Imagine you have a box of crayons, each contributing its own unique color to create a beautiful masterpiece. Similarly, each one of you is like a special crayon, adding your own hue to the world. Being yourself means embracing everything that makes you who you are – your likes, dislikes and talents. But it takes courage to show the world your true colors, especially when others may not understand or appreciate your uniqueness.
Our world is like a giant coloring book, and each of you brings something special to its pages. So, embrace your uniqueness, be proud of who you are, and remember you’re all incredible just as you are. When you have the courage to be yourself, you give others permission to do the same, creating a world where everyone can shine in their own way.
Market Day was an opportunity for our third grade students to put their economic concepts learned in class into practice. Students worked together with partners to develop a market plan for the product they wanted to produce and sell. Once their product plans were complete, they had four in-class work sessions to produce their products and prepare them for Market Day!
Students determined the price of the products and created advertising posters. This year the students worked in our new I-Lab and learned to use Canva to create these posters.Their products were sold at the annual third grade Market Day. Afterward, students calculated their income, less their production costs, in order to determine their net profit. What a fun and exciting learning experience for our third graders. It also helped to prepare them for future endeavors at the annual Clairbourn Entrepreneurial Fair. Well done, Cougars!
We are so ecstatic our outdoor education trip is back this year! Students from sixth to eighth grades went on a wilderness-based journey to Pali Mountain Institute and participated in a variety of adventurous challenges and outdoor activities such as hiking, climbing, ropes courses and group games.
It was exhilarating to see our Cougars conquer their fears, persevere, and cheer each other on. The eighth graders kickstarted their day with a huge dose of adrenaline on the zipline. They learned to use their deductive reasoning skills to solve a mystery at CSI: Pali. Seventh graders were challenged with the high ropes course. They scaled and climbed various climbing structures and learned to support each other by belaying. Students also had a great time learning how to hold a bow and trying archery. Sixth graders were kept busy participating in team-building activities, art in nature, and electromagnetic dynamo experiments. They explored on orienteering hikes and enjoyed hands-on activities including engineering and teamwork challenges.
Outdoor education and team building are a big part of our Clairbourn education. They support our students’ emotional, behavioral and intellectual growth. This experience allows students to develop a positive sense of self, independence, confidence, decision-making and problem-solving skills, empathy towards others, and self-discipline. We are so proud of each of our Cougars!
This week, we kick off our 2022-2023 Annual Fund. It is our largest fundraiser of the year and supports all 272 Clairbourn students in areas like art, music, athletics, technology, the library, Spanish, and so much more. Because of Clairbourn, students have amazing opportunities every day to discover what excites, what they love, and what supports the scholars and leaders with heart they become! It is because of YOU, we hope to reach our goal of 100% participation in our Annual Fund. It is because of YOU, together, we are Clairbourn!
Our daily Morning Assembly is a way our students, teachers, and parents build close connection, identify role models, and experience the reinforcement of positive messages.“Morning Assembly is my favorite time of the day. I enjoy this quiet time with my kids and our school community. I love starting my day with gratitude. It gives me such peace.” shared a current family. This special time not only lays a foundation for our Clairbourn life but also provides opportunities for our students to practice public speaking.
We believe what sets our students apart is the character of our Cougars. Our robust character education program is built on the school’s five core values: honesty, respect, responsibility, spirituality, and citizenship. Thank you to our middle school Student Council for starting the year with reminders about the importance of Clairbourn’s core values.
Our students are HONEST and truthful to themselves and others. They are RESPECTFUL because they know respect is the cornerstone for developing and maintaining a good, working relationship with all members of our community. RESPONSIBILITY is being accountable for their actions. Every time our students show Cougar pride and empathy for others, such as lending a hand to someone in need, their SPIRITUALITY comes through. Some of the qualities of spirituality include compassion, forgiveness, generosity, gratitude, humility, kindness, and a genuine love for humankind. We try to be the best we could possibly be, and recognize the best in everyone around us. Lastly, CITIZENSHIP is the value which calls for every member of a community to work to better that community with their actions and attitudes.
