Clarion Newsletter, February 3, 2023

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion,

Our school continues to be a very busy place. Here is some information about events and opportunities of the coming week.

1. MAP Assessments –

We have completed this round of MAP assessments. I would like to thank our students for their efforts seriousness in writing the assessments. We will be sharing the results with our parents in the immediate future. The final administration of MAP assessments will occur in the week of Monday, May 22.

2. Student Attendance and Lates –

As a school, we continue to struggle with student attendance and punctuality. When a student is absent or late it has a serious impact on their learning and achievement. We require a commitment from all parents to assist us in addressing this serious issue. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. A recent study looking at young children found that absenteeism in kindergarten was associated with negative first grade outcomes such as greater absenteeism in subsequent years and lower achievement in Reading, Math and General Knowledge.

KHDA has provided us with a standard of having only 2%-5% of our students absent. We continue to have 10% -12% of our students absent on a given day. Our student attendance and punctuality are priorities for our school. As a school, we are held accountable for this.

Student absence for the reason of holiday travel is not considered an excused absence as per KHDA guidelines. Please note that all extended student leaves in excess of 3 days require the submission of a request form. The form is available from our Atrium area or email: admin@clarionschool.com.

3. Clarion Commons –

We would like to thank our Clarion parent, Ms. Momina Salim for her very informative presentation on Managing Hyperactivity, Attention and Behavior Issues. It is a very important topic and one that we all need to be aware of for the benefit of our children’s future.

4. Student Individual and Class Photos –

The photographer from Stu Williamson will be onsite from Monday, February 6 – Wednesday, February 8. Students will have individual and class photos taken at this time. Teachers have shared the photo schedule with parents.

5. Clarion Sports Days –

Our sports days will occur from Monday, February 13 – Wednesday, February 15. The schedule is included in this newsletter. Parents are welcome to attend and enjoy these fun activities with their children.

6. Student After school Activities –

Just a friendly reminder that the next round of Teacher led activity CCI’s (internal) will commence Monday, February 6.

7. Student Council –

The Clarion Stuco (Student Council) is running a clothing drive in partnership with the local thrift store Thrift for Good. Working together to promote sustainable clothing use, the Stuco is collecting clothing in any condition. What is sellable will be directly donated to Thrift for Good which donates 100% of its profits; clothing in any other state will be repurposed into items such as dog toys or stuffing for couches. This clothing drive is also done in connection with the third-grade culmination projects, which tackles the question, “Where does our stuff come from?” Students are working on understanding the impact of our buying choices and how we can encourage more sustainable shopping practices in our communities.

The Stuco clothing drive will run from Monday, January 30 until Monday, February 20 when the Stuco and third-grade classes will have their field trip to donate and volunteer in the thrift store. Please look through your homes to find any clothing no longer in use in any condition and bring it to school! Clothing items can be dropped off in our reception area.

In March, the Stuco members will run assemblies for all grades to give students an overview of the Clarion Community Garden. They are planning assemblies that present the information in an engaging and meaningful way for different age groups.

A special thank you to the CPC Eco committee is providing tremendous support and direction in this process.

8. Mid-Term Break –

Just a friendly reminder that our school will have a mid-term break on Thursday, February 16 and Friday, February 17. There will be no school on these days.

9. Student Early Pickup –

A friendly reminder that we ask parents to come to Atrium if they wish to pick their child up early from school. At this point, our staff will contact the teacher to have the child brought down to the Atrium. We ask parents not to go directly to the classroom to pick the children up for this purpose.

10. Student Mobile Phones –

We ask the cooperation of our parents to ensure students do not bring Mobile Phones to school. They have proven to be a distraction to learning.

11. Sibling Enrollment at Clarion –

If you have a younger sibling in your family who you are planning to enroll in September 2023, please reach out to Emily from our admissions team at admissions@clarionschool.com.

12. Clarion Sports Days –

Our sports days will occur from Monday, February 13 – Wednesday, February 15.

Monday, February 13 (8:00 AM – 10:00 AM ) – PreK, K1 and K2

Tuesday, February 14 (8:00 AM – 10:00 AM ) – Grades 1 – 3

Wednesday February 15 (8:00 AM – 10:00 AM ) – Grades 4 – 7

Parents are welcome to attend and enjoy these fun activities with their children.

13. Clarion Sports –

Congratulations to Eva Maikranz (Grade 2B), Zoe Kapsawareh (Grade 2A) and Thea Daher (Grade 2C) for taking part in a Dassa Gymnastics competition floor and vault at Nord Anglia School. The girls won 6 medals in total, 4 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze.

Eva Maikranz: Gold medal for floor (level 3) and Silver medal overall

Zoe Kapswarah: Gold medal for floor (level 2), Gold medal for vault and Gold medal overall

Thea Daher: Bronze medal for floor (Level 1)

The gymnasts performed their routine with confidence and outstanding body control. Well done girls!

Congratulations to Aya Abultaif (Grade 2C) for representing Clarion at the Dassa Tennis tournament in an Under 10 competition at SISD. She came in second place winning against older boys and girls. Great play Aya!

Congratulations to Grade 4 and 5 Team who took part in the Dassa Athletics Festival at South View School. The team competed in track events 60m,150m, 300m, 600m, relays and field events such long jump, high jump, vortex and shot put.

Next Week Activities -

Monday, February 6

Golf Dassa Competition at Dubai Hills.

Monday, February 6

Under 9 Football Girls Dassa Tournament at KNAS

Our students from Grade 4 and 5 students who wish to take part at the DASSA gymnastics competition next month, can please contact Ms. Narsisa for more information.

14. Student Field Trips –

Field trips are an important aspect of the educational program at Clarion school. Just a friendly reminder that field trips are not meant to be optional and that students are asked to participate unless they are home ill on the day of the trip.

Next week, we have the following Field Trip –

Wednesday, February 8 - Spinneys Layan Store - Grade 3 A and B.

Wednesday, February 8 - Emirates Hills Dubai - Grade K1 B.

Thursday, February 9 - Etihad Museum - Grade 2 - A, B & C.

In closing, I wish everyone a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday, February 6!

Sincerely,

Larry