SATURDAYS AT TRINITY-PAWLING

Saturday Programming at Trinity-Pawling

When Headmaster Bill Taylor set out to strike a better balance between tradition and innovation on campus, he formed a Scheduling Committee to create an augmented academic schedule. The aim was to reduce student stress and create time for project-based learning and co-curricular activities without taking time away from classes, athletics, or student clubs. In pursuing these needed changes, it was important to create something that alumni would recognize as a progression of the schedule they remembered — meeting the needs of present students while keeping traditions of the School alive.

With a more flexible academic schedule, which maintains a commitment to the same amount of classroom teaching time, and the implementation of dynamic Saturday Programming, now in its second year at Trinity-Pawling, students are able to experience learning in an exciting and creative way. Each Saturday brings something new — a focus on study skills and team building for underclassman, time for seniors who are pursuing a Diploma with Distinction to develop their Senior Independent Projects, Health & Wellness programs for all students, time devoted to Winter Projects, and getting students into nature. These are among the many ways boys now spend their Saturday mornings before their athletic commitments begin in the afternoon.

Faculty members use this opportunity to create a day of learning that is out of the ordinary, giving the boys many ways to try something new, expand their comfort zones, and further develop their self-awareness. Saturday Programming includes new experiential learning initiatives that underscore creativity, health and wellness, leadership, and time for fun.

Most importantly, Saturdays are intentionally designed to be engaging and hands-on. The Scheduling Committee that spearheaded the schedule change two years ago still exists in a supervisory role, suggesting adjustments to fine-tune the schedule for the benefit of the boys and keep the program fresh and dynamic.