Good Morning, Please Stand…
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here is comfort in knowing that some things will always be the same. Like the ritual of a morning cup of coffee, or the sun coming in the same window each day, or the kiss from a loved one that warms you up and sends you on your way. At Trinity, that constant is Morning Meeting: a time when the whole school comes together for announcements, reflection, celebration, corny jokes, reminders, intense discussion, laughter, and sometimes tears. It is a shared experience where, for 15 minutes, all lines are blurred and the heart of Trinity is on display. There is comfort in the daily reciting of the pledge of allegiance, in the sacred time during the prayer reading, in “Corny Joke Fridays” and “Bragging Rights Mondays.” There is also an intangible quality to Morning Meeting that is understood only by being in the room. It’s a place where everyone feels protected yet challenged. It’s a place where the artist, the athlete, and the academic are all celebrated; where teachers can make fun of each other and where race, religion and gender are just small facets of our selves. For Headmaster Tom Aycock, Morning Meeting is an opportunity to lead, to listen, to teach, to get to know, and to provide support. “Morning Meeting is Dr. Aycock’s classroom,” said Assistant Head Rob Short. “It is the means by which he can spend time with every2
WINTER 2013
one, each and every morning. He can give instruction, focus us all on the positives and show everyone how, when we fall short, we can turn that failure into a positive too.” It’s a dynamic classroom that seems to perfectly embody the attitude of the school community that day. Some mornings are quiet and contemplative, some rowdy and playful. Some announcements get applause, some tears. “Morning Meeting has made me laugh, cry, cringe, applaud vehemently, roll my eyes and even boo (for a particularly weak corny joke),” said science teacher Alice Phillips. “There are occasional meetings when we don’t hit the mark because it’s too long or too irrelevant or too complicated. But mostly, it’s such an apt symbol of all that Trinity is – the diversity, the friendliness, the tolerance, the spirit, respect and enthusiasm.” Students also feel the energy and appreciate the morning ritual. Senior Alex Upadhyaya knows it well. “Morning Meeting really embodies the sense of community that Trinity is known for. Through the time we spend together each morning, my fellow advisees and I have become like a family. I can't think of a better way to start off my day than gathering to share our announcements and achievements with the whole Trinity community,” she said.
There are certain moments and images that stand out over the years, like Dr. Aycock’s winter snow dances, English teacher Tom Wyllie’s “hunting hat” announcements, or when history teacher Rick Hamlin ’96 announced that his sister and school counselor Laura Hamlin Weiler ’00 got engaged. The prom date request always gets applause, as does a win from Dr. Aycock’s favorite Carolina basketball team. “One of my favorite things is when someone makes their first-ever Morning Meeting announcement,” said Athletic Director Eric Gobble. “They look terrified and excited all at once…everyone is so enthusiastically supportive, with smiles, calls of encouragement and applause, even if the announcement is simple and mundane. When that person finishes and sits down…it’s like you can see them at that moment weaving themselves more tightly into the school’s fabric.” Some moments are more sobering, like when students get scolded for not picking up trash or for taking something that isn’t theirs or an announcement that someone in the community has passed, and it is in these moments that Trinity’s true character is felt. “Most people can’t imagine being in one room with 500+ other people, with the room so quiet you could hear a phone vibrate,” said librarian Lee Sprague, “or being in that same room and reacting with glee at a good corny joke, or yelling with our loudest cheer for a team’s outstanding achievements.”
