June 3, 2020

Greetings to Our Extended HTS Community,

I, along with the Holy Trinity students and faculty, hope this note finds you and your families safe and healthy. The well-being of our extended HTS community has been very much on my mind and in my heart during these uncertain times. I wanted to reach out, check in with you and share how Holy Trinity School is responding to the coronavirus pandemic and to the quest for racial justice. In recent days, we have shared with the community many resources and books for learning more about racial justice and what we can do to help in that fight. Our teachers are also continuing the conversation in age-appropriate ways. We are happy to share these resources with you — please email principal@htsdc.org to receive them.

While we hear stories of isolation and anxiety around the globe, and of those lifting their voices in solidarity, HTS remains a place where we learn together, pray together, and play together.

As you well know, HTS has always been a place where miracles abound⁠—I liken the current miracles to building an “emergency distance education airplane” while simultaneously flying it!

We continue to start the day with a Gospel reading, the Suscipe, and the Honor Code. I am told that our morning announcements are now forwarded on from coast to coast. Charlie Hennessy, in addition to his countless talents, has become a mailman - delivering the next needed novel for ELA and HTSP practice textbooks to students’ homes. As you would expect from Mary Shannon, “the show will go on” - and she and our graduates have just presented a virtual 8th Grade Show. Katherine Goldstein-Smith’s Rube Goldberg challenge video—cleverly used to reveal special announcement—has brought her newfound fame with over 335,000 views on Instagram, and Rory Calabrese (the HTS alumna formerly known as Rory Edwards) has guided her students to make video news reports on the murder of Julius Caesar. The Examen continues to be a daily activity and our students are moving forward academically. 

Ultimately, the goal of education is to help students become independent learners and engage with the world around them, and that is happening now more than ever in countless ways. As I virtually visit various classes, I see the joy of students not only mastering the standard curriculum, but also taking charge of learning new skills. Our virtual talent show was a testament to the new learning: cake decorating, musical instruments and comedy acts, to name a few examples. 

One of the advantages of our “distance learning airplane” is that you are all welcome to hop on and join the ride. We invite you to be a part of the many exciting end of year events we have planned: join us for “Fun Fridays” where we will cancel classes and teachers will share passion projects with their students, be inspired at our virtual assembly with Rob Surrette of “Amazing Hero Art”, cheer on the blue and white teams at virtual Field Day, and congratulate your newest fellow alumni at virtual graduation. If you would like to be added to the distribution list for links to these events or to receive the morning announcements, please reach out to me at principal@htsdc.org. Likewise, to keep in touch, please follow us on our various social media platforms that are linked in the footer of this email.

As we look ahead to the 2020-2021 school year, little is certain. However, our 200-year history keeps us grounded in what we know will not change—our faith-filled Catholic education, our commitment to Jesuit cura personalis, our excellent teachers and our #HTSTogetherAlways community.  

I want to assure you all that the spirit of HTS remains expressed through continued service to others and noting that everything we do is "For the Great Glory of God." Please know that you remain in the hearts and prayers of HTS students and faculty now and always.

God bless you and yours,