Clarion Newsletter, March 3, 2023

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion,

Clarion school continues to be a bustling and lively place that provides a plethora of wonderful opportunities for our students and their families.

1. The Multiculturalism of Clarion School –

The UAE is a wonderful model for the rest of the world, where individuals from very diverse backgrounds live in harmony. The UAE is built on the foundation of tolerance. Our world can be a difficult place where racial and cultural tensions exist in many countries, and in some cases, our own home countries. On the occasion that students make inappropriate comments at school, we do address this quickly with the child and their families. We ask that our families continue to support us with this, as Clarion prides itself on being a school that models the UAE's vision of tolerance and acceptance.

2. International Day –

We are very excited that we can celebrate a post-COVID International Day this year. This event provides us with a fabulous opportunity to celebrate the diversity of Clarion School, as we have families from 60 different nationalities. The event will be on March 6 and promises to be fabulous. We welcome parents to join us in this celebration. Students and parents are encouraged to dress in clothing that represents their home country on this day.

· 8:15 AM - The event will start with a parade of classes on our school field, where we can see the diversity of cultures at our school.

· 9:00 AM - A group from New Zealand will perform a traditional Haka.

· 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM - The celebration of nations will occur on our Clarion Street. Our wonderful parents will set up displays from their home countries.

· 11:00 AM - A group of dancers will perform a number of South American cultural dances on our Clarion Street.

3. Play Date in the Park Carnival –

Our school will be hosting an event on Saturday, March 11 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. This will be a wonderful festive occasion for our Clarion families and their friends. The following activities will be featured -

• Our staff will have a variety of activities for our students, including face painting, science experiments, and art activities. Additionally, there will be live performances by our students on an outdoor stage.
• Atletas, which provides many of our external CCEs, will be offering complimentary taster sessions for football, mini tennis, and table tennis activities.
• Clarion community market - We will be designating an area for a Clarion community market where our parents who have their own businesses or who make products they sell to set up tables to share such with our community on this date. This is at no cost to our parents who wish to participate in this.
• Parking Lot Boot Sale - Our parents can register to participate in the boot sale in our parking lot, where they can sell items they no longer need. There is no cost to our parents who wish to participate in this.

This event is open to our Clarion families and their friends outside of our school community.

Registration to participate in the Clarion Community Market - https:// forms.office.com/r/4HxpHd02h7

Registration to participate in the Boot Sale - https://forms.office.com/r/tCiR9jEaMH

4. CCI and CCE on Monday, March 6 –

Due to the International Day celebrations on March 6, CCI and CCE activities are cancelled for Monday.

5. Classroom Hallways –

Just a friendly reminder that we ask parents not to enter the classroom hallways between the hours of 8:05 AM and 2:55 PM. This way, we can ensure that our students' learning is not disrupted.

Students who arrive after 8:00 AM are reminded to go to the Atrium and obtain a late slip before going to their classroom. If a parent wishes to accompany a younger student to class, we ask that they drop the student off at the classroom and leave without disrupting the classroom instruction.

Parents who wish to pick up their children early are reminded to go to the Atrium and request that their child be brought to them. We ask that parents do not go directly to the classroom.

6. Parent ID Cards –

The safety of our students is of utmost importance to us. We must insist that parents wear their ID cards when entering the school grounds. Our security team has been asked to obtain the Clarion parent lanyard or request ID before allowing individuals into the school premises. Please understand that this is for the safety of all our children.

7. Student Progress Reports and Teacher Interviews –

Student progress reports will be shared on March 17. We had initially scheduled teacher interviews for April 12. However, as Ramadan falls during this period with a condensed workday, we have decided to move the teacher interviews to March 21. More information and signup details will be shared closer to the date.

8. Student Attendance and Lates –

I would like to thank our parents for their efforts and commitment to improving our students' attendance and tardiness. Our student attendance is slowly improving, but we continue to struggle with students arriving late. If your child is ill, I would ask that you contact Miss Poonam by telephone or email at admin@clarionschool.com. We understand and appreciate that our students will occasionally be ill, and such absences will not negatively affect our attendance statistics. Miss Poonam is the person who can enter absences due to illness as an excused absence.

Attendance Facts:

• A child who is 10 minutes late each day misses 32 hours of instruction in a year.
• A child who misses one day a week loses two months of instruction in a year.
• Half a day missed each week throughout the school year equates to one full year of lost education.

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.

9. 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.

10. Student Council –

The Stuco clothing drive will be extended until March 11, and a table will be set up at the Play Date in The Park Carnival, which will occur on this date. Sellable items will be directly donated to Thrift for Good, which donates 100% of its profits. Clothing in any other condition will be repurposed into items such as dog toys or stuffing for couches. Please look through your homes to find any clothing that is no longer in use in any condition and bring it to school! Clothing items can be dropped off at our reception area.

On March 8 and 13, Stuco members will run assemblies for all grades to give students an overview of the Clarion Community Garden. I would like to thank our Clarion parents, Ms. Geovanna, Ms. Nina, and Ms. Nada for their wonderful support with this group. They are planning assemblies that present the information in an engaging and meaningful way for different age groups.

11. Student Individual Photoshoot for those that missed –

We will provide students who were absent during our photo day with an opportunity for a short photo session on March 9. Please note that this is the last opportunity for students who missed their original photo shoot schedule.

12. Clarion Sports –

• Congratulations to the Under 9 Girls' Football team who participated in the DASSA Football Tournament on February 27. The girls played their best game so far, displaying excellent progress with their defending skills.
• Well done to Aryan (Grade 7) for his performance at the 4th Qualifier of DASSA Golf competition on February 28.

NEXT WEEK

Monday, March 6 - Under 9 Girls Football v Raffles.

Wednesday, March 8 - Under 10 Football Boys v Ambassador International School.

Thursday, March 9 - Under 8 & Under 9 Boys and Girls DASSA Athletics at Universal American School.

13. Student Field Trips –

Field trips are an essential part of the educational program at Clarion School. Just a friendly reminder that field trips are not optional, and students are expected to participate unless they are home ill on the day of the trip.

Next week, we have the following Field Trip -

March 7 - Al Seef Souk - Grade 1 A,B and C.

March 8 - Moby Restaurant - Prek A.

March 8 - The Buhais Geology Park - Grade 4 A and B.

March 9 - Maison Tini/ Goshi Warehouse Al Quoz - K2D.

In closing, I wish everyone a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday, March 6, 2023!

Sincerely,

Larry