Fostering spiritual development, academic excellence, & service to others.
DonateTrinity Catholic School welcomes students in the 7th and 8th grade to enroll for one full academic school year. Our program offers a wide variety of benefits that will meet each child’s individual needs. We offer educational programs that will enhance their overall international experience and expose them to our culture and language in a Catholic school setting.
The exchange students’ primary responsibility is to learn to be fluent in English. Activities that encourage this growth are highly recommended. Activities that inhibit this are discouraged and you should seek the assistance of the classroom teacher, Mr. Turner, or Mrs. Holcomb. Exchange students should become an integral part of the Trinity Host family.
Exchange families should talk with the Host families as soon as they have been paired together. An immediate area to discuss is whether or not the Host family has any family vacations planned and how you and/or they want to handle those times. If exchange students are to be included in previous plan family vacations that have been planned far in advance, then it is up to the exchange student and his/her family to accept the invitation. If they accept the invitation, the cost of the trip is to be considered and the student should pay for their portion of this trip. If they choose not to attend, then arrangements should be made for them to stay with another member of the school community while this vacation is taking place.
The normal food costs household accessories are included in the Room and Board rate of $850.00 per month. How this is paid; direct deposit, check, cash, etc. can be agreed upon by the host family and Trinity Catholic School upon arrival to Spokane. If the family is going out to dinner then this is part of the Room and Board. If the student chooses to go out to dinner with a different family, or to the movies or other such entertainment as part of their own social invitation (not those of the family) then these costs are born to the exchange student and his/her personal funds.
American children often have to do chores or earn money for extra things. The exchange student is expected to take his/her place in the family and follow the norms of the family.
You are spending valuable money to have your child experience and speak in the American culture, any time in their native language is detrimental to learning the language fluently. We will encourage students to speak in English, even if other exchange students are in the school.
Exchange students must follow the family decisions on events or activities outside of the home, the same as your own children. In addition, they are not to associate with only other exchange students except on a limited basis. A normal adjustment time is about one month. Should unusual disconnect continue between the exchange student and the Host family, you should contact Mr. Turner or Mrs. Holcomb and have a conference over the concerns. But be patient. Time heals many things. Get them as actively involved as possible.
The host family is not to give more or less attention to helping the exchange student. The exchange student is responsible to go to the teacher, Mr. Turner or Mrs. Holcomb to get additional help if needed academically. The Host family's own son/daughter should help at first but after a normal 'break-in' period, about one month. The exchange student should be independent and working the same as the other children and taking ownership of their grades.
Visits from exchange families is highly discouraged. Even Christmas and Easter, as special as they are, should not be times for visits from exchange families.
Exchange students should not be spending more than what would be expected in your own home from your own children on activities and a social life. Granted, if they are buying gifts for later or souvenirs, these would be exceptions.
Exchange students are very welcome to participate in the school extra curricular activities. Programs outside of the school are a decision that the Host family and the Exchange student have to discuss. The costs of these programs are the responsibility of the Exchange student, but the travel to get them is a great concern for some host families. This must not put an undue burden on the Host family and the Host family has the final decision as to whether an Exchange student can participate in these additional programs.
Boy School Sports: American football, cross country, basketball, wrestling, baseball, track and field.
Girl School Sports: Volleyball, cross country, basketball, softball, track and field.
Exchange students at Trinity Catholic School carry the responsibility of representing not only their family but their host family. They also carry the responsibility of maintaining high behavioral conduct as they create, by their attitudes and actions, reputations that need to be highly respected in order for future students to be welcomed and able to obtain host families.
An Exchange student who is under disciplinary action creates, whether rightly or wrongly, undue publicity to themselves, their host family, and a tendency by others to judge cautiously future decisions about hosting exchange students.
An Exchange student who requires disciplinary action by either the host family or the school is subject to withdrawal and return to their home. The cost of this withdrawal and return is the burden of the student’s family. No refunds after the school year has begun will be granted because of a removal of a student for disciplinary reasons.
Disciplinary actions will be taken with Exchange students the same as they are followed for domestic students. Those rules and procedures are found in the Trinity Directory and listed under Discipline.