PTO is a community of parents and teachers working together for the benefit of school and students. Now in its third year, Trinity’s PTO has expanded its scope and its base to empower parents to propel the school to unprecedented heights.

In its first year, Trinity’s PTO was a melting pot of each of the former schools ideas and desires. Some ideas simmered and some boiled over but the end result was school budget support that made supported another year of Trinity Catholic School. Trinity PTO’s second year was a blending year-one of cooperation and collaboration. Co-chairs allowed for the collection of ideas and planning for the future.

Beginning this school year, PTO blossomed from 12 to 24 committees and several more have been added throughout the year. This evolution is being driven by a shift from a fund-driven organization to purpose driven one. Three of the brightest committee additions include Religion, Recycling and Welcoming.

Trinity PTO’s Religion Committee was charged this year with the creation of Catholic Religious Retreats for all grade levels without compromising our primary religious events such as Christmas, Stations of the Cross and Feast and Holy Days. This year’s Religion Committee includes parents, teachers, the Principal and the Pastor of the school.

Under the chairmanship of parent Jillian Shepard, along with support by parent Deb Rotolico and Teacher Liz Dunn, Trinity PTO’s Recycling Committee includes the collection, organization and redemption of Box tops/Sox tops, soup labels, phone and print cartridges, waste paper and cardboard, returnable bottles, Nabisco foil paper packaging, wine bottle corks, juice pouches and grocery programs such as Hannaford Helps and Shaw’s receipts. A recent meeting between Trinity and an Auburn city councilperson highlighted how successful our recycling program is when it was discovered that Trinity is already recycling items that were not commonly known to be recyclable.

A final improvement to this year’s PTO was the creation and adoption of position descriptions for each standing committee. For example, the Welcoming committee is “charged with assisting the Trinity Catholic staff in welcoming all new families to the school. The chair works with Administration on organizing Welcoming activities such as a Welcome breakfast. The Welcoming chair will organize folders with vital information for all new families. The chair will be the liaison between PTO and the Welcoming committee and keep the PTO abreast of all Welcoming activities.” This final step not only increases the focus of each committee, but assists in the recruitment of future chairpersons.

Continuous improvement at Trinity, a driving force in academics, is becoming ever-present in the schools associated services as well and none more than in PTO. “The future is ahead of us and it is absolutely as bright as we desire it to be”, says a PTO member. Planning, growth and inclusion are the keys to the tremendous support that Trinity’s PTO can offer to the school.