When diving deeper into our core values, you will see the one quality that surfaces over and over at Clairbourn: Gratitude. Our community, including students and faculty, are reminded each and every day not to overlook the good around us. We take quiet moments to think about something or someone we are grateful for, and something good that happened to us. We practice empathy, fairness, open-mindness, patience, and inclusiveness as a community. This gathering, which precedes academic work, is where students and school members come together as one. Clairbourn takes actions and embraces these values which help us grow to be Scholars and Leaders with Heart.
Clairbourn is about community: teachers are here to pick you up when you need a boost and friends are here to listen when you feel down. Special moments happen on our campus throughout the day each and every day. Clairbourn teaches love by living it: we celebrate love of all kinds, and most of all, we celebrate unconditional love. Our strong parent and school partnership is evident on a daily basis and the 2022 Spring Concert and Carnival were the perfect examples of what our school is all about!
Families came together to celebrate the meaning of friendship! Our students shared their joy as they thought of ALL the children around the world, no matter where they live or what language they speak. JPK to fifth grade students showed us what they have learned in music classes. Besides learning how to read and write music, they also learned how to play rhythms, use new instruments, and apply the solfege method!
Fourth and fifth graders shared with us the first step to friendship which is to tell the other person that they are your friend and you are a friend to them too. Kindergarteners taught us that showing kindness is one way to be a good friend. Preschool students reminded us how important it is to say I love you (with a skidamarink)! First and second graders showed us what being a great friend means to be there during all the highs and lows and be able to always count on each other. Children sang with pure joy and filled the campus with their passion and confidence. We laughed, smiled and embraced as a community!
At Clairbourn, we find countless opportunities to grow. Through music, we inspire and motivate creativity. We teach children to embrace challenges with positivity. Students become secure individuals and are able to see all the good around them. Just like the students reminded us, “Stay positive and don’t forget you are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!”
Special thank you to the music director for a great show, the administration for your support, to JPK throughfifth grade teachers for your assistance and patience,and to the maintenance crew for yourhard work and clever ideas!
This year our C.A.S.T. (Clairbourn After School Theatre) had an opportunity to work with the art director from Centre Stage, Keely Milliken. Mrs. Milliken brought to us her 20 years of passion for the theatre and dedication to teaching performing arts. Our C.A.S.T. actors and Centre Stage were proud to present our 2022 theatre production, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon!
The Brothers Grimm began publishing fairy tales in 1812. Almost every child knows their stories, which include Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. You may recognize those stories as big Disney blockbusters with a fairy tale ending, but they are actually part of Germany’s folk heritage recorded by two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
The play consisted of six scenes of several well-known tales including Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, and more. Each scene not only was performed as an individual story, but it was also portrayed as several stories woven together. When asked about choosing this approach, Mrs. Milliken replied, “We want as many students to participate as possible. We know some younger middle school students have never done a play before, so it’s important for each of them to get an opportunity to try something new.”
Classic stories were brilliantly depicted with a modern twist and sprinkled with lots of humor! You may or may not know the Disney endings of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales are not how they were originally written. The original stories often had a “grim” ending. In our production, performers and narrators kept the original endings to create a contrast with the comedy. This kept the audience laughing from the beginning to the end!
When the students started rehearsing in January, they had to learn acting etiquette, memorize countless lines, and follow theatre directions. It was eye-opening for the students to see what a play entails and how much preparation is required. In ten weeks, our students made their characters come alive as individuals and as a team.
Our C.A.S.T. actors came away from this experience knowing their hard work and determination paid off. Exposing our students to performing arts allows them to discover their whole self. They gained the true essence of what it means to be a scholar and leader with heart. We hope you enjoyed the play as much as we did. Well done, Cougars!
It is hard to believe 117 days of school have gone by! That is 936 hours of learning and 56,160 minutes of growing! It passed by so quickly, especially when we were enjoying learning and teaching each day!
Our youngest students made many discoveries this quarter including exploration of symmetry and a vet clinic unit. They had a visit from a vet technician to talk about X-rays, animal behaviors and more. Elementary students worked on their public speaking skills and further developed their math, reading and writing abilities. They continued their science exploration with units on weather, engineering challenge experiments and the solar system. Older students had several engaging collaborative projects as well as many hands-on science opportunities, including dissecting chicken legs. They also successfully represented Clairbourn in a math competition.
