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April 3, 2017- Ribbon Cutting Event

Retiring Clairbourn Coach John Paciorek was honored in early April at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new state-of-the-art batting cage built on campus in his honor. Paciorek will be retiring after 41 years from Clairbourn School at the end of the 2016-2017 school year.

Joining the gathering of students and staff at the site of the new facility were a host of donors including the Batting Cage Fund Chairs and current Clairbourn Parents Dr. William Marelich and Dr. Kim Elsesser. The Marelich family had interest in leading the fund because of their son’s experience with John Paciorek as a coach. “We all know about his famous baseball statistic, but the reason we admire John Paciorek isn’t his record-setting performance in baseball’s Major Leagues. We appreciate him because of the joy he’s brought to Clairbourn students, and also to our son Bradley. John is not your typical P.E. teacher. He quotes philosophy, writes books, and never waivers in his pursuit of perfection. We are indebted to him for sharing his passion for learning and constant self-improvement with our son Bradley and all Clairbourn students.”

The new batting cage, built by U.S. Sports Netting, is one of the largest and nicest in the area. It measures in at 70 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 12 feet high. It is an all-weather structure with a hard metal roof, interior padding over the poles, poly mesh panels that skim the chain-link sides to screen out the wind and sun-glare, and it includes UV treated and weatherproof black nylon netting inside the cage. There are two L-shaped protection panels which project from the sides, a movable custom 10-inch high pitching mound, and the structure has LED lighting on the ceiling and artificial turf on the floor. Pitching is handled by a top-of-the-line Iron Mike machine which is durable, very accurate, and will allow student athletes to experience the speed of pitches faced in games. The machine can also accommodate pitching distances from 45 feet up to 60 feet.

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Fans and friends of Coach Paciorek are encouraged to visit his Facebook Retirement page where they can send a greeting to Coach, share comments, and enjoy 41 years of photos at https://www.facebook.com/CoachPaciorek.

Clairbourn School Provides Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School Grades | Serving Families in the Pasadena, California, Area and Surrounding Cities (K-12 Private Schools) | Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Click here to request information.

The Clairbourn Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of alum and former Clairbourn parent Lucy Huang to the Board.

Lucy Huang earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Finance and her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education both at University of Southern California. Lucy is co-founder of Charter Enterprise which has been a leader in its field, specializing in industry-leading outdoor gas barbecue grills sold in specialty stores and mass-merchant stores as well as commercial food service equipment for renowned nationwide hotels, restaurants, and fast food chains.

Continue reading “New Clairbourn Board Member – Lucy Huang Alum, Former Clairbourn Parent, and Trustee”

Alum Pete Paciorek has just released a book on character development in sports titled Character Loves Company: Defining The Teachable Moments In Sports. Among the contributors to the book are Olympic gold medalists, NCAA National Champions, coaches, and the foreword is written by World Series Champion General Manager Fred Claire. Check out the book by clicking on the cover below.

Clairbourn School Provides Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School Grades | Serving Families in the Pasadena, California, Area and Surrounding Cities (K-12 Private Schools) | Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Click here to request information.

Our first alumni spotlight of the 2016-2017 year shines on alum Kris Mohandie, who is also a current parent at the school. Kris arrived at Clairbourn in his 7th grade year, which he says, “…would have been a long time ago.” After graduating from Clairbourn, he went to La Salle and from there went to Cal Poly, Pomona, and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

From there, he went to the California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles, where he got a master’s degree and, later, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Today, he’s one of the country’s most respected and well-known clinical police and forensic psychologists.The alumni office was fortunate enough to spend half an hour with Kris, who reminisced about his time at Clairbourn, the beginnings of his professional career, and the many components of his job.

Continue reading “Alumni Spotlight – Kris Mohandie, Class of 1976 Renowned Forensic Psychologist”

When Kris entered Clairbourn for his 8th grade year, it was the sixth school he’d attended in nine years. “I got very used to being the new kid,” he recalled in a half-hour long phone interview with the alumni office.

Continue reading “Alumni Spotlight – Kris Van Cleave, Class of 1994”

After attending Clairbourn for her middle school years, Jessica attended Westridge School then moved on to UCLA where she graduated with an English Literature degree. Jessica first stepped into the success spotlight in 2004, when she co-founded a celebrity-fashion blog with her writing partner, Heather Cocks. The pair have since written two young adult novels and their most recent book, The Royal We, has been on a number of bestseller lists.

The alumni office recently caught up with the ever-busy Jessica Morgan to glean insights about her career, what it takes to succeed in her world, and why reading is so important.

Continue reading “Alumni Spotlight – Jessica Morgan, Class of 1989”

Last Monday, Clairbourn hit the alumni jackpot when 12 alums visited campus on a day off from school.

While all of them visited with their former teachers, Christian Yeghnazar, Nathan Garcia, and Austin Ning also helped out with PE classes. The other alums that stopped by were Alex Montgomery, Alice Su, Melody Chu, Linus Jen, Carissa Coane, Jonathan Ting, Erin Price, Emily Zhou, and Nicholas Rivelle.

Thank you all for visiting!

Clairbourn School Provides Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School Grades | Serving Families in the Pasadena, California, Area and Surrounding Cities (K-12 Private Schools) | Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Click here to request information.

Providing Next Generation Science Kits

San Marino Rotary Charities provided two $500 William G. Steele Mini-Grant Awards for Clairbourn teachers Kimberlee Maltbie and Jorie Pletcher in third and second grades respectively.

These K-12 monetary awards are designed to support local educators who “strive for innovation and creativity in the classroom” through interactive learning projects that promote passion for learning, curiosity, and provide enriching, challenging, and innovative classroom experiences.

