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To improve as a runner you need to run.  To improve as a pianist you need to play the piano.  To improve at baseball you need to play baseball.  To improve as a reader you need to read.

There is no doubt that the volume of reading done by a child contributes to developing vocabulary, increasing background knowledge on a variety of topics and building stronger comprehension.

“Reading volume is critical because it provides opportunities for vocabulary growth, knowledge acquisition, and the development of fluid word recognition” - Anne E. Cunningham & Keith Stanovich, 1998.

This research is solid, but what is also solid is the fact that overall reading volume by students across the country is decreasing.  The reading occurring today is more likely to be of shorter pieces.  The reading of full books has declined.  Students are reading less by choice and reading less volume.

“Many students no longer arrive at college - even highly selective elite colleges - prepared to read books” - R. Horowitz, 2024.

Frequently reading and reading by volume provide the opportunities for students to build what makes future reading easier.  Without this, students do not have the repeated exposure to ideas, language, and vocabulary that will help develop their abilities that make reading feel natural and not exhausting.

By choosing to read by choice, by reading frequently, and having a high volume of reading students develop:

Fluency - accuracy, automaticity, and prosody which all together support comprehension by freeing the cognitive processes to making meaning

Stamina - reading becomes easier and is done for pleasure and not as a chore

Prior Knowledge and Vocabulary - comprehension depends on this and it is accumulated through reading extended texts or books

In conclusion, just read!

Last Spring I helped out at my grandson’s baseball team practice.  Basically, it was a batting practice and I was a designated pitcher for the duration.  The kids were all about 8 years old or so.  Some could hit nearly every pitch and some hit with authority.  Some could hit most of the pitches.  A few struggled to make any contact.  Some had a batting stance and a swing like a future baseball player.  Some…well, did not.

What I observed was that each young player was proud of what they did at the level they were at.  A few were disappointed if they hit a weak pop-up, but beamed when they struck the ball solidly with that familiar “ping.”  Most were excited when stringing together good contact over several pitches in a row.  A few felt accomplished when the bat hit any part of the ball.  A few times I was focusing on where the child swung and I tried to throw the ball to their swing.

Isn’t this scenario about all of us in this life?  Depending on what we are doing, some are trying to consistently drive the ball back up the middle with authority.  Others are just trying to make any kind of contact at all.

It takes time.  It takes patience.  Very few are accomplished at something on the first try.  Not even the second, third, fourth, etc.  Malcolm Gladwell discussed the theory of 10,000 hours to master something.  That’s a lot of swings.

I applauded each batter for what was accomplished.  I wanted each of them to leave the practice feeling some kind of success.  I gave a few pointers here and there that hopefully can help.  Don’t we all need that coach and cheerleader in our life?  Don’t we all need someone who will throw the ball in the path of our bat once in a while?  I think that’s true and each of us can do it for someone we care about.

So, get out there today.  Throw some productive batting practice to someone.

On Wednesday March 4 Trinity Chess took on Homeshcoolers.  Homeschoolers are a very good team, and they came into our match with only one loss.

 

At the end of the first round, the score was tied 11 to 11. Second round, Trinity outscored Homeschoolers 12.5 to 9.5.  In the third round Trinity again outscored Homeschoolers by a score of 12 to 10.  Final score: Trinity 35.5  --  Homeschoolers 30.5

 

One game that caught my eye was by Bodie Butts.  He was in an end game with a couple of pawns and a couple of rooks.  His opponent had a couple of pawns but only one rook.  Bodie started by going after his opponent's pawns.  Once he had removed them from the board, he got his opponent to trade rooks.  Then Bodie used his remaining rook to escort his remaining pawn in for promotion.  When you promote a pawn, you can take any piece you want, and most players take a queen.  Bodie took another rook instead of a queen.  This can be a smart move because it avoids accidental stalemates.  With his two rooks, Bodie calmly performed the ladder checkmate to the win the game!

 

The following players went undefeated (3 wins): Tobechukwu Okoli; Nathan Makut; Aysce Villaloboz; Weston Baker; and Bryson Stangby.

March Madness continues. You can see the updated brackets here:
Grades 1-3 March Madness
Grades 4-6 March Madness

“Some People are Never Going to Clap for You.  Win Anyway.”

This is a quote that I recall.  No credit given to anyone, which is just as well.  The author probably figured that nobody would clap and said it or wrote it anyway.

In Sunday School many months ago my grandkids were obviously talking about the Fruits of the Spirit and were asking about generosity.  I didn’t want them to think that being generous only meant giving away material things, but also could be interpreted as showing gratitude.  It was shared that we could show gratitude to a classmate for mastering something or showing gratitude to a teammate who made a great play or scored a point.  

I was thinking more about this later and connecting that conversation with this quote. 

