MARCH 2010 - This past fall, Trinity Classical Academy 9th and 10th graders took the PSAT, which is typically only given to 11th graders. The high scores the students achieved took even the administration by surprise.

“The scores our students posted on the PSAT were incredible. Our freshman and sophomores essentially took this test cold, with no prep at all,” said Michele Puglisi, Trinity’s College Advisement Director.  “They had not even been exposed to the 11th grade curriculum and we do not ‘teach to the test’. Despite this, most of them posted high 80th and 90th percentile scores. We even had three scores of 99! This is incredibly rare on the PSAT!”

“This is really the first time that Trinity’s focused, classical, Christian methodology has been put to the test and these scores confirm that this type of education is indeed producing superior results.” Puglisi adds. “It has actually exceeded our expectations.”


PSAT scores are made available to colleges and universities worldwide and as a result, Trinity students are already being pursued. “It’s like a floodgate has been opened and our burgeoning, 9-year-old school is now on the radar of some highly acclaimed institutions,” says Liz Caddow, Trinity Head of School. “Our 9th and 10th graders have been getting letters of interest from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Brown, West Point and even Oxford, just to name a few. We always thought that teaching through a classical, Christian curriculum would produce good academic results, but we were actually quite shocked at just how well our students performed on the PSAT.”

“These outstanding results will open so many doors for these students,” remarks Puglisi. “Based on their scores, I anticipate 6-7 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and Finalists to come from these two Trinity classes. To put that in context, the former public school where I worked produced only a handful during my 15 years there as guidance counselor. These scores also indicate that these students will have a very high success rate on AP tests in the coming years.”

Mrs. Caddow is quick to point out though that standardized test scores are not the only barometer by which achievement is measured at Trinity. “While we thrilled with these scores, we realize that they are only one measure of success. In addition to developing the intellect, we at Trinity strive to nurture the heart and the soul of every student.”

For Trinity's PSAT scores in depth, CLICK HERE.

   6 teams from our logic school participated in the regional ACSI science fair at Biola on April 3.  The following students received medals:
 
First place for 6th-8th grade Physical Science team project:  Jacey Massetto & Kat Waschak for "Got Distance?"  They evaluated ways to increase launch distance of a trebuchet.
 
Second Place for 6th-8th grade Life Science team project - Alexa Hobelman, Taylor Totten & Brittany Weistling (pictured at left) for "iConcentrate" which evaluated the affect of different types of music on concentration.
 
Second Place for 7th grade Physical Science individual project - Grant Wolf for "Putting 101" which evaluated the affect on putting accuracy by adding weights to different locations on a putter head.
 
Third Place for 7th grade Physical Science individual project - Brenna Mills for "Bouncing Under Pressure" which determined the affect of basketball pressure on bounce height.
 
In addition, the following students received the highest "superior" rating by science fair judges:
 
Emily Chebul, Julia Howell and Emily Kim for "Stability Face-Off" which evaluated the relationship between building height and stability during an earthquake.
 
Christina DeMarois, Miranda Lopez and Cheyenne Tracy for "Got Diapers?" which looked at the relationship between diaper cost and absorbancy. (images)