COVID-19 response – Page 2 – Clairbourn School News

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020

An Important Message of Pandemic Hope from Clairbourn Alumna Tiffany Chang

Tiffany Chang, from Clairbourn’s Class of 2018, sees the opportunities embedded in every crisis. She credits her elementary school, Clairbourn, for the optimistic thoughts that inspired an award-winning video she made for the Center for Future Global Leaders (CFGL) Young Artist Competition. She says, “I will always be grateful to Clairbourn as the school has always taught me to look at the positive side of every situation and to stay optimistic even during the most difficult times. I will never forget the important life lessons Clairbourn instilled in me.”

Over a period of about 2 weeks, fueled by her positive-outlook habits and motivated by her own optimistic actions while staying at home, she scripted, animated, and recorded an artistic video on the topic of “Hope” for the CFGL competition. Her “Leaders of Tomorrow Video During the Pandemic” project was designed for parents and students, and reveals a path out of hopelessness by making a point of looking at the brighter side of the stay-at-home-order and disruptions to normal routines.

After addressing the world-wide toll on health and the derailment of education in the era of COVID-19, she uses the powerful and repeated reframing question, “What if?” “What if this generation is advanced because of this pandemic?” Tiffany’s project presents 18 reframing questions in total that provide ample reasons for optimism in the face of great hardship. As a result, her project not only delivered on the intended inspiration, but it also won her a $300 prize and a top spot as a national finalist in the CFGL competition.

We invite you to watch her video below, read the transcript that follows, and then learn more about Tiffany’s impressive record of philanthropy and community service:

August 7, 2020August 7, 2020

Set Your Child Up for Home-Study Success

With school starting up in Remote Learning formats at almost all school locations, now is a great time to set up your child with everything they need to support their home studies.

This personalized work space is inviting with a cozy rug, several chairs, and colorful posters.

Begin by considering a properly-equipped location in your home where your child can learn. Experts say that, “Without a specific learning spot, young learners can be easily distracted, they don’t have supplies they need nearby, and there’s no sense of consistency. The family couch, then, as comfortable and easy as it seems, may not be the right option for young children needing to learn about routines, early education, and self-regulation.”¹

While assessing the available space in the home, ask yourself what type of setup would provide the most consistency in your child’s learning? Would portable learning boxes for different subjects work best, or would it work better to create a designated area of the house where they have everything out and ready? Are there electrical outlets to plug in lights and to keep devices charged? Should there be a simple or a stimulating environment for my child? What are their favorite things to look at and interact with to keep them engaged?¹

July 22, 2020August 19, 2020

Remote Learning Done Right!

Many parents in the Los Angeles area have heard that, as of July 17, 2020, area schools are required by Governor Newsom to be in Remote-Learning mode in the fall. This has left people searching for answers to find out what their school is offering compared with other schools, will their child have a quality experience this time around, and will there be improvements to what families experienced in the Spring of 2020.

A Clairbourn Kindergarten student works on a class assignment in her designated home workspace.

To help answer those questions, Clairbourn School is sharing what it has learned about building a quality Remote Learning Program based on its recent experience with its students, parent feedback from surveys, and consultation with experts.

Success with remote learning requires several school-side factors to exist in combination with a home environment configured to support the student including the basics of a quite place to complete work and a daily schedule.

Here are 10 indicators that you are partnered with a school with a quality Remote Learning Program:

June 4, 2020June 9, 2020

A Special Graduation for the Resilient Class of 2020

How do you properly honor a group of 8th grade students, full of achievements and ready to graduate, who have spent as many as 11 years of their childhood at one school? Due to the pandemic of 2020, normal graduation ceremonies and gatherings were not allowed, but Clairbourn found a way to honor each student with a special family graduation appointment. Using the spacious center quad to present diplomas was perfect because it allowed for social distancing, beautiful photographs, a symbolic graduation walk, and contactless delivery of the diplomas because parents were asked to hand the diplomas to their children and shake their hands.

May 21, 2020May 21, 2020

Learning How to Thrive in Hardship

According to an April 2020 Gallup pol l, regarding the pandemic’s negative financial, physical, and mental effects, 23% of Americans reported feeling they were already in a mental health crisis or just a few weeks away from having one. An additional 19% felt they could hold out for a few months at best. This is not good news considering no one knows the duration of the pandemic or how long social distancing will need to be practiced.

Clairbourn School has a long history of partnering with its parents to ensure that the whole school community remains healthy, strong, and productive even in times of difficulty. As an educational institution, it is natural to turn to the experts and discover what they have to teach us so we’re mentally equipped for tough times. The good news is, there are plenty of proven ways to bounce back from, or thrive in hardship and break away from frustration, depression, and burnout. The data shows we have the ability to control up to 40% of our happiness, and the strategies we can learn are surprisingly accessible and achievable!

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020

What is Gratitude Doing to You?

Gratitude is a word we hear a lot at Clairbourn School—especially at the start of May when students celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week and submitted thank you notes, drawings, and videos to honor the work of their teachers. After such a heartfelt and bountiful outpouring of thanks, it can be easy to feel satisfied about our community’s understanding and practice of gratitude. So why is it important to unpack it and take a deeper look? Because this single word represents a much bigger concept than sincere thank-yous and heartfelt feelings.

