School News
Message to the School Community
Dear Clairbourn Family,
Thank you to those of you who are sending in feedback on our ongoing survey. Thanks also go to those of you who are sharing your strategies on self-care, bucket-filling, and generally spreading joy. Alums, like Christian Yeghnazar, Class of 2013, are also making a difference! Be sure to check out his new College Connect project below in the "Inspiration from Alumni" section of this eCourier, and then read the new in-depth Alumni News article about him by Dr. Janny Chang). As we are wrapping up our second week of remote learning we are finding our students to be resilient, capable, and eager learners. I am also in awe of the resourcefulness, professionalism, and creativity of our teachers. This is an amazing community, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way we are all making the best of this moment!
Because the community is part of what makes Clairbourn so special, we want to maintain that community and connection with each other even when we can’t be physically together. To that end, we will be hosting division-level coffee meetings. Invitations will be or have been distributed by your child’s teacher. These will be casual gatherings where we can share ideas, answer questions, and generally connect and support each other. If you have the availability, I hope you will join us.
Many people are asking questions about the calendar for the rest of the year. What about the spring events? When can we come back to campus? I wish I could give you a simple answer. I am on a call each week with nearly 20 Pasadena-area heads of school to discuss the situation we all find ourselves in. All of us concluded that it is increasingly difficult to imagine that we will be able to return to campus before June.
While I remain hopeful that we will reunite as a school community before then, we must plan for the likelihood of distance learning for the rest of the academic year. In the upcoming weeks, we will collaborate with students, colleagues, and other industry experts to find the best plan for our celebratory events that are part of Clairbourn’s traditions. As always, the health and wellness of our students, faculty, and families remain our absolute priority.
Please continue to treat yourselves with patience, kindness, and love as we navigate through this situation. During this time, our mission statement, Creating Scholars and Leaders with Heart, becomes increasingly important. It is the HEART that we express which will make all the difference in our experience. So with everything you do, lead with heart and you can’t go wrong.
Dr. Amy Patzlaff
Head of School
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Have More Comments?
Retake the Parent Remote Learning Survey
 Now that we are in the second week of Remote Learning, you may have additional feedback and suggestions. We are leaving this survey open so you can add to it at any time.
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Welcome to Our 2020-21 Incoming Families!
As of last week, the eCourier mailing list was expanded to include the incoming families joining us next year. Please help us welcome them and show them what we're all about by sending in your student accomplishments, bucket-filling activities, and photos of students engaged in Remote Learning. |
Hello From Faculty & Staff
Who misses all of you? We do! We miss your smiling faces, your Cougar spirit, your hugs, and so much more.
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Inspiration From Alumni
Christian Yeghnazar - COVID-19 Problem Solver
Christian, from Clairbourn's Class of 2013, reached out to us this week to share a project he co-created to help high school students.
"COVID-19 is affecting people everywhere, and one of these affected groups are high school students trying to choose a college. They can't visit any campuses, and have little to no touch points with the schools that will help set the tone for their lives.
To help solve this, John-Paul Velasquez and I built a free platform ( JoinCollegeConnect.com) to match high school students, with questions about college, with current college students who can answer them.
Our hope is that through conversations with college students, high schools juniors and seniors will be able to make more informed decisions on which school to apply or go to while taking some stress out of the process.
This is a time when the best in people can shine, and this a great opportunity whether you are a parent, college student, high school student, or even a recent grad to help out! If you'd like to join, or share the website with someone who should, do so here!"
Christian attends USC's Marshall School of Businesswhere he is the president of Spark SC, iUSC's student-led hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, running various initiatives whose mission is to inspire a culture of innovation, expose students to their creative potential, and connect makers across diverse communities.
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Good Ideas
 Help Others With Food Bank Donations
Ziply, an on-demand same-day delivery service based in Los Angeles, is offering FREE delivery for food donations to local food banks throughout the region. Click here to learn more or donate.
Ride Bikes Inside (With Training Wheels)
Sleep Better: Fall Asleep in 120 Seconds
Use this military trick for falling asleep quickly. This concept was originally included in the book Relax and Win: Championship Performance, and more recently was covered by writer Sharon Ackman for Medium.
Ackman's article explains, "If you don’t sleep, you’ll burn out pretty quickly. You’ll make bad decisions. That’s what happened with U.S. fighter pilots in World War II. The U.S. military realized many of its pilots were making terrible, avoidable decisions due to stress and the resulting sleeplessness. Even when pilots clocked off, they couldn’t relax and they couldn’t sleep. The U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School developed a scientific method to fall asleep day or night, in any conditions, in under two minutes."
"After six weeks of practice, 96 percent of pilots could fall asleep in two minutes or less. Even after drinking coffee, with machine gunfire being played in the background."
Here's How to Do It:
1. Pick a spot to sleep - even upright in a chair will work!
2. Start relaxing the muscles of your face one by one (it is key to do a thorough job relaxing your entire face). Relax the jaw, the tounge, the lips, the muscles around the eyes, your forehead, cheeks, etc.
3. Continue down the body, and focus on relaxing your neck, shoulders, upper dominant arm, lower dominant arm, dominant hand and fingers, and then do the same for the other arm.
4. Now exhale and relax your chest and stomach.
5. Next focus on relaxing the leg muscles. Do one leg at a time focusing on relaxing each part. Don't forget the feet, ankles, and toes!
6. When you whole body is limp and relaxed, clear your mind for 10 seconds and then hold a peaceful image in your mind (like a still lake or snow falling).
