Dear Trinity,

My love affair with you began over 8 years ago when the teacher of my daughter’s 3 year old class said, “You should apply her to Trinity School. She is the perfect Trinity Child.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I thought it must be a compliment, so off I went to visit. I enjoyed the tour, but I respect an old building with cracks and crevices just as much as I like shiny and new. The 6th Grader that spoke was very impressive, but not necessarily relevant to my kids.  Our daughter was fortunate enough to get a spot and, over the the course of the year, a love was born. The next year my two other children became students, and I began teaching. Little did I know how much joy teaching in your halls would bring to me.

Trinity, you have brought such richness to my life that it is hard to put my feelings for you in words. I’ve made life-long friends, my kids have thrived, I have loved and adored hundreds of students, and we have all learned so much. But as I reflect I keep remembering what my child’s teacher said years ago about her being the perfect Trinity Child. The perfect Trinity Child? What is the perfect Trinity Child? Is it Caroline? What about Tommy? Or Hannah? And this, Trinity School, is where I find your soul. Because the answer is simple. Every child at Trinity is a perfect Trinity Child. You see each child as their own being. Some are full of imperfections, others have incredible wit, many have a bad case of the wiggles, and hundreds fill the rooms with giggles. Whatever their strength, challenge, or gift, you embrace it, appreciate it, and nurture it.

Students come and go. Teachers and staff come and go. Even administrators come and go. Some stay for a year, others for thirty. But the constant is your care, love, affection, and appreciation for all of us fortunate enough to spend time within your doors.  It is your soul. It is your spirit. It is what you are. So thank you, my dear Trinity. Thank you for nurturing my three children, all perfect in their own very different ways. Thank you for challenging, supporting, and appreciating my colleagues. Thank you for embracing me and giving me a place to reach, grow, and challenge myself. And, most importantly, a place to teach and love hundreds of amazing, wonderful, lovable, absolutely unique, adorable children. We tell our students when they leave that once a Trinity Child always a Trinity Child. I choose to believe once a Trinity Teacher always a Trinity Teacher. It’s been a wonderful ride, my friend. This teacher will miss you.

Learner, Thinker, Writer Suzanne Edwards serves the Trinity School Community as a 5th Grade Science Teacher.