TRINITY-PAWLING SCHOOL

Contents

History of School

The Mission of Trinity-Pawling

Athletics

Academics

The Arts

Notable Alumni

External links

History of School

Dr. Frederick Luther Gamage, the widely respected Headmaster of St. Paul's School in Garden City, Long Island, founded the Pawling School in 1907. He left St. Paul's determined to create a new institution that embodied his own educational philosophy-one grounded on the idea that effort across the board is the foundation on which all achievement ultimately rests. "Whether a boy succeeds in the first instance at all he attempts is irrelevant," Dr. Gamage used to say. "Over time, effort inevitably yields achievement.
Almost from the start, the Pawling School earned a place among New England's top schools. After closing during World War II, the Pawling School emerged as a rural outpost for Manhattan's esteemed Trinity School, hence the name Trinity-Pawling School. In 1978, the school ended its affiliation with the Trinity School and became independent.
Today, the school continues to teach young men the importance of hard work, faith and integrity. The school, in a sense, is sort of a throwback to earlier prep-school days. The dress code is standard prep school fare -- blue blazer, khakis, and tie. The boys also go to chapel every morning, and attend a formal sit down dinner in the evening.

The Mission of Trinity-Pawling

•To continue the tradition started in 1907 whereby Trinity-Pawling School is an all-male college preparatory school serving primarily boarding students. The young men of Trinity-Pawling are encouraged to reach their full potential, and the faculty is committed to upholding the highest standards of learning.
•To instill a value system, steeped in the Judeo-Christian tradition and reflected in the chapel experience, which prepares Trinity-Pawling boys to face the challenges of a multicultural world, to be leaders who strive for justice for all people, and to be contributing members of society.
•To provide a foundation which enables a student to think and act as an independent and responsible person.
•To foster a sense of community based upon a boarding school tradition – boys living with peers and faculty families. Respect for others, a dress code, family-style meals, and appropriate behavior are hallmarks of this community.
•To promote a school culture that embraces diversity and recognizes the uniqueness of each individual.
•To develop close student-teacher relationships with a special concern for the personal development of the whole student: intellectual, creative, spiritual, moral, social, and athletic.
•To encourage within each boy a love of learning, the ability to think analytically and to develop the skills necessary to continue learning as a life-long experience.
•To support faculty excellence in teaching, coaching, and mentoring of students.
•To value equally effort and achievement – a boy is judged not only by academic and extracurricular accomplishments, but also by his efforts to excel to the best of his abilities.

Athletics

The Trinity-Pawling School competes in the Founders’ League, a highly competitive arena which college recruiters consider a prime source for spotting some of the nation’s best prep-school talent. T-P’s league competitors, all of which are in New England, include Avon, Kent, Hotchkiss, Loomis, Choate, Taft, Kingswood-Oxford and Westminster. The school boasts a number of Founders’ and Tri-State League championships. In 2005, the varsity football team had a perfect season, defeating Andover for the New England Championship.
At Trinity-Pawling, every boy is a three-season athlete. T-P offers 13 interscholastic sports with 30 teams, plus recreational activities. Depending on skill and experience, each boy competes on the varsity, junior varsity, thirds or fourths level. Forty-percent of graduates move on to play for, and captain, Division I, II and III intercollegiate or club teams in their respective sports. Baseball greats Mo Vaughn '86 and Kirk McCaskill '79 are two of the many Trinity-Pawling graduates who have gone on to have successful athletic careers.

Academics

The Effort System is at the heart of everything the school does. Unlike many competitive private institutions, T-P does not judge its students solely on the basis of grades. If a student is willing to give their best effort, regardless of the challenge or outcome, he'll be rewarded. Every six weeks a student receives effort marks ranging from “1” through “5” in seven different areas of campus life: academic achievement, academic participation, attendance and discipline, work program, extracurricular activities, athletics and the dormitory. Once all the effort marks have been generated, they are weighted appropriately and averaged together. A number between 1 (the best) and “5 (the worst) is generated.
If you’re in the First Effort Group, you have every privilege the school can offer - Evening Study Hall is optional, you can take more weekends off campus than anyone else, etc. When you demonstrate responsibility you earn respect. Likewise, if a student is in group five, things like study hall and breakfast are mandatory, and weekend leaves are limited.
The Effort System can be unpopular, particularly amongst new students unaccustomed to the rigorous and demanding environment of the school. However, boy's quickly learn that hard work is rewarding and by sophomore year, the majority of boys will be in groups 1 and 2.
The school also offers over 100 courses with 17 AP courses.

The Arts

After the completion of the new arts center in 2004, all of the arts are under one roof. Prior to the completion of the project, boys used to paint, sculpt, and perform in an old auditorium/gymnasium. The old space was totally gutted and renovated, and a new addition doubling the square footage of the old gym was added perpendicular to the original building. The Arts Center sits on the southern edge of campus.
''Performances''
Trinity-Pawling produces three major theatrical shows in the 400-seat Gardiner Theater each year - one per term. Of these, at least one is a musical. The goals of the program are two-fold: to acquaint students with classic theater and to provide opportunities for students to get on stage in front of audiences. Recent shows produced have included: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Matchmaker, Grease, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Antigone. All students are encouraged to audition for shows.
''Visual Arts''
The ground floor of the Arts Center is devoted to spaces for the visual arts. The Photo Lab has 12 enlargers and two other rooms for rolling film, drying and mounting prints, and storage. The Pottery Room has nine wheels, a slab roller, and three kilns for oxidation firings. A large painting and drawing studio can hold up to two classes at one time and the smaller Veith Studio is used by advanced students.

Notable Alumni

Frank 'Muddy' Waters '43
Kirk McCaskill '79
Maurice 'Mo' Vaughn '86

External links

★ Trinity-Pawling School Web site

★ Trinity-Pawling School Athletic Hall of Fame