Students at Clairbourn are on an exciting journey of self-discovery and risk-taking made possible by a team of supportive teachers, a kind community, and an inspiring and safe environment. Children learn to discover their abilities in math, science, art, drama, music, and sports thanks to the cultivation of a growth mindset which keeps them motivated and moving forward in the face of setbacks encountered along their learning journey.
Clairbourn Students build pillow forts at home for the annual Engineering Design Challenge.
STEM activities like those found in Clairbourn’s annual Engineering Design Challenge are a big part of that journey. It is where students learn to believe in their abilities as designers and problem-solvers, and self-identify as engineers. To continue this school-wide activity during the Pandemic, with learning taking place at home, called for some serious re-imagining on the part of the school to make sure students didn’t miss out on this important learning milestone.
For elementary school students, early technology training, a growth mindset, and teamwork skills can help them make the most of opportunities that come later in life. Former Clairbourn School students Nina Luo and Caroline Kwan, from the Class of 2018, exemplify this perfectly. The following article describes their new app, “Dishcovery,” and how Clairbourn School provided early educational advantages that helped them to take on this later technology challenge.
Nina Luo and Caroline Kwan, creators of the Dishcovery app. Both young women are Clairbourn School alumnae.
Anytime an interactive tool or device is created, there is a lot to learn and accomplish. Having an ability to think conceptually as well analytically is key to generating the initial idea, the plan, and the steps for development and deployment. When busy high school students Nina Luo and Caroline Kwan set out to create an app for their summer computer class at Coding Minds Academy, they didn’t flinch when faced with the mountain of work involved. They chose to invest their precious free time, both in and outside of class, to make an app that had meaning and value for their everyday life.
As food enthusiasts who frequently eat out and enjoy discovering new dishes, Nina and Caroline realized they wanted a way to quickly identify the customers’ favorite items on restaurant menus. Both of them were aware of Yelp.com but felt that reading through multiple posts and clarifying what was worth ordering was too time consuming. So they decided to build an app that could determine the preferred items mentioned in user reviews and then list the top ten dishes at restaurants.
Thanks to some clever video editing by drama teacher Paul Barker and lots of creativity and heart, middle school students at Clairbourn found a new way to perform their annual Pooh Play while in remote-learning mode.
This year’s play featured a fresh story concept developed by Mr. Barker inspired by A. A. Milne’s characters from the Winnie the Pooh series. In the play, Roo and Tigger get into lots of trouble, including becoming stuck in the tree-tops, while other characters have crossed-path adventures throughout the Hundred Acre Wood.
Clairbourn middle school students in the drama elective found a way to perform their annual Pooh Play for the younger students, while in remote-learning mode, thanks to clever coordination and editing of filmed clips by drama and computer teacher Paul Barker. Here is a 30 second teaser of the 20 minute play from December of 2020.
Watch this teaser clip from the full 20-minute play shown in December of 2020. Cast Members: Sarah I. as Winnie the Pooh, Vanessa H. as Piglet, Jake J. as Owl, Parisa B. as Rabbit, Anthony C. Eeyore, Faith C. as Kanga, Natalie A. as Roo and Mikey F. as Tigger.Continue reading “Pooh Play Tradition Goes Virtual for 2020”
Clairbourn alumnae Christie and Kathryn Huang raising funds for Children’s Hospital through their foundation Madhatter Knits.
When people are inspired to give, it flows from their conviction that such acts will be worth their time, attention, and investment. Cultivating that kind of conviction in others is no easy task, and it is often determined by the quality of the messages imparted combined with the skills and influence of the messenger. Consequently, fundraisers or leaders of causes need to be fearless, passionate, articulate, and well informed. They need social awareness to adapt their message to a wide variety of audiences and they need to know how to offer fluid methods of giving, donating, or participating.
Although that skillset sounds complicated, it’s quite naturally acquired when it is a part of a student’s early educational experience. In developing the whole child, Clairbourn combines academic rigor with social skills, community activities, and public speaking. All of these necessary elements to rally a community can be seen in the work of Clairbourn alumnae Tiffany and Kimberly Chang, Christie and Kathryn Huang, and Sara Lowin who serve as executive directors of Madhatter Knits.
As many people soon find out, having a great point of view, idea, or service is only as good as one’s ability to effectively get the word out. There has to be consideration for compelling messaging combined with finding one’s audience and engaging them to respond with their time, attention, and money.