Mrs. Maltbie applied for funds to acquire a “Gravity and Magnetism Science Kit” from Seeds of Science and Roots of Reading to “…integrate science and literacy within a unit which immerses students in learning about forces, gravity, magnetism, electrostatic force, and other key physical science concepts. Students will learn important strategies to comprehend science texts and gather information to support their inquiry by reading.”

Mrs. Pletcher sought to enhance her second grade science classes with a “Designing Mixtures Science Kit” from Seeds of Science and Roots of Reading. The kit integrates literacy and science text comprehension with science activities that provide an immersive experience where students learn about “properties of substances, dissolving mixtures, the design process, and other key physical science concepts.”

For both grades, these new Next Generation Science Standards materials will provide the opportunity for students to experience “…first-hand inquiry, read content-rich science books, talk with others about their investigations, and record and reflect on their learning.”

Warmest thanks go to San Marino Rotary Charities for awarding these grants to our Clairbourn teachers.

Clairbourn School Provides Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School Grades | Serving Families in the Pasadena, California, Area and Surrounding Cities (K-12 Private Schools) | Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Click here to request information.

Being located in Southern California has its advantages! For Clairbourn school it means enjoying a warm climate perfect for swimming. The luxury of an on-campus pool, for use by our Kindergarten through 8th grade students, allows us to help kids be water-safe by training them early to be strong, confident swimmers.

Clairbourn School has enjoyed several pools on its campus since the 1930s. Along the western perimeter, there used to be an amazing movie-star-style pool, complete with a center fountain, located in the spot where the 1st-3rd Randall Hall classrooms now stand. This pool was removed in the late 1960s to make room for the Gardner Building which existed from 1969 to 2000.

A second pool was acquired in 1958 when Clairbourn expanded the campus grounds eastward to the Thompson Estate property. This pool, located directly across from the Manor House, has been used for P.E. classes and summer programs ever since.

At one time, it even included a tall slide, won as a prize by a teacher who appeared on a game show. Insurance regulations eventually became stricter and the school wasn’t allowed to replace the slide. Sadly it was removed when the chute wore out.

In the 1980s, the pool’s life was extended by giving it a fiberglass lining, but by the late 2000s, the swimming pool was showing its age. The plumbing lines were congested, there was leakage from earthquake cracks, the pump and filters were old, the pool required special cleaning, and there were a host of cosmetic problems. The question of whether or not to keep the pool was weighed, but after due consideration, the importance of serving our students and families with a swimming program won the day!

In the Fall of 2014, Clairbourn decided to completely renew this 80,000 plus gallon pool.

It required draining all the water, jack-hammering the pool down to its undermost layer, repairing all the structural cracks, replacing the electric lines and pool light, splitting the drain, replacing the plumbing lines, coping, concrete decks, and replacing all the heating, filtering, and pump equipment. A new life-guard perch, special ladders, swimming lanes, and depth markers were also added. The school also switched to a saline-based system which means less irritating chlorine needs to be added to the water each week.

The student body watched the construction with excitement during the fall and winter months, waiting for the weather to warm up so they could dive in and enjoy this new jewel of the campus. But, the first ones to enjoy the pool turned out to be a pair of Canada geese! Right after Spring Break, a goose nest was discovered next to the pool. Because migrating birds and their nests are protected by

Federal law, the school had to make accommodations to ensure the birds were not disturbed by swimming students until the eggs hatch. Both the mother and father goose have been frequently seen taking breaks from their guard and nest-sitting duties to swim in the heated pool.

As the spring and summer months approach, our students are eagerly anticipating their chance to swim in the pool for P.E. and play water games in the Summer Advantage Program, and who knows, they just might be joined by some adorable teenage-goslings!

Clairbourn School Provides Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School Grades | Serving Families in the Pasadena, California, Area and Surrounding Cities (K-12 Private Schools) | Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Click here to request information.

Clairbourn school has an unusual addition to its student body this year, a pair of Canada geese! Over the spring break when the campus was completely quiet, a pair of migrating birds took note of the school’s newly refurbished swimming pool and athletic field. They clearly thought this beautiful, quite, park-like campus was an ideal place to build a nest. So they landed and laid some eggs adjacent to the pool.

A few days later, classes were back in full swing and the birds were quickly discovered by our maintenance staff. Since Federal law protects migratory birds and their eggs, Clairbourn took swift action to rope off the sensitive nesting area and made sure to keep students clear of the very-protective papa goose. The school decided to use this occasion as a teaching moment to help students learn about migration, the nature and habits of geese, the incubation period of their eggs, and the importance of protecting creatures in our environment.

There seem to be at least four eggs in the nest and the mother goose dutifully tends the nest night and day- only occasionally taking breaks to eat or swim in the pool. The father goose spends most of his time out on the athletic field, mainly to ward off other geese who might want to nest in the same area. Both geese are awake for most of the night to watch for predators.

Each morning at Chapel, Headmaster Dr. Nafie, gives students an update on the activities of the geese since he has a front row seat from his headmaster’s residence and he also watches them on the school’s goose-cam. One such update inspired a parent to contact Channel 4 news, and they picked up the story. A film crew was soon on its way to film the geese and interview our students. View the news clip here.

More footage of Clairbourn’s Canadian Geese can be found by clicking the following links: Canada Geese Goslings Tour the Clairbourn Grounds 1, Canada Geese Goslings Tour the Clairbourn Grounds 2

Teachers, parents, and staff alike have been impressed by the respectful and accommodating attitudes of the student body towards the geese, especially since they’ve had to postpone swimming as the weather has warmed up.

Clairbourn School Provides Private School Education for Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School Grades | Serving Families in the Pasadena, California, Area and Surrounding Cities (K-12 Private Schools) | Clairbourn is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Click here to request information.