tradition – Clairbourn School News

September 20, 2022September 22, 2022

Hello from Pali in the beautiful mountains!

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!

February 16, 2022February 17, 2022

Hand in Hand. Heart to Heart. One Clairbourn!

There is no place like Clairbourn! Our students love coming to school from the moment they get dropped off to greet the Head of School, Dr. Patzlaff, and walk across the beautiful campus to their locker or class. “I can’t wait for school, every day!” said a second grader with great enthusiasm. We love seeing our students on campus and enjoy their cheers, laughter, and most of all their Clairbourn connection with one another.

Seeing the creative ways our students make their Clairbourn connections is truly extraordinary. Our older students prepared bags of popcorn and delivered them to each lower grade classroom as a cheer to celebrate a week of testing and National Movie Day. Student Council initiated a handprint project to connect students across different grade levels. Each fourth through eighth grade student made a handprint inside a heart shape, and then each kindergarten through third grade student added their handprint to complete a heart. Students produced two prints so each younger student could keep one heart and each older student could keep another. Students enjoyed finding out who belonged to the other handprint!

We asked our students why they are grateful for Clairbourn: “Clairbourn is a place I call home!” answered a six grader. “I love Clairbourn because it is caring.” a second grader said. “My teachers give up their free time to help us all the time.” A fifth grader shared.

Here at Clairbourn, students motivate each other and embrace growth together. They share successes and pick each other up as a team. These hearts handprints signify the love and care we all have for our school and each other. Hand in hand and heart to heart, we are One Clairbourn!

February 16, 2022February 17, 2022

Clairbourn Celebrates Love and Kindness

Morning Assembly is one of Clairbourn’s long traditions. School members come together to hear announcements and start the day with gratitude and an inspirational message. The Clairbourn Code of Ethics – honesty, respect, responsibility, spirituality and citizenship — provide the basis for our Morning Assembly and students from first through eighth grade have an opportunity to work on their public speaking skills learning to confidently deliver a message in front of a large audience. It is a key component of our educational program and reinforces our core values.

Even though we can not yet return to meeting in person, our Morning Assembly tradition continues and we find new ways to celebrate this special time. Dr. Patzlaff and students record an assembly video and the classes view it each morning. We continue to thrive and stay connected as a community. The inspiration for this week’s assembly is love, which is a word used often for so many emotions.

“I love that color on you.” To a friend.
“I just love pizza.” To yourself.
“I love, love, love you!” To grandchildren.

According to the University of Utah Health, there are Four Types of Love: Eros (“air-rose”) is a romantic love. It can cause great joy and sorrow, like the story of Romeo and Juliet. Philia (“Fill-lee-ah”) is love of friends and equals. It can be love between siblings and friends, and helps us be resilient when hard times come. Another type of love is storge (“store-gay”). This is the love of parents and guardians for children. It is described as the most natural of loves and the foundation for happiness and contentment. The fourth type of love is agape (“ah-gah-pay”). It is the love that is given whether or not it is returned. This kind of love is important in the process of forgiveness, which is important to our mental health. Expressing love for others is the best way to be happy and find joy in your daily living.

C.S. Lewis described a mother’s love for a child in The Chronicles of Narnia as “humble.” Parents’ love for their child is not about grand gestures but the steadfast, reliable, humble care, concern, and nurturing given freely that enables children to thrive and grow. C.S. Lewis also wrote about friendship. He believed that friendships begin by finding something in common, and then was freely given. Friendships can blossom anywhere we are doing common things together: on the playground, in the classroom, on the playing field.

Love comes in many forms: it could be food in our belly, a roof over our head or simply a reassuring hug after a tough day. Love is around us all the time and we can show love every day.

Clairbourn, as a community, is grateful each and every day for the simplest things we have in life and we celebrate all kinds of love!

January 25, 2022January 26, 2022

Clairbourn Growing Tradition

In 1931, when Clairbourn first moved to its current location on Huntington Drive, the dominant feature hovering over the 8.5 acres was a large eucalyptus tree. Planted around 1870, this 120 foot tall blue gum eucalyptus stood as a campus landmark. The tree measured 46 feet in circumference and 12 feet in diameter at knee-level. The enormous tree was planted by Mr. D.J. Rose, an early resident who owned Sunnyslope Ranch, including the property on which Clairbourn School is now located. The eucalyptus tree was named the Clairbourn Tree and became the symbol of Clairbourn School. Students enjoyed playing around the tree at recess and enjoyed its distinct scent.

A windstorm took down the mighty 120 year old eucalyptus tree in 1988. It started to lean over throughout the night and by four in the morning, it had laid itself down between the buildings on campus without causing any damage. Portions of its branches were cut into rounds and turned into keepsakes for students and alumni to remember.

With the loss of the beloved eucalyptus came a new set of friends – the ginkgo trees! Along with a few trees in a small grove, a large ginkgo tree was planted right in the center of our quad in 1989. Our large ginkgo tree is now 33 years old and we have a total of six ginkgo trees around the campus.

Our JPK teacher Mrs. Rankin recalled she started taking students out to play in the ginkgo leaves around 1998. The Clairbourn tree legacy continued with a new tradition. Just like those students 80 years ago, Clairbourn students continue to enjoy playing around the trees. Children of all ages romping through piles of leaves and chasing after their friends has become one of the most cherished memories for our Cougars.

Next time you walk by the quad, make sure to look up at our big, friendly, giant ginkgo tree and remember the eucalyptus tree that stood before. Everyone is part of our growing Clairbourn tradition!