Trinity School at River Ridge

"We have 2 kids at Trinity, a boy and a girl. Our son has been there since 8th grade and he is currently a Senior. Our daughter attended last year as a 7th grader and is going into 8th grade. Where to start? We LOVE it here. First of all, our two main concerns in coming in were a) People of Praise and b) small size. After 5 yrs here I can state unequivically that the folks who are members of the POP are some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet (I am divorced and we go to an Episcopal church) and have never, ever tried to convert us, lecture us or involve us beyond a blanket invitation to join their summer camp (which we declined.) Our kids have never, ever been teased or condemned for coming from a blended family. On the contrary, they have been nothing but kind and welcoming to us. Our son and a group of his friends, all from different religions, started an informal, outside of school bible study as a way to understand the way their different religions perspectives. Was I astonished that it was my kid asking to go to a bible study on his own time? OH YEAH. The small size has not been a burden, rather it has been a positive. The teachers know the kids, the kids know each other, we know many of the parents. Our son has been able to be a jock (three varsity sports), a brain (BLEW away his PSAT, SAT and ACT - top 1% in the country) and in theater and choir. You don't have to pick at Trinity, your kid doesn't get typecast -- they get to do it all. It is a rich, challenging experience in so many ways. Our daughter was the only one of her grade school "group" who had a positive Jr High experience. While other mothers were calling me with horror stories of mean girls, anorexia, make-up/dating and fights in their daughters 7th grade, my daughter was LOVING her school experience. At one of the monthly all class get togethers, I looked around at this laughing, bright-eyed, modestly dressed, hilariously funny group of 13 year old girls and I felt fully how lucky we were to have found Trinity for our daughter. The classes are all girl at this point and earlier this year, my daughter, unprompted, commented to me that she found herself speaking up more in class than she used to when there were boys in the class. After telling my daughter that she should never be afraid to speak up, I said a silent prayer of thanks for her chance to experience an all-girl education. Additionally, their art department is AMAZING. Our son had never drawn or painted really (no ball, bat or scoreboard involved), but at Trinity, he did some watercolors that were so beautiful that I had them framed and gave them to the Grandparents for Christmas gifts. Our daughter, on the other hand, has always loved to draw and paint and she has been able to develop her gifts beautifully here. At the parent teacher conference, (which is a half an hour discussion around a table with all your child's teachers at once), they presented me with some of her work that was so good it took me a minute to process that it was my daughter who had done it. I cried. So am I gushing? Yes, I am gushing. I love this school and the chance it has given my kids to excel, feel safe and learn how good they can be at a wide range of disciplines."