During the last few days of school each year, all Upper School students at Trinity Academy are required to participate in mandatory whole-class Service and Experiential Learning Activities (SELAs), which provide them with unique learning activities in new environments. Whether scheduled before or after the high school graduation ceremony, these experiences occur on regular school days, and all students are required to participate in lieu of attending their regularly scheduled classes. These unique activities are essential components of our curriculum, have specific educational objectives, and help our students to further develop their various learning skills in structured and/or challenging environments. Costs and registration information are provided to parents within the first few months of school.

All students (7th-12th) will write a reflection about their experience and submit it to their SELA supervising teacher by the end of the service or experiential learning activity. This can take the form of a handwritten essay, a journal, a poem, etc. and will be submitted to each student’s Humanities or English teacher for credit as a 4th quarter grade.

Our expectation is for students to demonstrate higher order thinking through a guided analysis of what they are experiencing, rather than simply writing factual sentences about daily events. And, they will be challenged to view their experience through spiritual lenses, and seek applications to broader life issues. In following Matthew 23:11 which reads, “the greatest among you will be your servant,” three of our six Upper School learning activities are service-oriented learning experiences that take place in the local community.

  • Grade 7 – Service Learning
  • Grade 8 – Washington, D.C. – American history, culture, and geography
  • Grade 9 – Service learning
  • Grade 10 – New York City – American culture, geography, history, and art
  • Grade 11 – Service learning
  • Grade 12 – Italy – European history, culture, art, foreign language, geography, literature

All students are required to participate in either their primary or alternate SELA identified below.

 

Grade 7

The primary experiential learning activity for 7th grade students is to participate in a local service learning experience.

 

Grade 8

The primary experiential learning activity for 8th grade students is to visit and explore Washington, D.C. 8th graders who do not visit Washington, D.C. will join the 7th grade students on their service learning experience.

 

Grade 9

The primary experiential learning activity for 9th grade students is to participate in a local service learning experience.

 

Grade 10

The primary experiential learning activity for 10th grade students is to visit New York City to study American culture, geography, history, and art. 10th graders not visiting New York City will join the 8th grade students on their service learning experience.

 

Grade 11

The primary experiential learning activity for 9th grade students is to participate in a local service learning experience.

 

Grade 12

The primary experiential learning activity for 12th grade students is to visit Italy to study European history, culture, art, foreign language, geography and literature.