Palmer Trinity School

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R "A L ONE W E C A N DO S O L I T T L E ; T OGE T HER , W E C A N DO S O MUCH." – HEL EN K EL L ER So much has changed during my 17 years at Palmer Trinity School. We expanded our campus, built a chapel, constructed new classroom buildings, and added athletic fields. Thanks to Head of School, Patrick Roberts, we have started new traditions, such as Lessons and Carols, the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, Bows and Bowties, and the Gala. We have added the International Baccalaureate to our curriculum and are a part of Round Square. We have watched students fly from our Falcon nest into the real world becoming alumni, making a difference in their new communities much as they did here. Now, here we are celebrating Palmer Trinity School's 50 th Anniversary. From two schools (Palmer Prep and Trinity Episcopal) with a combined 300 students to an almost 60-acre campus housing one of South Florida's foremost independent, coed private schools. What our cherished institution has become in the last half- century is a testament to the hard work, extreme generosity, and unfailing love of our PTS students, families, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends. We are more than a school community; we are a family. And together, we are formidable. This year alone is proof of our resilience. After two years of uncertainty, we were excited to be able to welcome our students and faculty back on campus, fully in-person and mask-optional. We had our 8 th Grade Dance, Prom, and of course Graduation—important milestones our students could not celebrate fully in 2020 and 2021. On page 54, you can read about the return of our legendary Sandy Golf and Tennis Tournament, which raised $100,000 for the Sandy Block Financial Aid Fund. In honor of our 50 th Anniversary, we held our first-ever black-tie Gala at The Biltmore, raising $240,000 for the Capital Campaign (See photos from it on pages 52 and 53). We were thrilled to launch our International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) this year, which Manjula Salomon, Associate Head of Academics and Global Scholar in Residence, and Orlando Sarduy, IB Program Coordinator, talk about in detail on page 38. We were able to accomplish great achievements with care because of the attention to community safety and each person's commitment to the Falcon Pledge. After two years of isolation, the faculty and staff value any opportunity to once again be face-to-face with our community, and that includes all of you. Thank you for being such an integral part of the Palmer Trinity School family and for allowing our students to share their daily life with us. Enjoy this special issue of the Aerie, celebrating 50 years of Palmer Trinity School. I can't wait to see what the next 50 will bring. S U Z A NNE G O T T L IEB C A L L E J A Associate Head of School for Communications and Strategic Partnerships 4 PALMERTRINITY.ORG

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