7. If turning your mind off is hard, just repeat "don't think, don't think, don't think" for at least 10 seconds to stop all wandering thoughts.
Watch the Andrea Bocelli Easter Concert on
April 12 at 10:00 am PST
According to Reuters, "Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, one of the world's most famous tenors, will perform from Milan's empty Duomo cathedral on Easter Sunday in a livestreamed concert intended as a symbol of love, hope and healing amidst the coronavirus pandemic."
"Bocelli will be accompanied only by the cathedral organist, Emanuele Vianelli, playing one of world's largest pipe organs and performing a repertoire of sacred works including Pietro Mascagni's Sancta Maria.
Sew a Face Mask Following CDC Guidelines
When running essential errands, in a community setting, the CDC now recommends people wear DIY face masks (not the N95 masks which should be reserved for health care professionals). Use these how-to instructions:
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Picture Books & Patzlaff
Storytime Videos for Our Youngest Students
NEW STORIES THIS WEEK! It's storytime with Dr. Patzlaff! She'll be sharing two new picture books in each upcoming eCourier issue to stay connected with our littlest cougars. So pull up a comfy chair, get your blanky, and get ready for Picture Books and Patzlaff!
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Student Accomplishments
Bucket Filling & Good Deeds
We are "Creating Scholars and Leaders with Heart," and one of the ways we can show heart in this difficult time is to find creative ways to bring joy and comfort to others. This includes students learning to help their parents around the house! Head of School Dr. Amy Patzlaff wants to hear from you about how students are finding ways to do good deeds or fill the emotional buckets of others. Let us know by emailing Nancy Ward at nward@clairbourn.org with the details including a photo or video if you have one.
Check out what our students have done for others recently:
Kaitlyn C. in Grade 1 and Bradley C. in JPK are taking care of the delivery workers who are helping to keep their family supplied with needed items while they shelter in place. Kaitlin noticed her family was getting a lot of deliveries now, and she asked her parents if the delivery drivers could get sick driving around everywhere. When she learned their job has a higher risk of exposure, she and her brother Bradley asked for permission to leave small hand sanitizer spray bottles and snacks for the drivers. Their father reports, "The hand sanitizers are jumping off our porch like toilet paper at Costco! And the drivers are very appreciative and grateful when they see us!"
 Emily K. in Grade 4 heard that there was a shortage of protective face masks for doctors and nurses. Over the extended Spring Break, she thought it would be a good idea to try and make them. Although the masks she sewed are not suitable for doctors and nurses to wear, she had fun learning how to sew them (and now due to the new CDC mask guidelines, the family can use them).
Jack Z. in Grade 5 has a new Youtube channel where he posts his own artisic performance videos. His latest recording is of a Tang Dynasty poem celebrating the value and depth of friendship. He made the recording to bring people cheer and hope during this time of sheltering in place as well as to celebrate Chinese culture. This is a poem with four lines and seven-words in a line, which is one of the traditional ways of writing ancient Chinese poetry. In the last two sentences, the poet uses metaphor and exaggeration to express the idea that even though the Peach Blossom Pool is thousands of feet deep, his Wang Lun's expression of friendship is deeper than that. Learn more about this poem and poet Li Bai.
 To Wang Lunby Li Bai （Tang Dynasty）
Li Bai sat aboard a ship about to go,
On shore bursts of farewell song overflow.
A thousand feet deep the Lake of Peach Blossoms may be,
But not more than Wang Lun‘s love for me.
Send in Your Student Updates!
During this time of Remote Learning, let us know if your student is accomplishing something cool. We'll share it in the ecourier to inspire other students. Let us know by emailing Nancy Ward at nward@clairbourn.org with the details including a photo or video if you have one.
Check out this cool project!
Sebastian E. in Grade 3 built the UGEARS mechanical safe and puzzle box all by himself!. He followed instructions and used multiple tools to accomplish the assembly. It took him about a week. |
Share Your Pics / Videos
Help Us Document the Remote Learning Experience For A Yearbook Supplement.
Our students miss each other and we miss them! Are they doing their physical education workout? Are they doing an art project? Are they in a class chat discussion online? Post what you can in your grade-level folder on Vidigami!
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Smile Boosters
Do you have a favorite family-friendly and smile-inducing video or photo to share wthat will boost everyone's spirits? Please email Nancy Ward at nward@clairbourn.org.
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eCourier Archive
Access our previous eCourier issues:
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Morning Messages
Don't miss out on the Morning Assembly Messages that are part of our Character Education Program. We want our parents and teachers to all be on the same page with the weekly ideas and messaging that are being shared with our students.
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News Highlights
Online Art Show
Art Teacher Hayley Ball put together this K-8 virtual art show of student work.
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Support From Spiderman!
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Alum Christian Yeghnazar, Social Entrepreneur Paving the Way for Change
I am extremely passionate about entrepreneurship. At USC, I’m currently the President of the Entrepreneurship Group. After college, I plan to start my own company. Clairbourn taught me to think creatively and think of new approaches to existing problems—whether you’re looking at a math problem or writing an English essay. That was ingrained in me at a young age and has helped me do the things that I do now. It all started at Clairbourn. These are valuable skills that have translated and can be applied to a whole gamut of different life experiences. Read the Full Article
Alum Paige Dyrek, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
She has chosen this career in medicine because she was passionate about helping people who have overcome traumatic and life-altering injuries. She received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree form Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona and is completing her Preliminary Medicine year at UCSF-Fresno. Read the Full Article |
COMMUNITY CARE GUIDE
Edutainment on Youtube
Pure Amusement
Connect Kids
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Music:
(registration required)
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