Clarion Newsletter, January 27, 2023

January 27, 2023

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion,

The recent rain has created a sense of excitement in Dubai. We encourage our parents to enjoy this rare occurrence however remain safe especially when driving. Our school continues to be a very busy place. Here is some information about events and opportunities of the coming week.

1. MAP Assessments –

As you are aware, we do MAP assessments 3 times a year. While not always an accurate reflection of the learning that happens within a school, it is still a very useful tool for teachers, parents and particular students to assess their learning. It is also a very critical tool that KHDA uses to assess our school.

We would like to encourage parents to understand the importance to taking the MAP assessments seriously as well as to convey the benefits to their child. It should be seen as value add to support a child’s learning rather than a value judgement on a child.

2. Student Attendance and Lates –

A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn. We continue to struggle with students’ attendance and arriving to school on time. Your child’s achievement is seriously negatively impacted when they are at school. We require a commitment from all parents to assist us in addressing this resinous issue. Chronic student absence reduces even the best teacher's ability to provide learning opportunities. 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.

CLARION ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY FACTS

ATTENDANCE - MINIMAL TARGET - 95% OF STUDENTS ATTENDING DAILY

TARDIES - MINIMAL TARGET - 0% OF STUDENTS LATE PER DAY

ATTENDANCE - WEEKLY ACTUAL - 88% OF STUDENTS ARE ATTENDING DAILY

TARDIES - WEEKLY ACTUAL - 4% OF STUDENTS ARE LATE ON A DAILY BASIS

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. We are asking for our parents support to ensure that their children attend school and are on time each day.

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 reception area or email: admin@clarionschool.com.

3. Clarion Commons –

We would like to thank our Clarion parent, Martin Rockstrom for his very informative presentation on sustainability. It is a very important topic and one that we all need to be aware of for the benefit of our children’s future. Even more timely as the UAE has recently announced that this is the “Year of Sustainability.”

4. Yoga Session –

We would like to thank our Clarion parent, Ms. Evgenia for a wonderful Yoga session on January 24. The event was very well attended and appreciated.

5. TWAC 2022 Race –

We would like to congratulate one of our Clarion parents, James Raley who participated and completed the TWAC 2022 Race. The premier event in ocean rowing is a challenge that involves participants rowing across the Atlantic Ocean starting at Sebastian in La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain and finishing at Antigua. The journey is approximately 3000 KM. Additional information is included in this newsletter.

6. Parent Teacher Conferences –

Thank you to our parents and teachers for engaging in this very important event. The partnership between home and school is critical to a student’s success

7. Quoz Arts Fest

One of Dubai’s best loved arts and cultural festivals will occur on Alserkal Avenue on January 28 – 29. This event will feature a very diverse program of more than 200 activations. The event will feature live music, art, contemporary dance, performing arts, food trucks, public art installations, wellness and more. More information can be found at: https://quozartsfest.alserkal.online

8. 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, Poonam 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.

9. Sibling Enrollment at Clarion –

As we roll into the month of February, we are experiencing a strong interest of many new families wanting to enroll their child at Clarion.

For our existing families, please be rest assured that our top priority is our Siblings. If you have a younger sibling in your family who you are planning to enroll in September 2023, please send a note to Emily from our admissions team at admissions@clarionschool.com to hold your child’s seat.

10. 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 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!

11. Student Individual and Class Photos –

The photographer will be onsite from February 6 – 8. Students will have individual and class photos taken at this time. More information concerning specific timing and details will be shared shortly.

12. Student After school Activities –

Our next round of CCI’s (internal) will commence February 6. The new CCI list has been shared in today schedule. Please go through it with your children to discuss the activities they would like to do. An email with the sign-up link will go out on Monday, January 30 at 11:00 AM and will close on Wednesday, February 1 at 11:00 AM. Children who are signed up in an activity that is not for their grade level will not be eligible to participate in that particular activity.

13. Clarion Sports –

Football Girls

Congratulations to the U9 Girls Football team who had their first ever DASSA football tournament. They drew 0-0 with Gems Royal and won their match 0-1 v Aquila International School.

Their excitement and enthusiasm was incredible as they demonstrated outstanding progress with their game play awareness.

Gymnastics Girls

Well done to the u8 - Grade 2 Girls who took part at the DASSA Gymnastics Competition at Nord Anglia International School. The girls performed a floor routine and the vault.

They represented Clarion with excellent body control and grace.

Next week activities include –

  • January 31 - DASSA Secondary Golf at Jebel Ali.
  • February 2 - DASSA Athletics Festival Grade 4 and 5 boys and girls at South View School.

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 -

February 1 - Gems our own Indian School - Grade 1 - A, B and C.

February 2 - Fruit & Vegetable Market - Grade K2 A, B, C & D.

In closing, I wish everyone a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday, January 30, 2023!

Sincerely,

Larry

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