Four-time Boston Marathon champ Bill Rodgers has wisely said, “The advice I have for beginners is the same philosophy that I have for runners of all levels of experience and ability: consistency, a sane approach, moderation, and making your running an enjoyable, rather than dreaded, part of your life.”
That’s the same kind of wise approach fueling Clairbourn Head of School Dr. Amy Patzlaff’s interest in running. She explains, “I like to run in races because they keep me motivated and give me a goal—and the goal for me is self-improvement…to perform incrementally better than in my previous races.” In addition to the LA Marathon, some of her recent races include several 10K runs, and two Pasadena Half Marathons which she ran in 2018 and 2019.
Students sell their wares at recent Entrepreneur Fairs at Clairbourn School.
Early entrepreneurship experiences are becoming increasingly important as an education tool to teach students a host of important lessons that can pay off later in life. According to inc.com editor Tom Foster, who wrote about student entrepreneurship programs in February 2017, “The big idea underpinning all of them: Work has changed, and no matter what career kids ultimately pursue, they’re going to have to constantly adapt and innovate in order to succeed–just like entrepreneurs do.”
There is no escape from learning what it means to be a consumer who is constantly shelling out money for purchases. But, everything changes when there is early exposure to the basics of business thinking. This can change a student’s entire outlook–especially when they can explore, in an age-appropriate way, how to generate valuable ideas, create products and services, and hopefully build wealth.
At Clairbourn School, these lessons can start as early as preschool where students can play “store” in the classroom or even “go big” by having their own booth at the Annual Entrepreneur Fair where they can sell goods and services to the school community. Then as they move through the higher grade levels at Clairbourn, the entrepreneur opportunities repeat and expand so they can continue to develop their skills, business thinking, and overall success.
Recently, Clairbourn’s first grade class, taught by Miss Lindsay Dezutter, held their own First Grade Classroom Store Activity as part of their social studies unit. This project was an introduction to economics, and it provided background knowledge to prepare students for future economics units and the 3rd Grade Marketplace project. Their class activity covered the economic concepts of consumers and producers, wants and needs, money exchanged for goods and services, and time and materials costs.
For this activity, students were asked to create individual shops that would sell goods they produced themselves. They only could use paper to make their products and everything had to be handmade. They also were required to set the price for their products.
Clairbourn first-graders participated in a Classroom Store Activity where they created their own store with handmade paper products. These two students made 3D paper characters to sell.
Claire Louise Bourne was Clairbourn School’s original student and the reason for the school’s founding.
Clairbourn School celebrates the life of Claire Bourne (known in later years as Claire L. “Deede” Phillips), the namesake of the school, who passed away peacefully in Montana at the age of 97 in January of 2019.
Clairbourn School was started in 1926 by her parents Mr. and Mrs. Arthur K. Bourne, a prominent San Marino, California, couple. A. K. Bourne (1877–1967) was the second son of Frederick Gilbert Bourne who is widely credited with the success of the Singer sewing machine company. In 1919 when his father died, A.K. Bourne inherited a large portion of the company fortune.
Clairbourn’s school community was treated to an unforgettable production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night performed by Clairbourn 6th-8th grade students in early March. This crowd-pleasing show took place in an Old Globe Theater setting, constructed in the school’s gymnasium. Over three consecutive show dates, the production featured a variety of humorous antics, stage fighting, great costumes, original music and stand-out performances. It is noteworthy that this unabridged, unedited production was offered by young people between the ages of eleven and fourteen.
Estella B. plays “Maria, secretary to Olivia.”
The Roaring Twenties setting dazzled the audience with its costuming and jazzy tunes. Singing, live student accompaniment, dancing and action sequences—for instance, the comic boxing match—appealed to first grade students on up to adults. The young students who attended sat in the “groundlings” section where they were right on top of the action and thrills.
Clairbourn’s English teacher Janet Taylor provides an academic foundation for the production. Well before auditions occur, students learn the storyline and character relationships in English classes, and work through the meaning of unfamiliar words and terms. By the time the student-actors face their first show date, they have a good understanding of their lines (including some elements of rhetorical structure), and they have the tools to bring their performances to life with the humor and wit required of a Shakespearean comedy.
