Clarion Newsletter, September 2, 2022

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion,

We have had a great start to the 2022-2023 school year. It was wonderful to see the students and their families at school and it truly made the building feel alive again.

We are very excited about this school year as we will be introducing some exciting new programs and wonderful additions to our facilities.

1. Facility:

The majority of our new furniture and other items have already arrived and has been placed in their appropriate areas. The final shipment has arrived today, September 2 and will be assembled and put in place for Monday, September 5.

Construction continues on the Makerspace area and our wonderful Multipurpose hall. We are very excited about the fantastic sporting and performing arts and exhibitions that will take place in this new facility.

2. Healthy Start to the School Year:

We would like to thank our Clarion parent and CPC Co Chair, Burcin Yukselir for the informative session on Wednesday, August 30, on how to prepare a nutritious and healthy lunch meal for our children. The event was organized in partnership with Kuvings Juicer who provided fresh and heathy juices to all parents through the first week of school.

3. Parent / Guardian ID Reminder:

Parents are required to wear or present their parent Clarion ID card anytime they enter the school. Please understand that this is for reasons of safeguarding your children.

New parents who have not yet received their parent ID’s, or returning parents who may have misplaced their old IDs, may kindly connect with Hemi at admin@clarionschool.com with their updated passport size pictures to have one issued at the earliest. The health and safety of our students is our top most priority and your continued support towards the same will help build a safer school community.

4. COVID Protocols:

New parents are requested to share their COVID vaccination copies with Nurse Kristine and may send it via email to kballares@clarionschool.com, if not done so already.

Masks: The wearing of masks is mandated for students Grade 1 and above and all parents, staff and visitors when indoors.

5. Changes in Bus Timings:

Students utilizing the bus services may face changes in their timings in the next couple of weeks. Revised timings will be shared with all parents by the Transport team.

6. Student Absence and Lates:

Students who are absent due to illnesses are requested to inform their homeroom teacher, with an email CC to Hemi at admin@clarionschool.com and the school Nurse at kballares@clarionschool.com.

Students who arrive late to school will be required to obtain a late pass from our Front Office Executive/Admissions Assistant, Hemi before entering class.

7. Sun Protection and Hydration:

Please remember to apply sunscreen to your child prior to sending them to school and send them with a hat.

Send a refillable water bottle and a hat with your child so that we can assure they remain hydrated and protected from the sun throughout the day.

8. Teacher Led Activities (CCIs) and External Vendor Provided Activities (CCEs):

We are extremely happy that we are able to start our CCIs and CCEs on Monday, September 12. Information has been shared with parents however feel free to connect with Hemi at admin@clarionschool.com if you require additional information or have questions.

Our school is also a member of DASSA is the largest and longest running school sports association in the UAE in addition to Dubai School Games League. This will provide our students with some wonderful opportunities to participate in competitive sports. Additional information about these opportunities will be shared shortly.

9. Student Dismissal and Pickup:

Students will be brought to a designated pickup area where parents can pick them up. For security reasons, we ask that parents pick their children up from the designated areas only. We want to ensure our staff is handing the child off to the parent or the designated individual.

PreK – K2 – Parents pickup children from the classroom

Grades 1 & 2 – Parents pickup children from Clarion Street directly outside the Atrium

Grades 3 & 4 – Parents pickup children from the gymnasium

Grades 5, 6 & 7 – Parents pickup children in front courtyard inside gate 3

The Parking Lot and Drop Off Areas - We ask that parents and drivers demonstrate extreme caution in this area.

10. Pokemon Cards:

We appreciate the fact that our kids are very excited about Pokemon cards. However, we will need to ask that our students not bring them to school. It has become a significant distraction for our students. We are exploring the option of offering a Pokemon club.

11. Clarion Parent Community (CPC) ‘Meet and Greet’:

All Clarion parents, both returning and new, are invited to this Term’s first CPC event on Thursday, September 8, at 8:00 am in the Atrium. This will be a fantastic opportunity to meet all the CPC members, build your network within our community and volunteer for CPC’s amazing line-up of events for the academic year 2022-2023.

In closing, I would like to sincerely thank the parents for the warm and inviting welcome I have received.

Clarion school truly is a very special place!

Sincerely,

Larry