We are coming to the end of another school year. Pre-K kids will be kindergartners. Kindergartners will be first graders. Seventh graders will be eighth graders. Eighth graders will be high schoolers.

Where does the time go?

I have the blessing of knowing 8.5% of our eighth grade class since they were two year olds in my classroom, way back in the day. I won’t talk about diaper changes and temper tantrums, although I do have some stories. That’s twelve plus years of me knowing 8.5% of our eighth grade class, which equates to two kids.

Two phenomenal, amazing kids.

I bring this up for a few reasons. First, we have children and families who have been with us since preschool.These two children that I have known since they were two years old have become amazing leaders, solid in their faith and pillars of our Middle School. They are both National Junior Honor Society scholars and lead others by their daily example of exemplary behavior and leadership, guided by Christ.

As we emphasize in NJHS, leaders lead even when no one is watching. Character is who you are in every moment. (And perhaps they just had a really great two year old preschool teacher…)

Second, we have an amazing and strong presence of Air Force and military children. Often, we only “get” them for a year or two, but they bless us immensely. We learn from their resilience and grace with the time we have with them. Not only do we thank their parents for their service to our country, but we thank the children for the gift they are to our school. God has so richly blessed us with servant hearts that are planted way before they are even born. 

Third, we have gained so many new families from our surrounding communities, and we are so blessed and humbled to have had them join our Trinity family. The gift they have received in learning about Christ and the blessings they have given us in return are eternal and we rejoice in raising disciples alongside them and all of our families.

We are here for you. We are thankful for you. And we pray for you.

Thank you for trusting us. As we look to the future, please know we will continue our foundation in Christ. As He loves us, He teaches us to love one another. 

In Him, we are connected. Thank you for sharing your most precious gift of your children with us.

Our school is going through accreditation, and we are finally at the point where a team of eight educators are coming in on Sunday to spend time on our campus and in our classrooms. The accreditation process is a long one. We have spent over a year preparing our self study reports, both for the Elementary, High School Prep and Early Childhood Programs. This involves a lot of self reflection, discovery and intentional self improvement within our classrooms and amongst our staff to make sure we are achieving the highest standard of academics and care of our students, whether they be a one year old in our Toddler child care program, or an eighth grader in High School Prep.

Accreditation isn’t meant to judge what we are doing, but instead to validate that we are doing what we say we are doing. It holds us to a higher standard and ensures that we, as a Lutheran school, are not only achieving academic excellence, but are centering our focus on Christ and all that He has done for us.

Our Mission Statement is:
We prepare our students to be disciples of Christ through exceptional education with a firm foundation in God’s word.

What does this mean for you, as a Trinity parent? 

I can tell you, with one hundred percent certainty, it means that your child will be loved. Your child will be taught the truth of God’s grace, love and mercy. Your child will be challenged academically and also have the tools to share his or her firm foundation in Christ with conviction and unwavering certainty. Your child will know that he or she is a child of God, and not only does He know them by name, He has chosen them. Never forsaken. Always loved.

Forever cherished.

Thank you for trusting us to walk alongside you as we prepare your children to be His disciples together. We sincerely thank you for the privilege of caring for not only God’s children, but the children He has blessed you with.

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Mrs. Heather Chapman
Early Childhood Director
Admissions Director

I wear contacts.

I probably shouldn't. (Just ask my mom. She's here visiting so you can really ask her in person.)

I'm not good with my contacts, nor have I ever been. I sleep in them when I shouldn't. I wear my two week lenses for months at a time, until, well you know, when things start to get blurry and my eyes turn red. When I do take them out, it's lucky for them if they make it to the contact container. With solution.

So I had to laugh at myself when, at 5 o'clock yesterday morning, I was fumbling to put my contacts in and my left one was missing. I'm fishing in that little contact case, sure that I'm going to find it, when after minutes of dipping, I come up empty.

Now, this has happened to me before. Down the drain, stuck on the mirror, nestled in the hair brush. Those little suckers have a way of sticking themselves to any and all surfaces. Out of sight. Gone.

