Trinity College School EXTRACURRICULARS

The typical Trinity College School student is well-rounded, interested in many different facets of the educational experience, active during the day in terms of their academics, and at lunch, is prepared to take a break to go to their service meeting. For instance, I would attend the Trinity Environmental Action Committee at lunch. I was really into service in terms of environmental stewardship and then turned around after school to go to arts practice, like a wind Orchestra or cross country practice. The typical Trinity College School student is ready to engage across all different fronts.

Some schools appear to be sports schools, and other ones are arts focused Trinity College School has a great degree of richness across all areas. That was really good for me because I didn't know what my passions would be. I had no interest in service. I was not much of an athlete or an artist, so that richness across each area differentiates Trinity College School.

Trinity College School encourages everyone to be three-semester athletes. Trinity College School students choose three different sports in fall, winter, and spring. I did cross country in the fall and then swimming and rowing. I earned different distinctions in, and really benefited from doing all those different sports.

TCS was very leadership focused: they really focused on having well-rounded students and students having opportunities to excel in different areas, not only academically, but with sports, arts, drama, music. I think that helped me. It helped give me more confidence in being independent with what I wanted to do, not only academically, but extracurricular-wise  I felt like when I got to university I was able to hit the ground running and find my own place there, not only with academics but again volunteering and other things as well.

I felt quite revitalized by the busy schedule. I’m charged by school, but someone else may be charged by sports, and they go to practice; or maybe you’re charged by painting, and you have space in your calendar for painting. You make sure you sign up for the things that charge you. I think just from the outside looking in, you’re like, ‘Oh, this is a lot’. But  students are eased into it. And having been there for four years, it’s normal to me now. So when I went to UofT, I was like, ‘Wow, my first class is at 3pm? What do I do now? I guess I’ll go to the gym; I have to do something.’ And it’s like it’s just been inoculated within you; you’ve just normalized that behaviour. 

What I appreciated most was the rigour. The fact that you’re just always busy; you're always having to learn to prioritize; you’re always learning how to manage your time well. I really appreciated that rigor. And the focus: there were just so many activities, so many sports, so many things going on. It engendered a tremendous amount of focus. You had to be a focused individual  And, of course, in the midst of all that, there was just a tremendous amount of enjoyment in that process of a very full day; of a very well-rounded day.

Extracurriculars are unparalleled at TCS. Between arts, athletics and community engagement, nothing is lacking. During my time, students were expected to participate in all three competitively or in an organized-but-recreational way. At the time, there were certainly students that resented being 'forced' to do these things, but I think that we were all better for it. As a student there, I played on three Bigside (Varsity) teams, was in the brass band, volunteered for Amnesty International, did service/learning trips abroad and chaired various student-led social justice programs at school. I wanted to do 'everything' and never felt that there were any opportunities lacking. Beyond being a 'competitive' applicant for universities, I learned commitment, time management, camaraderie and compassion by participating in such a variety of extracurricular activities.

The extracurricular opportunities offered at Trinity College School are well balanced for students who would like competition and/or fun. Plus, they offer many opportunities for stewardship and service to the local community. The list goes on and on for students to try, explore, compete, challenge, lead, serve, learn, and understand life outside of the academic life. TCS encourages the well-rounded student that becomes a well-rounded person in the world.

Learning does not only happen in the classroom at TCS. There are student-led clubs, service trips and volunteer opportunities happening on a regular basis. Guidance and support are available at all times for students.

The school has a complete painting curriculum, music curriculum, but also regular exhibitions for students, there is a concert every year. TCS offers a course in travel, dual credit courses in English and history, history part of this course, children will be done in Ottawa and Europe, the children will go to the first world war and the second world war, battlefield, they visited the trenches feel the war, to go to the cemetery worship circle, they go to the war museum experience of war damage, They went to the camps to experience the cruelty of war. They go from Poland to Normandy, France, and these classes are very precious to children.

In the arts, I was pretty successful playing trumpet, and so I played in the wind orchestra, as well as being involved with musicals at Trinity College School.

I was part of Trinity Singers for both years as well, which is amazing. We did so many concerts. And we were really able to bring forward our own ideas as well, which is amazing: we were able to bring forward popular songs that were on the radio at the time, and do our own renditions of them. TCS has a lot of practice rooms where you can go and be by yourself and practice your music, which we loved as well—during after-school, just hanging out and jamming together. It was really fun.