Middle schoolers even took their learning outdoors and really utilized our amazing 8.5 acres of campus. Besides talking about physical fitness in PE, wellness and health were also addressed. Students flourished physically, spiritually and emotionally. They developed their confidence by trying new experiences and developed their social skills on team collaborations. Our students know the importance of gratitude, honesty, empathy, compassion, and respect, and they got to practice these values every day at school.
We not only witnessed our students’ significant growth, our community showed strong support as well. In quarter three, we reached 100% Annual Fund community participation. We are grateful to see such a strong commitment from all constituents of the school. Parent volunteers continue to be a vibrant part of our community. Thank you for supporting the school where our children learn to grow as scholars and leaders with heart.
A Clairbourn parent once said,“Clairbourn learning is fluid and boundless. Both of my children learn not only through textbooks, but also from the daily conversations they have with their teachers and their interactions with their peers. It’s amazing how every moment is a learning moment at Clairbourn!” When we think about our lower school Spanish program, this is the perfect description: Every moment is a learning moment!
When you walk by our lower school Spanish classroom, you are immediately drawn to a festive door — the gateway to the world of Spanish! You hear conversations and singing in Spanish and Mrs. Rubio talking about Hispanic culture.
This program is offered from kindergarten to fifth grade. Different teaching approaches are incorporated to keep students engaged. Sensory exploration is a big part of our learning experience. Students run their fingers through orange rice and count the pieces of black bowtie pasta they find in the tray. They practice their vocabulary by singing La Araña pequeñita (Itsy Bitsy Spider) while busy freeing a plastic glow-in-the dark spider from a block of frozen ice. “This is so much fun! I love Spanish class!” a first grader said with such excitement.
The rich culture and history of Spanish speaking countries is also brought to life in this language program. Students listen to stories and taste various Hispanic dishes. They even got to make both sweet and savory tamales which were a big hit! Students stay motivated and learn through a wide range of hands-on activities. To strengthen vocabulary, students toss balls in the air while shouting out Spanish words and then they construct these words into complete sentences. Technology is also used as a supporting tool for students to expand and review their understanding of Spanish.
Currently, students are learning how to make orugüitas (caterpillars) while memorizing a Spanish song called Dos Oruguitas. Mrs. Rubio helps students gain confidence by analyzing the lyrics and using strategies to make the task managable. It is a joy to walk by the classroom and hear the students sing fluently in a second language. At Clairbourn, each classroom is alive and learning is boundless!
There is inspiration everywhere we go. It could be something a friend said at a moment we needed to hear it. It could be a phrase we read in a book or from a fortune cookie. It could even be found in a quiet corner of the campus. Clairbourn Student Council has planned five diversity and inclusion presentations for the community this year and the inspiration they have brought to us is profound and motivating.
We kicked off the series with a Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the beginning of the school year. Students learned how Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, stayed resilient and earned her degrees from Princeton and Yale. She has been a part of 3,000 Supreme Court decisions and is an inspiration for many others to pursue their dream. She shows a leader’s courage which Clairbourn embraces.
Next, we recognized the rich and diverse culture, traditions, and contributions of Native Americans. Students listened to stories of a physicist named Jerry Elliott, who was the first Native Americans to work at NASA. He is known for his contribution as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions helped save the lives of the three astronauts on board. Elliott’s work awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor awarded by the President. He shows a scholar’s dedication that Clairbourn encourages.
This month, Clairbourn continues to recognize achievements by celebrating Black History Month. We learned about poet and writer, Langston Hughes, and how poetry including American poet Vashel Lindsay inspired him in his early years! Hughes wrote many influential poems and novels which portray black life in American from the twenties through the sixties. He shows a heart full of passion which Clairbourn values!
We will honor the women in our history next month and then end our diversity and inclusion series with an Asian Pacific American presentation. Fostering diversity is a community effort and we are proud of our Student Council for leading the way. They are “Scholars and Leaders with Heart,” helping the community achieve a goal of fostering diversity and embracing achievement from everyone!