Kimberly Chang, Christie Huang, Tiffany Chang, and Kathryn Huang – Clairbourn alumae & founders of Madhatter Knits.
Those abilities are in evidence among the Clairbourn alumnae who started the Madhatter Knits foundation in 2014 when a fourth grade knitting lesson led them to create a nonprofit for making premature baby hats to donate to hospitals.
Except for Tiffany Chang and Sara Lowin who were in the same grade together, the other executive directors of the foundation, including Kimberly Chang and Christie & Kathryn Huang, were in different grades ranging from first up to high school freshman. But all of them had early exposure in finding their voice as a result of Clairbourn’s public speaking program.
Clairbourn alumnae Kimberly Chang, Christie Huang, Tiffany Chang, and Kathryn Huang are the founders of Madhatter Knits which makes and donates preemie hats to the NICU departments of hospitals both locally and across the world.
Leadership opportunities need not wait for high school or college-level programs. Leadership lessons, such as the ones taught at Clairbourn, begin as early as preschool and extend through Grade 8—and exciting things can happen when children learn to lead at a young age. Take for example Madhatter Knits, an organization which makes and donates hats for premature babies in the NICU and also works to protect expectant mothers and infants from COVID-19.
This nonprofit was founded by Tiffany Chang in 2014 while still a student in the fourth grade at Clairbourn School. The organization is run by a large executive team which includes Clairbourn alumnae Kimberly Chang, Christie Huang, Kathryn Huang, and Sara Lowin. After only six years, they have expanded across the U.S. and have chapters in Germany, Italy, England, Uganda, Costa Rica, South Africa, Ireland, Canada, India, and Ecuador .
Sara Lowin, Kimberly Chang, and Tiffany Chang (shown above) all started at Clairbourn in preschool.
Madhatter Knits executive directors Tiffany, Christie, Kimberly, and Sara all started in Clairbourn’s preschool, with Kathryn starting in Kindergarten. And while there, they experienced age-appropriate exposure to leadership opportunities. They were taught ethical concepts combined with opportunities for social and emotional development, growth-mindset acquisition, and problem-solving skills.
Confidence in one’s ability to make a difference in the world can be challenging for adults, let alone young people. But that confidence was naturally acquired in grade school at Clairbourn as explained by Madhatter Knits founder Tiffany Chang along with fellow alumna and executive director Christie Huang. When asked the question during a recent radio interview, “What was your first impression of philanthropy and how did it start?,” these young women were ready with compelling answers.
Clairbourn alumnae Christie Huang and Tiffany Chang were interviewed on KAZN Radio about philanthropy.
They both recounted an impactful experience they shared in second grade at Clairbourn School where the whole class held a Pocket Change Drive to benefit the Door of Hope homeless shelter serving families in Pasadena, California. Tiffany remembers their first collection seemed pretty insignificant, but after adding up the donations from several consecutive days, she realized their small efforts had the potential to make a real impact in the lives of others—especially children living at the shelter. Christie also recalled how nervous she was to ask grown-ups on campus to donate to their cause. But, she quickly realized that fear shouldn’t hold you back from approaching potential donors, because when people see you doing something positive they are often happy to listen and contribute.
Clairbourn alumnae Christie Huang and Tiffany Chang as interview guests at KAZN 1300 AM radio.
On a warm fall day at the KAZN AM 1300 broadcasting studios in Pasadena, California, Clairbourn alums, Tiffany Chang and her cousin Christie Huang, were the special guests of a radio program called, “Heart visitors: The Transmission of Love.” They were invited to talk about their philanthropic foundation Madhatter Knits. When asked how it all started, Tiffany explained that, in 2014 her Clairbourn School fourth grade teacher Mary-Kaye Halferty spent her break time meeting with Tiffany at recess to teach her how to knit. After gaining some of the skills involved, Tiffany produced a small little hat and excitedly demonstrated the process to her sister and two cousins the next day.
Noticing the size, warmth, and softness of the hat, her cousin Christie, from Clairbourn’s class of 2013, immediately connected it with being useful to the preemie babies she saw in the NICU at the San Gabriel Medical Center where she served as a volunteer.
Part one of this six-part series offers insights into Clairbourn’s educational philosophy and the elements of the program which have led to noteworthy accomplishments by its alums.