 

“Some People are Never Going to Clap for You.  Win Anyway.”

In Chapel we have also talked and shared about this concept.  I have shared about how we can “warm each other’s hearts.”  How often do we either feel unappreciated or we fail to give gratitude?  Maybe it’s at home?  Somebody has to do the chores and prepare the meals. Maybe it’s colleagues or supervisors in the workplace.  Sometimes it is neglect, but sometimes it just doesn’t enter the mind of an individual to show gratitude.  Maybe they just expect the effort or don’t see it.  I think we should go out of our way to notice and note what others are doing.

Well, it doesn’t always happen, so we should be sure to practice self-gratitude too.  Use self-talk to thank and promote yourself.  You work hard, do good things and deserve the recognition even if it is self-gifted.

Another thought is related to sports.  Teams that win consistently eventually develop resentment from fans of other teams.  It doesn’t matter the effort or achievements, people are not going to applaud.  Recently, I think the New England Patriots would fall into this.  In history, the New York Yankees fall into this.  A vast number of fans did not applaud them, but they just went out and won anyway to acquire their own gratitude.

Look around for those doing great work, making achievements, and winning.  Give them some applause.  Give them some gratitude.  Most likely, they are just going to WIN ANYWAY.

On Wednesday, February 18, Trinity Chess took on Greenwood Chess.  Trinity prevailed by a score of 35 to 4.  One game that stood out to me was by Ryan Hart.  He was in a middle game with a slight lead in material.  Ryan’s opponent used a pawn to attack Ryan’s knight.  Ryan used the tactic of different threat levels, and attacked a higher value piece.  This went on for two or three more moves (Ryan kept making bigger threats), and then Ryan got checkmate.  The interesting thing was that the knight his opponent never had the time to take was instrumental in the checkmate!

 

On Thursday, February 19, Trinity Chess took on newcomer Pease Chess.  Similar to the day before, Trinity prevailed by a score of 31 to 8.  The game that stood out to me that day was by Nathan Makut.  Nathan was in the end game with a queen versus a rook, bishop and pawn (there may have been a few more pawns on the board, but basically it was an even end game).  Nathan had the correct plan of trying to use his queen to fork, skewer or pin his opponents king, rook, and/or bishop.  Nathan kept making threats, but his opponent kept seeing them and responding.  I was worried that Nathan would run out of time, but he finally got one of these tactics to work and won the rook.  Then he quickly captured the pawn(s) and bishop, and Nathan won the game with time to spare!

March Madness starts next week! Click below to view the brackets.
Grades 1-3
Grades 4-6
Grades 7-12

“The fundamental question that all educators must ask is this:  Is what I am doing helping students to be ready for their lives in the context of the future?  Not for college, not for a job, but for a life worth living?” - David Jakes

There's plenty to unpack in this statement, and I certainly won’t empty all of it.

Change is part of life and change happens exponentially faster as we have moved from the 20th century to the 21st.  With change comes what is needed and wanted by society.  These wants and needs dictate jobs and careers.  We really have no clue what this means for this group of 5-10 year olds today.  What are the jobs of the near and distant future?  Sure, we will probably need doctors, but will the skills and knowledge of the medical field be the same?  The point is that we can’t help children develop with specificity.  They need skills and knowledge that applies across  a wide spectrum of careers.  Another phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st century is how people quickly change careers/jobs.  This is due to change in the wants and needs of society and also that people have the ability to be flexible in careers because of their skills.  Currently, many educators are moving to other fields that require collaboration, leadership, and organizational skills.

I think about this daily.  We are not preparing these kids to be successful in the next grade level or in the next level of schooling.  We need to instill more in them than that.  We need to help them become great thinkers.  Great problem solvers.  Innovators.  We need to feed their curiosity and nurture it.  A curious mind is an active mind.  Above all, we need to help them become good people. People that contribute to society through knowledge, teamwork, creativity, etc.

Wow!  That’s a tall order.  Preparing students to be successful in life.  To have a life of purpose and meaning!

On Wednesday January 28th Trinity Chess took on newcomer St. Ann’s.  This is St. Ann’s first year to compete with other schools in chess, and they gave a valiant effort.  Trinity, however, easily prevailed by a score of 62 to 4. Team captains Sterling W. and Jaxson W. led the charge both going undefeated.

 

I saw two interesting checkmates in this match.  The first was by 5th grader Ryan H.  Somehow Ryan lured the opposing king to the center of the board, and checkmated with a bishop, knight, rook and pawn.  The king was between the knight and bishop. The bishop was delivering check, and at the same time defending the knight.  The knight, rook and pawn were cutting off the escape squares.  Nice!