It was gone. And I was met with opening a new contact container. I walked across my bedroom and noticed a shiny object lying on the tile. It caught my right eye, and I picked it up. You guessed it -it was my contact! I did a little happy-sort-of-dorky dance and dipped it in the soaking solution, praying that it would re-hydrate the sorry little disc that gives me sight. And it worked! So I popped that sucker in my left eye and voila! I didn't need to open that new contact container.

If you read my articles, you know that I find our Savior in everything I do. This situation is no different. As I watched that little contact suck up the moisture in the solution, all shriveled up and ragged, I saw myself. A lost piece of His creation that, if given the opportunity, can maintain sight and focus, but when left to dry up, loses purpose and clarity.

I was reminded that my days will not always be what I think they should be, but they are guided by His plan for me, and for my life. He picks me up, as shriveled and ragged as they come, and allows me to soak in His word and love for me. He re-hydrates my soul through His grace, word, love and forgiveness, and pops me back into my life to be His witness.

To share His love is how He helps me truly see who I can be.

I thank you for trusting me to guide your precious children, to help them learn about His great love for them, and to share His promise of eternal life. The blessings of your children are truly my blessings, and I am so thankful for each and every one of you.

Serving Christ,

Mrs. Heather Chapman
Early Childhood Director
Admissions Director

I love shoes, almost as much as I love dresses.

All kinds of shoes. Fancy shoes, flip-floppy shoes, comfy running shoes. I own many pairs of each variety, and I love them equally for different reasons. They are, by definition, houses for my feet.

As I took my shoes off last night, I thought about all the things that happened during the day while I was wearing them. When I put them on in the morning, I didn't know that I would be walking through rain puddles. I didn't know that two three year olds would stand on them as we danced during circle time. I didn't know that milk would be spilled on them, and I surely didn't know that they would carry me down a hospital hallway.

So much happens in a day. Twenty-four hours. One thousand four hundred and forty minutes. Would you put your shoes on every day if you knew what they would walk you through? If you had a choice, would you keep putting them on, knowing that they may lead you not only to wonderful places,but scary places? Sad places? Mad places? Every day, down right, I-don’t-want-to-go places?

If you could pick a new pair of shoes to walk you through yesterday, would you? Jesus didn't have comfortable shoes. He walked straight into the weight of the world, and He did it knowing what was coming. He took up that cross, and He had no padding beneath His feet. He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it for everyone. His love is so great and so wide that he suffered upon a tree to pay for your salvation.

He never questioned His Father’s path for Him.

He even asked, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Willingly go where He leads you. Let your path remind you of His sacrifice and undying love. He carries your burdens for you. Be solid in faith, and allow Him to guide you in the right direction.

Serving Christ,

Mrs. Heather Chapman
Early Childhood Director
Admissions Director

God's love for us is something that may be difficult to understand. We can't put His love into words. It is all around us, in us, for us. He gives us these gifts through our children, through sunrises and sunsets, through rain showers and star gazing. One of my favorite things to do is to take pictures of our amazing Arizona sunsets. This is a time I am able to be still, sitting atop a large boulder in the field across from my home. Seeing the colors of God's creations fills me. How can you describe a sunset to someone? Such beautiful sites are virtually impossible to describe.

In the same way, it is also very difficult to describe our awesome God.

If you take a look at Genesis 1:1-29, God's astonishing work is evident.

Isn't it awesome? God not only created it, He took great joy in doing so. Creation is incredible, and He is above all He created. He is not found in the mountains or seas or contained by time or space. It is His power that holds all of these things together. From every sunset to every star, planet, and ocean, God has not only created them, but He also sustains them.

Psalm 147:4 says "He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them." Our God is powerful. And yet, He knows you by name. "I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1 I have cited this verse before. It is one of my favorites. He knows you by NAME. Wow.

It is written in the Bible that He knows how many hairs you have on your head. (Does He also know how many I lose each day?!?!) He knows your heart and catches every tear you cry.

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved."Ephesians 2:4-5

By grace you are saved.

Our God is an awesome God, and there is nothing you could do to make Him love you more than He does right now. Thank you for sharing your precious children with us. We love nothing more than to share God's love with them each and every day.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6: 5-9

Serving Christ,

Mrs. Heather Chapman
Early Childhood Director
Admissions Director