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.
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.
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.