 

The other checkmate was a variation on the rare two move checkmate, and it was preformed by 6th grader Ukwouri E.  Most chess players know about the four move checkmate (also called the scholars mate), but only a few know about the two move checkmate.  If you want to know how this checkmate works, just ask a member of the Trinity Chess Club!

The January Month of Mystery has concluded with much excitement!

We kicked off this literacy and problem solving adventure the day we all returned back to school after the Christmas/New Year Holiday. Each student in each grade level received a copy of a book from the mystery genre.  Students and teachers read the selection and engaged in problem solving as the mysteries unfolded.  The grade level selections were as follows:

Kindergarten - Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard & James Marshall

First Grade - The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin

Second Grade - Mysteries According to Humphrey by Betty Birney

Third Grade - Bunnicula by James Howe

Fourth Grade - From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

The reading and discussion of these texts concluded this week along with another mystery for our Lower School students.  When we all returned in early January it was discovered that the Golden Ticket Box was missing.  Some clues were visible and we made note of that evidence.  Throughout the month a suspect list was developed and evidence was shared at the conclusion of the daily Chapel service.  Students were developing their theories of who absconded with this box and the possible motive of why.

Yesterday, each class had to complete a task with a “Glow Day” theme.  With those completions, students received more evidence/clues about the mystery.

Finally, the mystery is solved and the box is returned to its rightful location and all is well.  Be sure to ask your student about their grade level book and the mystery of the missing Golden Ticket Box.

Reading is the cornerstone of all academic success, but not every student is a motivated reader.  Our school-wide Mystery Reading event helps to transform reading from a solitary task into an exciting community adventure.  We have our school-wide mystery of the missing Golden Ticket box that engages our students in a “real” event in which analytical thinking is activated.  This kind of thinking can also be used as students engage in the reading of their grade-level mystery book.

Mystery stories are well suited for younger readers because they are inherently interactive. Unlike other genres, a "whodunnit" invites the reader to step into the role of a detective, leading to several key benefits:

During this January Month of Mystery we hope that every student becomes a "super-sleuth."  This shared experience levels the playing field for all readers, including those who may typically be reluctant to pick up a book. Clues are revealed as we proceed and the "culprit" will finally be revealed. Through this shared experience students will have not only solved a mystery but have also strengthened their reading stamina, vocabulary, and analytical skills for life.

Who did it? Where is it?  

A good mystery can be lots of fun and Lower School is kicking off 2026 with the January Month of Mystery!

For several years Lower School has started the year with a community reading experience generally known as One School, One Book.  Several years ago the entire school community read a fun adventure titled Fenway and Hattie.  The 24-25 school year began with everyone in Lower School reading Toys Go Out.  These were great, motivating reading experiences that brought us all together.  Time to do something different.

This year we waited until January to bring some excitement to returning to school after a long holiday.  Instead of everyone reading the same book, all of Lower School will be united by reading from the mystery genre.  Each grade level will enjoy a different mystery.  Some will read it together in school and other grade levels will support students reading independently at school and outside of school.  Each grade level’s book is a mystery.

Kindergarten - Miss Nelson is Missing

First Grade - The Trouble with Chickens

Second Grade - Mysteries according to Humphrey

Third Grade - Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery

Fourth Grade - From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Thanks to a TCA Grant, each student will receive a copy of their book to keep.

The January Month of Mystery will begin on Wednesday, January 7, with the presentation of a mystery and a scavenger hunt for each class.  The end of the scavenger hunt will lead each group to their selected mystery.  During the month, clues will be presented to try to answer the mystery of what happened to the Golden Ticket Box.

We hope that with some of the added excitement, even reluctant readers will become engaged in reading from the genre of Mystery.

The Trinity Chess Team has started practice for the upcoming season.  Hopes are high for another good finish. 

 

Here are the top performers per grade through December 2025:

2nd grade: Knox Lincoln (1023 rating over 8 games)

2nd grade: Meyers Hudson (960 rating over 4 games)

2nd grade: Ryden Stelmaschuk (915 rating over 6 games)

2nd grade: James Ragsdale (899 rating over 8 games)

 

3rd grade: John Samuell (1150 rating over 7 games)

3rd grade: Andrew Joubert (1040 rating over 9 games)

3rd grade: Preston Moyer (1000 rating over 5 games)

3rd grade: Luke Plagens (934 over 8 games)

 

4th grade: Field Gripp (950 rating over 7 games)

4th grade: Raj Annamalai (907 rating over 14 games)

4th grade: Charlie Schmalbach (895 rating over 16 games)

4th grade: Nathan Makut (889 rating over 8 games)

4th grade: Mason Midkiff (886 rating over 13 games)

4th grade: Maddox Stelmaschuck (880 rating over 9 games)

4th grade: Adam Walker (854 rating over 14 games)