How does a child experience remarkable success? Is such an outcome based on advantages, brain power, or fortuitous timing? Clairbourn believes a substantial contributor is the child’s educational environment – one that is designed to encourage a growth mindset and risk-taking combined with a student’s sense of community support and belonging. Take, for instance, the example of alumna Tiffany Chang from the Class of 2018.
Tiffany Chang is a Clairbourn Class of 2018 alumna and the founding president of the Madhatter Knits nonprofit organization which she started while at the school.
She took the elements of her Clairbourn education and used them to inspire and build a non-profit organization which is making a real difference. Tiffany, along with a group of former Clairbourn students and current high school classmates, runs Madhatter Knits, a nonprofit that makes hats for premature infants.
As we launch into election season, educators and parents need to be aware of our roles in maintaining civility in student discourse, cultivating critical thinking, and maintaining our ethical standards. This is a challenging task in any election year, but even more so now as the country seems to be quite polarized and divided. As you know, the challenge of maintaining respectful discourse is heightened in the discussion of topics that are highly emotional or charged in some way. As you navigate these waters in your homes, it might be helpful to keep the Clairbourn Code of Ethics in mind and help the children do the same.
Let respect, responsibility, honesty, citizenship, and spirituality lead the way. Each individual has political views, informed by personal experiences, information gathered from a variety of sources, and our own visceral responses to what we see. There are certain topics that illicit a strong response in each of us, sometimes a highly emotional response. This is completely normal for people who care.
I challenge you to express these views and feel things passionately while maintaining a language of respect and civility as you share your personal views in your homes. Your children are watching, listening, and learning from you. Help them to understand WHY you take a certain position. Help them understand WHY others may feel differently. Help them understand WHY you value your sources for election information rather than social medial posts. Help them to support their opinions with facts. Help them examine comments they hear with a discerning ear. Help them understand the benefits of having conversations to understand multiple perspectives.
In class, we endeavor to have our students express themselves clearly and thoughtfully. We want them to think critically and work to understand each other. We honor the diverse views of our families, and challenge the students to express these views with respect. When parents consistently model this at home, it makes it much easier for the students to carry this style of discourse to the classroom.
We know that the conversations will not be perfect, but we will work to maintain civility and respect in our classes. To me, the Clairbourn Code of Ethics is a great filter for the whole political scene. If we all express our thoughts with RESPECT, share only that which is HONEST, act in ways that are RESPONSIBLE, behave as good CITIZENS, and ground ourselves in SPIRITUALITY, we will all be better for it!
The Clairbourn family is not affiliated with a political party, but we stand firmly for the principles in our Code of Ethics! It is nice to have something that we can all agree on and support together.
Clairbourn’s Code of Ethics – Five Core Values
Clairbourn School values honesty, respect, responsibility, spirituality, and citizenship. These five values reflect different facets of a single virtue: character.
Honesty
Honesty is being truthful with yourself and others. Honesty results in fairness for each member of the Clairbourn community and makes for a life of integrity. It means that we adhere to our values when alone or in the presence of others. An honest person is genuine, sincere, honorable, and trustworthy.
Respect
Respect is treating others as we would like to be treated. Respect is the cornerstone for developing and maintaining a harmonious and productive working relationship with all members of the Clairbourn community. It requires, in both words and actions, a recognition and understanding of the essential being and background of others. Characteristics central to respect include empathy, fairness, open-mindedness, patience, and inclusiveness.
Responsibility
Responsibility is being accountable for our actions and accepting the consequences of our actions. Responsibility is the foundation for taking charge of our lives. Responsible people stand behind what they say and do even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient to do so. Characteristics central to responsibility include accountability, reliability, perseverance, and self-control.
Spirituality
Spirituality is believing in a purpose and power higher than ourselves and in the innate goodness of humankind. Spirituality results in a peaceful and empathetic environment for members of the Clairbourn community. It requires us to look for the best in every person and situation. It means that we think well of ourselves and others and proclaim this fact to the world through noble and quiet deeds. Qualities associated with spirituality include compassion, forgiveness, generosity, gratitude, humility, kindness, and a genuine love for mankind.
Citizenship
Citizenship is the value which calls for every member of a community to work to better that community with their actions and attitudes. It is essential for a strong, vibrant, and productive school environment. It means setting aside exclusive self-interest and striving to improve life for all citizens through public service, volunteer work, knowledge, tolerance, and cooperation. Characteristics central to good citizenship include respect for others, adherence to rules and laws, commitment to the principles of democracy and justice, and loyalty to community, country, and purpose.
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.
