Seventeen Meadow View students received their diplomas at the commencement ceremony held on June 11. Rev. Robert A. Sirico, cofounder and president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, delivered the commencement address. Beau Lovdahl and Alanna Crimmons received the Trinity School at Meadow View Graduate Awards for 2011.

Forty-three River Ridge students received their diplomas at the commencement ceremony held on June 11. Lorie Gildea, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, delivered the commencement address. Risa Peine and Adelmo Rodriguez received the Trinity School at River Ridge Graduate Awards for 2011.

Twenty-seven Greenlawn students received their diplomas at the commencement ceremony held on June 11. Amy Barrett, Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, delivered the commencement address. Katherine Mayer and Michael Jacobs received the Trinity School at Greenlawn Graduate Awards for 2011.

This was Matt’s sixth year on the Trinity School golf team and his fifth consecutive year in the Class A State Individual Tournament.  Matt was coached by his father, Mr. Chuck Chalberg.

Senior Amanda Bellomo also earned an individual award recognizing her academic excellence.

Congratulations to the softball players for their dedication to excellence both on the field and in the classroom!

Mr. Clem Walters

By Chris Meehan

Mr. Clem Walters will step down from the board of trustees of Trinity Schools this July after 30 years of service. Mr. Walters, a former banker who left the profession in 1974 to begin working for the People of Praise community, has labored tirelessly to ensure the financial stability of all three campuses.

In 1981, he helped obtain investment funds that allowed Trinity School to purchase the Greenlawn campus—its first permanent home. He negotiated the purchase of the Meadow View property, then worked with a team to manage its renovation into a facility suitable for a school. More recently, Mr. Walters served on a committee of three that oversaw the relocation of Trinity School at River Ridge. The process stretched out over several years and involved negotiating the sale of the Bloomington, MN, campus, dealing with the nearby airport authority and city officials, and overseeing the construction of the new $21 million campus in Eagan, Minnesota.

Mr. Walters also helped establish development offices for all three campuses, setting up an endowment fund for each.

“His financial acumen has been a crucial factor in the schools’ success,” says Dr. Lent. His understanding of the goals and principles of Trinity Schools helped us keep on track over the years,” adds Dr. Ranaghan. “He’s been invaluable.”

Along with serving Trinity Schools, Mr. Walters has had many other responsibilities for the People of Praise community over the years. As the first head of the community’s Mission Program Office, Mr. Walters and his wife Julie traveled extensively throughout the US, Canada and the Caribbean. He created a series of talks which was published as the book To Serve As Jesus Served. “I can’t imagine where we’d be in the People of Praise if Clem hadn’t sacrificed his career in favor of doing whatever it took to make the community work!” says Dr. Paul DeCelles, his long-time friend, co-worker and, until last year, the chair of Trinity Schools’ board of trustees.

Mr. Walters continues to work on a very active part-time basis as a business consultant for the People of Praise and as a board member of LaSalle Company. Mr. Walters and his wife, Julie, are founding members of the People of Praise.

The Board of Trustees of Trinity Schools has two new members: Mrs. Beth Bulger, a River Ridge parent, and Mr. Walt Seale, a former Meadow View teacher. They will be joining the board on July 1, 2011. Mr. Clem Walters, a member of the board since it began in 1981, will step down on the same date.

Mrs. Beth Bulger (Credit: Bob Cunningham)

Board chair Dr. Craig Lent says that Mrs. Bulger and Mr. Seale bring with them years of experience as teachers and Trinity School parents. Dr. Lent says, “Beth and Walt are solidly committed to the Trinity School mission of preparing students to ‘be of use to God in the wise care and governance of his creation and in the building of his kingdom’” (Trinity Schools mission statement). “They each have a great heart for the schools.”

In addition to homeschooling her six children, Mrs. Bulger has taught adult literacy, English as a second language, family life, and writing at the high school and college levels. She currently works as a freelance editor of college textbooks. “I want to see Trinity Schools continue to prosper and to be a strong voice in our culture,” she says.

She and her husband Jim have seen four of their children graduate from River Ridge (Catherine, Annie, Joe and Theresa); they will have children in seventh and tenth grades in the fall.

She says, “I’ve watched students wrestle with difficult questions and examine perspectives that challenge their worldviews—often in conversation with classmates, faculty and family members. I’ve seen them graduate with a deep respect for the human person and clarity about the building blocks of a just society.”

Mrs. Bulger obtained her bachelor’s degree in English at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and her master’s in English literature/teaching English as a second language from the University of Minnesota.

Mr. Walt Seale, his wife, Pam, and their daughter Mary (a Meadow View graduate). (Credit: Trish Brewer)

Mr. Seale has worked as a national sales manager for the U.S. Postal Service, a teacher of Scripture and the Humane Letters Seminar at Trinity School at Meadow View and a director of leader formation for Christians in Commerce, an international organization of Christian business men and women. “I find that Trinity Schools provide just the right environment for students to reach their potential,” he says. “They are given the tools to succeed and they learn how to take responsibility for their success. I’m hoping the combined experiences of being a parent of a Trinity School graduate (Mary Seale), a former faculty member and now a close co-worker with several Trinity School graduates will give me a helpful perspective to share with the board.”

Mr. Seale currently leads a campus outreach of the People of Praise community on the joint campus of Indiana University and Purdue University in Indianapolis, where he works with Trinity School alumni from all three schools. He and his wife Pam moved from the northern Virginia area to Indianapolis to participate in the outreach in 2009.

He earned his master’s in English and his M.F.A. in creative writing from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and his B.A. in English from Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.

Mr. Seale and Mrs. Bulger will each serve a three-year term. Other members of the board include Mr. Charles Fraga, Dr. Kerry Koller (ex officio), Dr. Bob Magill, Dr. David O’Hanley, Dr. Kevin Ranaghan and Mr. Michael Zusi.

River Ridge junior Tony Kuplic gets airborne.

In 2010-11 the Trinity boys’ basketball team enjoyed its most successful season in recent years, finishing 16-12—their first winning record since 2006-07. The season itself had a number of highlights, including a second-place finish in the MCAA conference tournament, as well as the school’s first win in the section playoffs since moving to Class AA in 2008. By all accounts, it was a fantastic season.

While this marks a bright spot in recent years for Trinity boys’ basketball, junior Tony Kuplic put up staggering stats consistently. He led the team in scoring, with an average of nearly 30 points per game (third best in the metro), while sustaining an average of 6 rebounds and 4 steals per game.  His season high game (43 points) marks the second best in school history.  Tony eclipsed the 1000-point scoring mark this year, placing him within range to set a new school record next season.

Tony inspires on the stats sheet, and he brings vivacious energy to the court as well.  “He doesn’t like to lose, and it shows in the way he plays,” assistant coach Joe Buri said.  “He has a motor that just never runs out of gas; he is always going.” Above all this—and perhaps most importantly—Tony plays the game with humility and class.  We look forward to seeing him play again next year in his final season at Trinity.