Young Clairbourn Alums Give Additional Scholarship Funding in Honor of Headmaster
Alumni Richard and Eric Dong returned to campus to give an additional $20,000 to the Richard and Eric Dong Scholarship for Music and Arts at Clairbourn School in honor of Dr. Nafie’s thirty-nine years of service to the school and the community. When the scholarship fund was initiated in 2014, the boys contributed $30,000 to establish the fund. This year, they wanted to contribute $20,000 to the fund in Dr. Nafie’s honor and to express gratitude to him as their wonderful former headmaster. As philanthropy is a core value in the Dong family, they wanted to show young people the importance of generously giving back to others. Richard and Eric also performed a musical recital and shared with students their exemplary piano playing skills. Dr. Nafie introduced them both and shared a biography of their accomplishments, followed by a short speech by Richard Dong. Watch the videos and read Richard Dong’s speech below:
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New Richard & Eric Dong Endowment at SMHS
Young Alumni Philanthropists
Continue reading “New Richard & Eric Dong Endowment at SMHS”
Coach Paciorek Batting Cage Is Now Open!
April 3, 2017- Ribbon Cutting Event
Carina Walker, Kim Elsesser, Miwa Takayanagi, Board of Trustee President Margaret Breazeal, Justin W., Bridget Paciorek, Bradley M., Livia Aryananda, Michelle X., Matthew R., Jane Wang, Brian X., Kerry Reiling, Jake J., Jeffrey R., William Marelich, Jack P., Akira T., Chase W., Morgan K., Anthony C., Karen Paciorek, Coach John Paciorek, Kris Mohandie, Nova W., Ashby Z., Janna Hawes, Sherri Notley, Josh Elmore, Ashlee N., Kelson J., Nancy Larr, Headmaster Dr. Robert Nafie, Atticus W., Sara Williams, Terry Xu, Christian M., Carson P., Janice Elmore, Aidan C., Keith Zee, Jane Marks, Monica Chiu, Kyle Schaberg, Caroline K., and Dora Kwan.
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.”
Batting Cage Fund Chairs Dr. William Marelich, Bradley Marelich, and Dr. Kim Elsesser.
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.
Eighth-graders congratulate Coach Paciorek: Oliver B., Jeffrey R., Zoe G., Sherry F., Emma L., Megan J., Makenna K., Evan X., and Alex X. 
Sixth-graders Kristy S., Samantha F., Angie C., Emily W., Chelsea C., and Kayla L. congratulate Coach Paciorek. 
Fifth-graders Wendy W., Raymond M., Aidan C., Cyanne J., Christian M., William H., Raymond T., and Andrew P. congratulate Coach Paciorek as they tour the new batting cage. 
Headmaster Dr. Nafie greets first grade students Hayden Y., Akira T., and Athan C. as they exit the new batting cage. 
Coach John Paciorek speaking to the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony 
Coach Paciorek with his after-school baseball class students Adrienne X., Hayden Y., Jay Z., Akira T., Carson P., Anderson G., Jack P., Lukas D., Valen S., Marc C., Athan C., Ian L., Heath W., Atticus W., Atticus S., Jerry Z., Wesley C., Shogo H., Lucas H., and Jason Q. 
Headmaster Dr. Robert Nafie, Board of Trustees President Margaret Breazeal, Coach John Paciorek, Dr. William Marelich, Bradley Marelich, and Dr. Kim Elsesser.
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.
New Clairbourn Board Member – Jane Marks , Current Parent and Trustee
New Clairbourn Trustee at Large Jane Marks with her husband Jerry and son Christian.
The Clairbourn Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of current Clairbourn parent Jane Marks to the Board. As the ultimate private school customer (having experienced a total of 19 consecutive school years since 1998 for all three of her children), she brings a wealth of knowledge to the table about private school education on both the parent-experience and student-experience sides.
Her oldest son is Jordan Marks, Class of 2008, who attended from Pre-K to 8th grade. Her daughter Taylor Marks, Class of 2011, started in 2001 and stayed for Pre-K to 8th grade. Christian Marks is her youngest son. He started in Junior Pre-K in the Fall of 2008 and is part of the graduating class of 2020.
When looking for schools almost 20 years ago, Jane and her husband Jerry were set on finding a great private school for their Children. Clairbourn stood out from the competition because they found it to have strong academics combined with a nurturing environment. Clairbourn was so welcoming and felt like home. They were also attracted to the public-speaking emphasis and appreciated the universal values shared at morning Chapel.
Taylor Marks (center) attended Clairbourn from preschool to 8th Grade and graduated in 2011
Even though all three of her children are very different people, Clairbourn turned out to be a right fit for each of them because she could see they were achieving academically, they were successful in other activities, and they loved going to school and loved the process of learning. This success has continued for her two older children through high school and college.
She also appreciates that this love of learning goes hand-in-hand with a powerful spirit of self-motivation to be one’s best without an undue sense of pressure or competition. Jane credits Clairbourn with hitting the right balance between study-time and cultivating the other sides of personal development which she considers to be deeply healthy for children.
As a long-time parent, Jane has been involved on campus as a volunteer in almost every available capacity including current secretary of the CFA Executive Board. She has volunteered at Cougar Corner, book fairs, carnivals, spring auctions, room parent activities, special lunches, dances, and more. She considers these school-focused years as very precious, and even though she serves on her neighborhood board and has served on the La Salle High School Mother’s Alumni Group, Clairbourn gets the lion’s share of her volunteer time.
Jordan Marks (back row, far right) attended Clairbourn from preschool to 8th Grade and graduated in 2008.
Jane shared, “There is nowhere else quite like Clairbourn. This school attracts people who appreciate balance, quality of life, and values in addition to top academic performance. We have nice families here and my children have nice friends. It is a great community. I feel lucky to be able to come on campus to volunteer and participate. It is my number one job. My children can see my commitment to the school and they have appreciated school even more as a result.”
If you see Jane around campus, be sure to say “Hi” and take a moment to get to know her better. Jane has a B.S. in Business from Cal State Los Angeles, has worked in sales in the Title Insurance Industry, and has a host of personal interests that range from Western horse riding, to gardening, skiing, running. We hope you will enjoy getting to know Jane and will join us in celebrating her appointment to our school board.
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.
New Clairbourn Board Member – Lucy Huang Alum, Former Clairbourn Parent, and Trustee
The Clairbourn Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of alum and former Clairbourn parent Lucy Huang to the Board.
New Clairbourn Trustee at Large Lucy Huang Chang with her daughter Kimberly.
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”Alumni Spotlight – Pete Paciorek, Class of 1990
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.
Alumni Spotlight – Kris Mohandie, Class of 1976 Renowned Forensic Psychologist
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”Alumni Spotlight – Kris Van Cleave, Class of 1994
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”Alumni Spotlight – Jessica Morgan, Class of 1989
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”Alumni Influx
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.