I played field hockey for both my years at TCS, and I also played tennis both my years at TCS. I was lucky enough to be the captain of the tennis team in my final year — in Grade 12. It was amazing to work closely with some of my close friends at TCS. Being able to travel to different schools for tournaments and things like that was really fun.

While I was at Trinity College School, sports were a huge part of my life. I played soccer, squash, and tennis. So for me, those things were probably the biggest thing I liked about Trinity College School, and then the community aspect. Now that I've left, it's definitely the overwhelming community aspect, and really just the idea of being open-minded to a lot of new things is something that I really took away from Trinity College School.

We do have some kids who are high-performing athletes, then we've got some kids who are a bit hesitant to play sports. The fact that Trinity College School is going to encourage them, and that they would all have that opportunity, and be supported at different levels of play was important. You don't find that often. There are schools where some kids might not make the team, and then feel shy or back away from sports. At Trinity College School there's every level and ability again to build confidence. That's what we were looking for in a school.

Options for students went above and beyond basic sports teams and music, offering school rock bands, dance troupes, improv teams, school productions, debate teams, community service options, and countless others. The bottom line was, students must be kept busy...and busy we were! Because of the quality of these offerings, many of us chose to go far beyond the required minimum, joining school choirs, community involvement teams, environmental awareness groups, and much more. The popular sports teams were the anchors which almost everyone strived for, but they were simply the centre of an enormous array of orbiting extracurriculars that helped develop leadership, creativity, and an overall confident sense of character. There is something for everyone at TCS.

One of my goals for my experience at TCS was to make sure I expand my extracurricular experience as my former school did not have many options. Just as I expected, TCS had a variety of extracurriculars in a variety of fields. For instance, I participated in field hockey, rowing, and service activities like making art with the elderly and even working on a goat farm! They were all very fun and fulfilling. I just wish that the school offered recreational water sports/games because I sometimes feel like just relaxing in the water. Having said that, I can confidently say that everyone has enough to do because at TCS it is compulsory for everyone to participate in a sports activity as well as a service or art over the course of the year, so I think everyone is booked. However, I do not think everyone is able to do all the things they want to do because many of the activities tend to clash with each other in terms of timing. For example, when I was competing in rowing and working with the elderly I also wanted to take part in pottery as I had never done anything like that before, unfortunately, it clashed with my service and I was unable to do that.

Trinity College School has a very extensive extracurricular program. Really something for everyone. Like every school, there is competitive and recreational sports. My daughters also enjoyed sports but also participated in the Arts program. The Drama department performs 2 plays throughout the year. As well, the Music department which consists of the Winds and Jazz band, drumming, guitar club and Trinity singers perform several concerts for charity. Both my daughters also were involved in the Service Program which allowed them to volunteer and help others within the school as a Masterkey member, math tutor and communication steward. The girls had fun helping their friends and a sense of pride develops to be a needed member of the community.

This is an area where TCS goes above and beyond. As mentioned above, my children LOVE the amount of activity that occurs during a school day. For the Junior School students, the schedule is such that no 2 academic classes are back to back. The children have either lunch, recess or co-curriculars in between classes. The athletic program is fantastic - both competitive and intramural. There is something for every level. My sons love competitive sports and love that the TCS season includes travel for games. There are also opportunities for drama, art club, yoga, bike club, etc, etc. Every 6 weeks the Junior School students choose a new co-curricular activity. It is a great way to be active, enjoy a hobby, learn a new skill, all while interacting with other students in the Junior School. Great for building a sense of community while having fun!

All three of my kids went down very different paths for extracurricular programming. They were involved in competitive sports, music as well as non-competitive offerings. The setting for the school and multiple fields and gyms allows them to offer a huge list of programming. Each term offers a list of competitive and non-competitive sports as well as music ensembles and theatrical productions.

I was very satisfied with the quantity and quality of extracurriculars offered to me. Extracurriculars were one of the easiest ways to make friends and expand my circle beyond my grade. I was on the basketball team and though every year we had a new team, the team dynamic never changed. The competitive sports provided me with a lot of opportunities to improve and challenge myself, but there were also many activities to do for fun such as the dance club and AFL when I didn't want to play in the sports offered in a certain season. One thing I would point out is that I feel that there is a little bit of pressure to join a competitive team; there were certain situations where students on a team would look down on people that were in AFL.

