Our First TCS College Fair
Written by Nancy Keegan
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Though we typically think of the college process as a junior/senior year topic, it's actually better to get our students thinking about college as early as freshman year. The information and questions a 9th grade student may have is going to be very different from a 12th grade student. A high school freshman’s main concern when thinking about college may be, “Will I like my roommate?” or, “Do they have a Division I volleyball team?” Ultimately, we want our 9th grade students to be curious about college and appreciate that they are working towards building a strong transcript that will shine on college applications.
In 10th grade, the questions start to get a little more practical, like “How much does college cost?” And maybe they begin to realize that every grade on their transcript matters and may affect merit scholarships. By the time a student is a Junior they probably have a short (or long) list of schools they are interested in and the questions are ever more meaningful, like, “Can I get credit for the 10 years of Latin I took at TCS?” Or, “Will there be work study opportunities for me to help pay my college costs?” All of these questions, from the college-life questions to the important financial and academic decisions ahead, are important for our students to ask before they start an application.
Each fall, approximately 200 colleges and universities attend the NACAC College Fair in Honolulu. We recommend that all students plan to attend this fair in their Sophomore or Junior year. While in Hawaii, many mainland schools reach out to local high schools and request to visit the Juniors and Seniors. Talking with the college representatives is a fantastic opportunity for a high school student.
This year, we sought to bring colleges to our students by hosting our first college fair, TCS College Exploration, held last Friday afternoon, with 19 schools answering our call. The list of colleges and universities present included Grand Canyon University, Northern Arizona University, Trinity Western University*, Whitworth College, Corban University*, University of Hawaii West Oahu, George Fox University*, California Baptist University, University of Hawaii Manoa-School of Engineering, Washington State University, Chaminade University, Windward Community College*, Hawaii Tokai International College, Hawaii Pacific University*, New Saint Andrew's College*, Biola University*, Pacific Rim Christian University, and Pacific Lutheran University*. Students and parents were given an opportunity to approach the school representatives, begin asking questions, and collect college information. They were then able to meet with 6 schools in a small group format allowing for a more in-depth presentation and additional questions.
TCS is graduating a 7th senior class in May 2019. We are so excited for these students and the future God has in store for them, and we ask all our TCS ohana to pray for our students' futures. With the help of events like the TCS College Exploration, TCS is able to grow our students into the adults they are meant to be, and prepare for the years beyond TCS.
* indicates schools where TCS alumni have attended or are currently attending.
Coming Soon: The Importance of Being Earnest
The TCS Drama program is proud to present Oscar Wilde's classic play:
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
Friday and Saturday, April 20, 21, 27, 28 | Doors open at 6, the show starts at 6:15pm
Trinity Christian School Sanctuary 875 Auloa Rd, Kailua
Purchase tickets online or at the door.
Let us entertain you with The Importance of Being Earnest.
Theatre is the portrayal on stage the truths of our world’s reality—beauty, pain, laughter, fear, heroism, foolishness, tragedy, and joy. Even if that portrayal is an absurd one, plays can reflect our humanity. Students of drama learn self-discipline, teamwork, physical movement and stage presence. Family and friends are given the chance to laugh or simply be moved in a way that only theater is able to bring about.
This Victorian play gently jests at the societal mores surrounding love and marriage at the end of the nineteenth century. Our stellar cast embodies the characters with great charm, as we are taken into a story that shows just how silly people are. Add large hats, lots of muffins, and a happy ending, and you’re sure to love this play!
The Importance of Being Earnest first opened in London in 1895 and is considered the ultimate culmination of Oscar Wilde’s artistic career. The upper-class protagonist creates a fictitious alter-ego in order to escape his social obligations, but somehow ends up with more than he bargained for. Funny banter between the characters and improbable twists in the plot result in a preposterous story that is fun for the whole family. This popular work that has been continually revived and produced in movie form as well over the years.
Senior Sam Gilbert actually started his Drama career at Trinity as Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest as an 8th grader. In this, his last high school play, Sam is Student Director and is masterfully portraying Algernon one last time. It has been truly wonderful to watch Sam hone his craft and grow into such a passionate and dedicated actor. His physical acting skills, attention to detail and ability to represent complex human emotion make him a brilliant example to the younger thespians. Sam has starred in Trinity plays for five years, and we will miss his talented portrayals once he is off to college.
Senior Lenya Goda rounds out her time on the Trinity Stage portraying the frightening Lady Bracknell. This disapproving character throws a wrench into the love-lives of the protagonist and his betrothed. She starred in Pygmalion as Eliza last Fall, and over the last few years has played a British housewife, a Matchmaker, a Shakespearian servant and a grumpy old lady. She again plays that role masterfully as wrinkles will once again adorn her face in Earnest.
Our brave Middle School cast members Luke Dart, Faith Gordon and Ben Hilpert are breaking into theatre with wide-eyed enthusiasm. It is exciting to watch the younger students learn stage craft and work on accents. Notably, four Freshmen make up a robust ensemble in the Drama program with lead roles in the Spring play. Caden Gerstenberger, Gabby Stonebraker, Laura Dart and Mariah Morgado are shooting stars on the rise and have certainly earned their time in the spotlight. These passionate actors have been in multiple productions and have a hunger for the stage. They are all growing in their acting and storytelling abilities and provide such promise to our program.
We hope you’ll join us for an evening of high farce and witty dialogue to support our actors, cast and crew. The Trinity Drama Department will once again venture onto the stage, bringing written words to life for your entertainment, having tirelessly prepared, adjusting each gesture and expression to bring out the nuances of Wilde’s most enduringly popular play.
TCS Speech & Debate 2017-18 Season Updates
Speech & Debate Fall Tournaments
By Jake Hampton
Our secondary school Speech & Debate Team has been hard at work! So far this year, our team has been to three tournaments. The first tournament of the season was a Speech-only event on October 7th, at Kahuku High School. Kaila Baker and Lauren Baker both received Overall Superior ratings for their excellent work, and Kaila Baker managed to place first overall in her category, Impromptu Speaking.
The next tournment was on October 15th, where the Trinity Debate team went to Waialua for the first Debate tournament of the season. Lauren Baker and Grace Klein won their first round, lost only to a former state champion and his partner, and received a BYE for the last round of the Tournament. Overall, they won half their ballots.
Finally, last weekend (first weekend of November), the Trinity Speech team went to University Lab school double-entry tournament and performed at the largest event yet of the season. Out of eight students, we received three Overall Superiors, one for Lauren Baker for her Original Oratory piece, and two Overall Superiors won by Kai Glorioso in both Original Oratory and Impromptu Speech.
Our Trinity team has continuously done an excellent job of representing not only our school by the ideas of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty as they faced fierce competition and remained courteous and resolute. Congratulations to all our speakers and debators for their hard work!
Recent Posts
Tag Cloud
5th grade academics administration all school all-school alumni athletics big island blog christian christmas class of 2018 classical classical christian classical christian education classical-christian-education classical-education college commencement community coram deo debate discipline donation drama educatio education educational philosophy electives elementary exhibition faculty fine art golf tournament graduates graduation hawaii hawaiian history head of school IB program kaiulani kupuna day leadership makahiki may day missions music office outreach parentsArchives
Looking for more? Read our Grand Tour blog and Athletics blog!