Clarion Newsletter, September 2, 2021

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion,

Five days into the 2021-2022 school year and we are off to a fabulous start!

I have enjoyed my return to out front from day two of school and I enjoy your hellos and waves as you drive in with your children. I also do appreciate that every day someone comes to say hi with their child, to ask a question or to show me something their child is bringing to school.

Building a community and keeping an eye on the front drive way entrance to school, and the traffic there is what my presence is all about. Likewise, Ms. Suzanne has been in her regular Pre-K/K1 hallway position to help lend a hand when needed and to say hi to parents as they drop off, and to children as they arrive.

The teachers and staff have been on target with teaching and learning, and this first week was woven with team building, caring and sharing.

Kiss N Drop:

I would like to recommend that you use the KissNDrop gate if at all possible in the morning to drop of your children to school. You can access it through Gate No. 1, which is the big double sided wooden bus gate in the front of the school.

We have two school staff at the KissNDrop gate every day- Mr. Rasool and Mr. Mahmoud- and they keep a close watch over your children as they enter school.

Vaccination: IDs and stickers to enter school:

To enter campus even for drop off/pick up you will need to show a proof of vaccination or up to date PCR test.

Contact Nurse Kristine about your proof of vaccination by photo of your actual vaccination card or screen shot of your Al Hosn App. This is mandatory to come on the campus at all, even for pick up/drop off.

Send this directly to Kristine at health@clarionschool.com. Thank you!

If for any reason you are not vaccinated, you have the below options for drop off/pick up from school:

1. Show proof of a PCR NEGATIVE in the last 48 hours (that means probably 3 PCR swabs per week if you come onto campus every day…).
2. Use the Kiss N Drop gate.
3. Park and walk your children to Gate 3 where they can go in on their own under the watchful eye of our school staff.

We will be issuing a special Clarion School “Vaccinated” sticker for your school parent ID cards, we have started this process today and it will continue all of next week.

Thank you for understanding that this is a process driven by protocol specified by the KHDA and DHA, and as a school we are obligated to be compliant. This is also for everyone’s safety.

Photos on our Website and Social Media and how Clarion handles this:

All schools enjoy giving shout outs on social media about how school is progressing, and this includes school websites, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. Clarion is no different and we have a lot to be proud about and to brag about!

We love to show off your children and they love being a part of what we do online. Having said that, we do have a school policy regarding the use of photos of students online:

Policy: Clarion may at times use photographs, audio, and/or video recordings taken at school events or during the course of the school day. We use these photos to show our activities and educational programs at Clarion School. All photos of the Clarion School teachers, staff and students are used to show the school in good faith and in a positive and affirmative representation of school life.

Opt-out of photography:

Parents who do NOT want their child, or themselves to be photographed or recorded, and used in connection with Clarion School should request a “Photo Opt-Out Form” from Heerral Asnani at hasnani@clarionschool.com

Once a parent has submitted a completed Photo Opt-Out Form to the school through Heerral, they should also inform their class teacher they have submitted this form to Heerral.

(If you opt out, unfortunately this also means use of photos with your child on Seesaw; we do want Seesaw to reflect our ability to communicate what your child does in the classroom on a weekly basis; so opting out means no photos on Seesaw).

Thank you for understanding that we treasure the opportunity to share with all of you your children in their activities, we respect your rights and needs as well with our policy. A team of educators looks at all photos/videos before posting to ensure privacy.

Final Word:

Part of my job is to work on community relations, and sometimes that just means being there present in the community. This morning on my corner as I greeted the cars and buses coming into the school, an SUV pulled up right in front of me, the passenger window went down and a hand reached across the seat from the driver's side. "Best tea for you best principal!" said the local gentleman who waves to me every day and shouts out "Best teacher! Best teacher!" as he drives by.

What a great way to start my day!

You can follow me on LinkedIn as I post stories about Clarion and what we do and how we work and play. Please connect to me there and help spread the word about the “Clarion Way” every day through reposting on Linkedin!

Have a great weekend, and thank you for your trust in the staff and teachers of Clarion School. This truly is a wonderfully inspiring educational place!

Sincerely,

Jim #TheBestIsYetToCome Pastore