trinity Chamber Orchestra, Honors Advanced Orchestra, Vocal Society and the Wind Ensemble. Right Reverend Gregory Brewer presided over the chapel along with Father Nelson Pinder, who has been associated with the school since his godson attended in its earliest years.
“Canon Hay had a very strong feeling about the Episcopal faith and and why a faith-based education was important,” McIntosh said. “[The chapel service] was our celebration of our foundations and our founders and our roots.”
Students got another taste of life in 1968 on Friday, Sept. 14 when a special lunch was held in the style of the first school lunches served at Trinity. McIntosh,van alumna from the class of 1978, helped design the lunch.
“We were trying to come up with something a little bit different from [Lunch on the Lawn], so we decided to keep it a little bit lower key and have T-shirts for everybody,” McIntosh said. “The head maintenance man really did cook our burgers and they were honestly called Ernie burgers, so we thought it might be fun to do a cookout at the lake like the old days.”
Many things about Trinity have changed in the last 50 years, including its five headmasters, the numerous new buildings and the size of the student and teacher population. At its opening, Trinity had 173 students and was limited to Brokaw Hall, Witmer Hall, Stuart Hall and Holloway Hall to hold all students from grades seven to 12. Witmer Hall even served as the location for theater productions, meetings and chapel services.
Associate Head of School Dennis Herron has worked at Trinity for 23 years and has witnessed quite a bit of the change. Much of that change has helped to form his expectations for the school in the future.
“[In the next 50 years], I want Trinity to remain a leader as an independent school in Orlando, in Florida, in the Southeast,” Herron said. “I want us to continue to grow and continue to establish and maintain our identity and our mission and stick to that and be proud of it and work hard to be the best possible school that we can be that serves our students well and our families well.”
Herron also said that the school’s future will likely hold many more changes than anyone can anticipate.
“The changes in the first 50 years that the school has seen, in terms of the community and the country and the world, are going to be nothing compared to the lightning changes that are going to occur in the next 50 years,” Herron said.
McIntosh said that the school has undoubtedly changed from her days as a student at Trinity, but it also has kept its character throughout the years.
“What hasn’t changed is just the family feeling and the sense of community that we all have in this school,” McIntosh said.
With the future ahead, the 50-year mark has created a point for students, faculty and alumni to stop and remember the foundations of the school, and the 50th anniversary celebrations have reaffirmed the core values of Trinity to a new generation of students.
“[I want the students] to understand where the school came from,” Herron said. “What the purpose was, how the school was founded, the values upon which it was founded, and what’s important to the school and to the students because, really, the students are the school.”