There are an abundance of opportunities for the students to participate in after classes finish. The offerings include competitive athletics, recreational athletics, the arts and service learning opportunities. Our sons participated in cross country running (the Harriers!), alpine skiing and rugby. The teams have participated in the obvious CISAA races, but have also attended several invitational meets. On numerous occasions over the years, coaches in each of our son's chosen sports have reached out to us personally and have reflected on our sons' athletic performances with pride. During ski season, the Alpine team visits nearby Brimacombe Ski Resort 2x/week for on-hill training. We are amazed at how their skiing has improved from the quality coaching they have received. The Harriers have participated in a fun team marathon to cap off the cross country season the past 2 years.

Extracurriculars are key to the TCS experience. The school offers a wide variety of options and there really is something for everyone. Our boys are big into sports and I particularly appreciate the school mandating a weekly club activity that forces the students outside of their comfort zone. For example, our boys play football, basketball and rugby but one chose "improv" and the other chose "art" as their club activity.

Without a doubt, our sons have absolutely both loved attending TCS. From the classes and athletics, to the House activities and Senior school events, there is always something happening to engage the kids. The heart of the school is Cirne Commons where the kids hang out together on comfy sofas after classes and on weekends. They often show movies or big sports games here. Orientation Week is always a fun-filled time. TCS does a fantastic job with integrating new students into the school with full school activities, House outings and grade specific activities and trips. Our sons so look forward to the start of school and their return to TCS. During the year, there are always activities organized that the boarders can sign up for over the weekends. The Sushi Bus to Peterborough was a favourite of our oldest son. As parents, we have felt very connected to the school life through TCS' social media presence on Instagram and Facebook. There are hundreds of photos posted monthly that provide us with a (huge!) window into our sons' lives.

Service was a focus for me. I spent a lot of time in service, whether volunteering to help others with their studies or helping out in the community. I got involved with that during my time at Trinity College School.

I was fortunate to be able to travel with Trinity College School, for instance, to Jamaica for a service trip. They also offered trips to Europe and around the world. Whether in Ontario or abroad, there's a lot of adventure with Trinity College School.

I did an international volunteering trip with TCS in my last year. We went to Kingston, Jamaica, and that was probably one of the highlights of my whole time in TCS. We were working in an inner-city school and I was part of teaching and helping assist the teachers in a class of people who weren't able to finish high school on their own. I think it gave us such a good understanding of other cultures; made us really reflect on where we come from in Canada — such a privileged position — and allowed us to connect with other people who you would never even think you could connect with.

The community of TCS students, parents and alumni was a huge draw for our family when deciding to send our children to TCS. My brother is an alumnus of TCS and it is a meaningful part of his identity. For current parents, there is the opportunity to volunteer with the Parent Guild, attend Guild workshops, social activities, work in the school store, etc. Pre-covid, parents are welcome on campus for teacher visits, sporting events, theatre productions and awards ceremonies. One of my favourite TCS traditions is the running of the Oxford Cup (oldest footrace in North America) which is an event for Alumni and students and parents to race around the beautiful campus. In the fall, homecoming is called Bear Fair and it is a blast for students and alumni too.

TCS was a great experience for my daughter. The friendships that she has developed are amazing. Each and every one of her friends has taken different paths in their life since high school, but yet they still find the time to check-in and catch up with each other regularly. When I asked my daughter what were her favourite experiences at Trinity, she said in her final year doing the winter play, Arsenic and Old Lace and a service trip to Ghana, Africa with Mr. and Mrs. Hall. As a parent, I see that my daughter has developed great time management and organizational skills. The long academic day and a busy extracurricular program, adding to the daily commute have taught her to use her time wisely. This is a skill that has helped her tremendously to establish a balanced busy life in university.

After the academic day at school, students are encouraged to get involved in extracurricular activities where they have fun with their friends. My daughters love going to Trinity. They have never complained about the length of day or going to school. Every opportunity they have, they wanted to go to school and hang out with their friends.

There are so many things to list but the sense of community, levels of support, service opportunities and extracurriculars would land at the top. I have had two children graduate and one who is about to graduate and the school met all their unique needs from the Jr. School all through the Sr. School. The academic demands are well balanced to sports, arts and service. The international community of the students has been a spotlight for our kids and our family because of friendships made that would otherwise never have happened. It is a very inclusive school community that made all three of my unique children feel welcome. Service trips would likely land at the top of the best memories or experiences my children reflect on.

My daughter led the community cultural fusion, has brought her a lot about the cultivation of the leadership, her from the team members to the assistant to the leadership, her from the activities, to organize, to lead, she presided over many large activities, including the lunar celebration, "my hometown" exhibition, the national costume parade... We were all amazed at her growth.