Clarion Newsletter, September 30, 2022

Dear Parents and Friends of Clarion,

As the first month of this school year comes to a close, I am so happy with what has already been accomplished. This is a direct result of the hard work of our students and staff and fabulous support of our parents.

1. Clearing Benches with Yoga & Meditation Class at Clarion - On Friday, October 7, 2022, at 8:30 AM, we are going to inaugurate UAE's first Clearing Bench at Clarion. Please remember to bring a water bottle on the day of the event for charging. These activities are part of Clarion's commitment to well-being, and its ongoing commitment to addressing global challenges of the future. Clarion leadership is excited to introduce the concept of the Clearing Bench to the UAE and to the Clarion community.

On the same day, Clarion will have a Yoga & Meditation Class in the morning at the Clarion Indoor Gymnasium. For those who would like to join, please click the link below to fill out the registration form.

Yoga Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/2j1FAs6wFH

More information on this in the newsletter later.

2. Tune in Tuesday - Twice a month, on Tuesday mornings from 7:45 AM – 8:00 AM, students can perform in our atrium. Students can sing, play a musical instrument or perform a dance routine. Students who are interested in performing are asked to contact our Music teacher, Ms. Iva. The first performances will be this coming Tuesday, October 4.

3. Student Council - The elections for student council class representatives is completed. We have 16 class representatives for students in Grades 3 – 7. The executive will be formed from this core group. We are very excited about working with our student council and know they will have a very positive impact on our school.

4. Junior Duke Program - Student registration for the Junior Duke program has closed. We are extremely happy to share that we have 23 students from Grades 3 – 7 participating in this program. More information about this wonderful opportunity can be found at: www.juniorduke.com

5. Model United Nations (MUN) - Just a friendly reminder that are still registering students to participate in the Model United Nations program. The Model UN is offered to student in Grades 5- 7. This wonderful opportunity seeks to give a chance to students to join a group of globally minded peers to create a future team. We will work together to provide students the opportunity to step into the shoes of world leaders to discuss and solve critical problems. Model UN will engage students in research on topics based on issues faced by the various committees of the real United Nations. Likewise, they will practice debating those issues from the point of view of different countries, accounting for those countries’ specific interests, and working together to find solutions to these issue. Please encourage your child to participate in this activity by contact our teacher sponsor Ms. Estelle. We will also be approaching the students about this again.

6. Parents Clarion ID Card - Just a friendly reminder to our parents to ensure they wear their parent ID cards when on campus.

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.

7. MAP testing - MAP testing rewrites have completed this week. Information regarding MAP testing and individual student reports will be sent to parents by the middle of next week.

8. Pakistan Emergency Relief Drive - Just a friendly reminder of our CPC’s Pakistan Emergency Relief Drive. This initiative will continue until October 7. Items can be dropped off at Gate 2 and 3 during the morning student drop-off times. As well, we have have a drop-off area at our reception. The response has been overwhelming and we are looking forward to sharing photos of the donations on Friday, October 7.

9. Curriculum Information Sessions - We are very pleased with the turnout and feedback from our Curriculum Information sessions. Parents who wish additional information concerning our curriculum can contact our Curriculum Coordinator Ms. Aisha. These are the video links for the presentations:

Curriculum evening Prek - K2 22 September 2022.MOV

Curriculum evening Grades 1 to 7 20 September 2022.MOV

10. CPC Back -To-School Parent Social - Our CPC organized a wonderful parent social event this past Friday, September 23. Over 40 parents attended this event. Future events will be planned and information shared with parents. Thank you to the CPC for organizing this amazing event.

11. International Teachers’ Day - will be recognized on Wednesday, October 5. This is a day when we recognize the efforts and thank our teachers and staff for everything that they do. We would like to thank our CPC for organizing a morning breakfast for our staff on this day. We truly appreciate the incredible support of our CPC and parents.

12. World Inventors Day - occurred on Wednesday, September 29 and our students and staff dressed up as their favorite inventor or invention on Friday, September 30. This was a wonderful and very enjoyable learning experience.

13. Student Absence and Lates - It is evident that student attendance at school plays an important factor in student success. A student who is absent two days per month will miss 120 hours of instruction over the school year. KHDA has mandated that our school needs to enhance our student attendance policy to include a process that would promote and encourage better student attendance and fewer cases of students arriving to school late. The school will be developing a tiered parent communication approach that will include communication and meetings with the parents of students who have accumulated specific numbers of absences or tardies. Our hope is that our students are attending each day and arriving on time. We miss them when they are away!

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 receptionist Hemi before entering class.

14. Revised 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: As of September 28, the wearing of masks at school is optional. This is wonderful news. Please rest assured that Clarion school will continue to follow all safety standards of Dubai government authorities. The safety of our students is paramount for us.

Covid Quarantine – Quarantine periods for those who test positive for Covid has been reduced to 5 days. Students and staff who tested positive can return to school after this time as long as they are free of Covid signs and symptoms.

15. CPC Fundraiser - The Clarion Parent Community (CPC) is excited to be back and has already kicked off the new academic year. They have had their first general meeting, and weekly CPC Board meetings are underway. The CPC has successfully conducted an emergency relief drive to support the floods in Pakistan, and held the first Parent Social of the year with over 30+ parents in attendance last week.

They have have an exciting schedule of events ahead including World Teacher’s Day, Breast Cancer Awareness, Halloween, Sustainability Initiatives, and more.

Please continue to send in your voluntary donation of AED 300 per student for CPC activities this year. There has been good effort overall to gather funds that the CPC can use to support all of its events and activities for us as a community.

Contributions can be submitted s follows:

· Hand your contribution any CPC member or to your child’s homeroom parent.

· Submit your contribution to your child’s teacher by hand or email them if it is your child’s backpack for collection.

· Hand your contribution to Jafar, our Finance manager, in the accounting office.

16. 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.

I had the pleasure of attending the WETEX exhibition with our grade 7 students on this past Wednesday. WETEX is the region’s largest sustainability and clean energy technology exhibition. Our students had a wonderful time exploring the exhibits and were able to attend a seminar by Mr. Agnel Cheruvathoor from Siemens Energy discussing the benefits of clean hydrogen energy.

Next week we have two field trips planned. Both are visiting the Rain Room Sharjah Museum. Ms. Becky’s Passion Hour students will attend on Monday, October 3and our two grade 4 classes will visit the museum on Wednesday, October 5.

In closing, I wish everyone a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you on Monday morning!

Sincerely,

Larry