Clarion Newsletter, May 27, 2022

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion School!

Re-Enrollment for September 2022-2023 school year:

You have received the forms and so many of you have replied and our reenrollment looks fantastic so far. Thank you to those who did it already, and thank you in advance to the rest of you for getting to this item of ‘business’ as soon as you can. I do want to remind you that spaces are filling up- our retention rate is higher than last year, which was higher than any previous year at Clarion (except for year 1 when there were 100 students!). We are hitting and surpassing reasonable targets for a natural sustainable growth, but please do not hesitate to contact us and send in the re- enrollment form.

Sibling re-enrollments- Please make sure we have room for the sisters and brothers of students already in Clarion! To enroll your child, please reach out at admissions@clarionschool.com

Clarion Commons :

(Workshop by VP Ms. Suzanne) – June 8 from 8:30 am to 9:15 am in the atrium. More details on this fantastic reflective session is provided in the newsletter and you can RSVP by using the link RSVP - Workshop June 8

Grade 7 Program Letter:

We have put through a special furniture order that places an emphasis on flexibility and flexible setting so the students can sit or stand while working- with some new touches that complement tables and chairs and the carpet for doing group or individual work.

Locker options are being checked to ensure that we can implement this in the right way.

The Grade 7 ‘homeroom’ room will be in the current 4-5-6 hallway; this makes sense for the students to cycle from Math to Science to English, and for the teachers as well. The Tech Integration and Art labs will move to the new “Design Center” where the current canteen is; and that gives us the space for including Grade 7 in that hallway. Finally, there will be a school ‘Maker Space lab’ for hands on work- and this will also be in the design center. Our goal is to get back to the DNA of the founding of Clarion with a combination of coding and IT as well as hammer+saws+screws and woodworking!

All in all, we are excited by the opportunities we have to extend Clarion School upward.

More detailed outline of the subject offerings and more pragmatic information about how we will spend our time day to day/week to week in Grade 7 in the 2022-2023 school year can be found by clicking the link Clarion School Grade 7 program of studies May 2022.pdf

Also, the powerpoint presentation given to parents as a “Clarion Commons” 2 weeks ago can be accessed by clicking the link G7 22-23 presentation May 2022 - Read-Only.pdf.

The Clarion team is excited by an opportunity to do something great for children and YOUR children will have the proper focus, care and dedication given to them as the school continues a measured sable pace of growth.

Thank you so much for your time today and we welcome your questions.

Final Word: Clarion Sports

The note below went out on my Linkedin a few days ago. It represents everything Clarion is and also hopes to be!

Thank you Mr. James Batts at SIA. Today two teams from Clarion had the chance to play friendly football (soccer in the USA!) matches at one of our SIG school "sister" schools, Scholars International Academy in Sharjah. Mr. James Batts is the principal and he and his staff were exceptional hosts. James even went as far this morning to check with the school regulatory body for Sharjah about official word to play outside due to yesterdays dust storm. Who won or lost does not matter. What matters is that the students had the chance to play outside in a match (game for the amurikans 😂). The SIA PE staff were brilliant in how they managed the matches and our own Clarion PE coach Mr. Antonis did an exceptional job coaching two games at once and ensuring that every student played. As did the PE team from SIA. I also had the chance to walk around the school and see exceptional things going on...- Student work up on the walls- Library crammed with upper year students relaxed and prepping for external exams- FS (Kinder) full of smiling happy children. And every single member of staff- from the receptionists to the cleaners to the teachers- with welcoming smiles that shone through their masks! And the nurses were amazing in knowing that a bit of Creme ointment cures all bumps and bruises! Congrats James Batts. Your leadership shines through all that is happening at SIA and you are just what is needed to take the school farther (and I just had to photo bomb your office with our Clarion Flag!). The games today will help our schools move forward into next year as a foundation of a multi school league. But more importantly the children had fun. And guess what... It doesn't matter who won games as all the students won and both schools won by playing fair.

I’m still smiling at how well things went on Wednesday and we can look for much more of this type of experience for our students in the years to come!

Sincerely,

Jim #HowWeRoll@Clarion Pastore