Community Churches
Trinity School operates on the campuses of two Episcopal churches in Menlo Park. The Preschool Program for three and four year olds is located at Trinity Church. Junior Kindergarten through Grade 5 resides at St. Bede's Church.
The School was started in 1961 by the vision and planning of Trinity Church, which sponsored the formation of St. Bede's Church and Trinity School. While sharing a long history of mutual commitment, three institutions are separate corporations with individual nonprofit tax identification status. Trinity School's Articles of Incorporation state that the two religious corporations-St. Bede's and Holy Trinity-own the School.
Both churches provide clergy for the Chapel Team. Each Rector takes time for meetings with the Head of School, the Board of Trustees, and the School community. St. Bede's and Trinity Church provide substantial program space for Trinity School. Both institutions hold Trinity School as a primary mission of the church, and each serve as advocates for Trinity School. The School pays each church an annual use fee.
Trinity School's Identity as an Episcopal School
Episcopal schools inherit a rich lineage of educational tradition in which non-doctrinaire integration of faith and learning has been promoted for 400 years, stretching back to the origins of the Church of England. Episcopal schools provide an atmosphere, inspired by Judeo-Christian moral culture, in which there is an appreciation for the diversity and values of all religious traditions and beliefs. Religious education and the fundamentals of spiritual formation are dual goals of every Episcopal school. They are enacted in a climate of freedom of thought and belief, and responsibility to oneself and one's world.
There are four means by which Trinity School identifies itself as an Episcopal School:
- Trinity School intentionally lives the faith by example. This means that every aspect of school life, including admissions, hiring policies, discipline practices, leadership, and the importance of social, economic, and racial diversity is constantly trued to the standards of an Episcopal Church institution.
- Trinity School situates the heart and soul of the School in Chapel. This is where religious education and worship occur daily in the gathering and healing of real life issues. The Book of Common Prayer and hymns provide the basis for most liturgies and worship services led by the Chapel Team. The traditions of other religions represented by families in the School community also inform Chapel and Chapel-related activities.
- Trinity School provides religious education. Through various approaches, religious education helps students talk about religion and spiritual experiences in critical, rational, and reflective ways. Children have an opportunity to explore and reflect upon their own and others' spiritual and ethical traditions.
- Trinity School includes service learning as part of its curriculum. Social activism is a hallmark of Episcopal schools. Students develop an awareness of both the local and global community around them through active participation and implementation of a wide range of service projects throughout the year. Students acquire skills in leadership, teamwork, and organization as they take the initiative in finding ways to exercise their responsibility to others.