When I first came to work at Trinity, it was to be temporary. As is often the case, the Lord had different plans for me, and I have been blessed with serving Him at Trinity for two and a half years now. Once it was evident I would be working at the school for a longer time than originally thought, Mr. Sprague and I began to discuss short and long term plans for the secondary school. Among those plans, I shared a personal desire for our school to perform exceptionally well in debate competition. This desire stems from a deep conviction to prepare Christian students for the future that awaits them. As my convictions about classical Christian education have grown, I am persuaded that there are critical roles for Christians to take in arenas currently dominated by a secular worldview. In our culture, debate and speech are so nearly completely transformed to the secular, that arguments, thoughts, and opinions presented from a rationale rooted in faith-particularly the Christian faith-jeopardize success in competition. As Christians, redeeming these areas are an incredible opportunity to glorify the Lord.
God was at work building a strong debate program in the school from the very beginning. The exordia and elementary speech festival lay the foundation of public presentation for Trinity students. From this solid base to the debate and speech program of the secondary school, God is doing a redemptive work in and through our students. The first two years of debate in the secondary began with Ms. Shima coaching in a secondary school of just 30 students. That program has now grown such that every student who graduates from Trinity, does so having spent at least one year competing in debate. Dr. Wilson now leads the program and brings her experience (she was a champion debater herself) and dedication to our school. In these seven and a half years, the extra hours and effort spent to build a strong debate and speech program at Trinity has born much fruit. For, although our school has certainly grown, our students compete against the largest independent schools in the state, most of which have multiple teams. These schools could intimidate with sheer numbers of students alone. However, even in such a competitive environment, Trinity students succeed with major accomplishments. Our students are locally winning championships, and have even qualified for and attended the national tournament on the mainland!
These are great successes and certainly worthy of praise. But I saved the best part of our debate and speech program: Trinity students compete while maintaining Christian integrity in a secular environment. Where shocking topics and vulgar language is often applauded by adults as edgy and empowering to teenagers, Trinity students have maintained a godly wholesomeness within that environment. Keeping a standard that edifies other, glorifies God, and results in winning is truly a blessing and a work of the Lord. May our students continue to be used well by the Lord and may He be glorified in all that they and we do.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Cor. 10:4-5
Jeanne Wilks
Secondary Principal