Gratitude is a power that we can exert over our immediate experience to bring about changes for the better. It is scientifically proven to relieve our minds and bodies from the negative effects of dissatisfaction, stress, disappointment, delay, and devastation—struggles especially associated with the current COVID-19 losses, economic fallout, and restrictions.

Grateful Clairbourn students made special thank-you cards to honor and appreciate their hard working teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week in May.

May 7, 2020May 7, 2020

The Balancing Strategy of Brain Breaks

Thanks to the pandemic, screen time is dominating our lives right now, which means balancing strategies are needed to ensure we aren’t always plugged-in. Clairbourn School teachers are great at this. Even in traditional school, our teachers help students find balance so they stay productive. Cara Barker’s middle school classes (featured in the video below) are a great example of using the “brain breaks” strategy to make sure students stay healthy, productive, and focused—and this is something everyone can easily do at home to recharge and rebalance their minds and bodies.

Brain Breaks – Mannequin Challenge in Grade 6 and 7
Uploaded by ClairbournSchool on 2020-05-07.

Teacher Cara Barker’s students in Grade 6 and Grade 7 take a Mannequin Challenge brain break to boost their focus on the learning material.

Did you know that brain breaks not only help students burn off pent-up energy, but these activities also improve behavior, engagement with instruction, and cognitive performance? Brain breaks may look like play, but according to SimplyKinder’s article, “Brain Breaks Old School & Kindergarten Style,” the smiling, laughing, and activity associated with play activate parts of the brain associated with learning. Those interested in the research can check out these links, sourced by SimplyKinder.com, showing that brain breaks improve behavior, engagement and cognitive performance.

When a child shows signs of sinking into states of low energy or distraction, those are indicators that it’s time for a brain break. Here are some resources for quality brain break ideas:

For students in Grades K through 5, try these feel-good, educational dance break videos like “Banana Banana Meatball” and “Clap it Out” from content creators Blazer Fresh. Middle school students will enjoy the challenge of learning Finger Tutting (finger dancing) or some TikTok dance challenge components like the “C-Walk.” Cheery movement videos from The Wiggles like “Open, Shut Them,” or “Say the Dance, Do the Dance” are perfect for preschool children.

Brain breaks videos for all ages can be found on YouTube. Check out content from Blazer Fresh, The Wiggles, and even TikTok dance tutorials, all of which can help remote-learning students refresh their minds and bodies.

It is easy to get started—and once you learn the dances or other brain break activities, you can skip the video accompaniment. Find additional inspiration from this Pinterest page and record the activities your child will like on this handy downloadable chart from ActionForHealthyKids.org.

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.

Creating Scholars and Leaders with Heart

May 1, 2020May 8, 2020

Alum Christian Yeghnazar – Social Entrepreneur Paving the Way for Change

Christian Yeghnazar from the Clairbourn Class of 2013, is mature, reflective, and thoughtful—a paragon of excellence that is representative of our Clairbourn students and alumni. Currently a junior at USC, Christian is majoring in Business Administration with minors in Computer Programming and Applied Analytics.

He attended Clairbourn from 2004 to 2013 paving the way for both his younger brothers to attend Clairbourn as well. He is currently pursuing a career in the entrepreneurial world by starting his own venture. Most recently, he launched a new website called College Connect, which pairs high school students with current college students and guides them in making informed decisions about college. His mission is to help make a positive social impact through his endeavors. We are so inspired by Christian. Read about his story and experiences here.

April 30, 2020June 12, 2020

COVID-19 Reflections: Alum Nina Luo, Technologist and Humanitarian

Nina Luo, Class of 2018, is determined to improve our world through journalism and technology.

A deep thinker, with a thirst for knowledge and an agent of change, Nina Luo from the Class of 2018 is determined to improve our world through journalism and technology. Her motivation, which was nurtured and shaped at Clairbourn school, is to help others and save lives. She wants to make a positive impact on our society and world. After becoming aware that Nina recently published several COVID-19 related articles on WeChat and was starting a website featuring overlooked and under-reported news, we caught up with her to ask about her current projects and future endeavors.

April 30, 2020May 1, 2020

Need a Morale Boost? Help is Right at Home

If you are a fan of vintage American sitcoms, you may have seen the show Hogan’s Heroes which depicts a scrappy group of Allied prisoners in a German POW camp who managed to run countless special operation campaigns under the noses of their jailers. The main character was Colonel Hogan, an effective and clever leader with tremendous morale-boosting skills. His well-oiled machine of dedicated men knew how to cooperate, stay safe, and simultaneously do some good even when the odds were severely stacked against them.

Is it crazy to think that this show has something to teach us as we find ourselves confined in our homes during the COVID-19 pandemic? There is no doubt that, after considering the hardships faced by frontline healthcare professionals, essential workers, and small business owners, parents are the next group under tremendous strain trying to meet the intense demands of their households. This situation has dragged on with no clear end in sight, and the uncertainty is taking its toll on everyone’s emotions and ability to cope.

Clairbourn School students already know a lot about doing good deeds and alleviating distress in the community, and many of them are supporting healthcare workers and first-responders. But there is now a new frontline in the larger battle which is our very own doorsteps. These times call for a deeper level of service to precious family members who we often take for granted. The need of the hour is to make family care and balance a priority. So take a moment to imagine, how quickly the atmosphere in your home would change if you could take a tip from the military and assign a Morale Officer to take care of each person in the family?