Welcome To The Class of 2020's Graduation
A Message From Student Council President
Good Afternoon,
I am Kevin Zhang, Student Council President, and on behalf of my classmates, I would like to welcome you to the Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2020.
As a class, we are grateful for all the opportunities we have been given. Today, we bring our Clairbourn experience to a close and move on to our high school experience, we are happy to share this celebration with you. We couldn’t have done it without your support and encouragement.
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Graduation Watch Party
Join the YouTube Graduation Watch Party Today, June 3 at 3:00 pm.
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Graduation Speeches
Mattew Chen's Graduation Speech
Hello Dr. Patzlaff, faculty, parents, and the graduating Class of 2020. I am Matthew Chen, and I have attended Clairbourn School for 9 years. Throughout these 9 years, Clairbourn has played an important role in shaping me into the person I am today.
I would love to start by thanking my parents for taking care of me, supporting me, and also putting up with my antics. You have always been with me and keep pushing me to be my best. I love you both so much. I would like to thank my teachers for teaching me valuable lessons and preparing me for high school. You have all helped me mature and grow both personally and academically. I would also like to thank Mrs. Corwin specifically for giving me an interest in history and inspiring me to be the best person that I can be.
Over the past 9 years, Clairbourn has given me many amazing opportunities. But with every opportunity, I’ve had to take risks. I’ve learned to try things that aren't guaranteed to produce a good outcome, to get over my fears and take the risk, and to always get back up after taking a risk. Neil Gaiman once wrote in The Graveyard Book, “If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.”
Madison Barreau's Graduation Speech
 Hello teachers, peers, and Clairbourn family. My name is Madison Barreau and I started attending Clairbourn in the first grade. On my first day of school, I remember instantly feeling welcomed and in a safe environment. But I also vividly remember trying so hard not to cry in front of all the other kids so I could look cool. I felt so alone once my parents said good-bye and left me there in the classroom. However, everyone was very friendly and I was able to make some awesome friends. Aside from forgetting everyone’s names as soon as I met them, I knew everything was going to be fine. I truly felt a part of the Clairbourn family. I have been taught so much from everyone in the community and feel the need to share some of them with all of you.
The most mind-blowing thing I was taught was that you can’t be perfect because everyone is bound to make mistakes in their lives. This was also one of the most important lessons. I remember this happening in my fifth-grade math class. I would never answer any questions out loud in fear that I would get the answer wrong in front of the whole class. The last thing I wanted was to embarrass myself by getting the answer entirely wrong. It took me a while to understand how important it was to make these mistakes and get out of my comfort zone—that trying new things maybe isn’t that bad after all. Nudging myself a little more led me to things I love and enjoy doing today. I would have never in a billion years thought I would like Harry Potter, but I decided to actually try to have fun during Harry Potter week and now I’m obsessed with wizards and warlocks. Embarrassment, discomfort—it’s all a part of the process of learning. You can’t possibly get everything right.
Matthew Reiling's Graduation Speech
 Hello students, parents, faculty, and Dr. Patzlaff; my name is Matthew Reiling. Throughout my nine years here at Clairbourn School, there is one very important thing I have taken away from here. It is to learn from your mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes; it’s a part of life. When you inevitably make a mistake sometime or another; focus on what you could do next time to prevent that same mistake from happening if given the chance. Do not be ashamed of a little error here and there, because everybody does it one time or another.
I can still vividly remember the time in third grade, when one careless mistake led to a much worse outcome. We were taking a math test, it was not terribly difficult, so it was not a failure to prepare for the test, but instead something much more clueless. Despite the many signs around the classroom stating “always double-check your work,” I proceeded to ignore the signs and hand in my test, not realizing what impact it would have. When I was handed back my graded test, the first thing I noticed was the large F written on my paper with a circle around it. I was so shocked, and when I looked through my test to see where I went wrong; well, I may or may not have skipped an entire page or two on the test. Needless to say, neither I nor my parents were very happy with the final results. From then on, I always remembered to double-check my work.
Thomas Edison is the perfect example of a man who learned from his mistakes. As he once said “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways something won’t work.” In the process of perfecting the light bulb, he made countless errors but proceeded to learn from his mistakes and correct any problems he encountered. Thomas Edison took what he noticed was wrong with one model, and in the next time, perfected the previous problem. If we all do that, then we are on our way to success.
Zaria Echemendia's Graduation Speech
Hello Dr. Patzlaff, teachers, parents, students, and the mighty Class of 2020. As some of you may not know who I am, I am Zaria Echemendia. I am on Student Council as their Secretary, only 5ft tall, and I love to eat! I’ve been at Clairbourn since Kindergarten, and after nine years, I am really sad the Class of 2020 is leaving Clairbourn. Clairbourn has taught me so much, from an intellectual level and to just growing as a person.
Clairbourn is such a positive and welcoming community and no matter what year you come, you’re guaranteed to make friends. Even though Clairbourn taught me many things that were positive and kind-hearted, I also learned that failure is a part of life. It may bring hardships, but it is also a learning experience.
Success is like the freeway. At certain times, it can go really fast and other times there could be a traffic jam and the freeway could be stuck or going really slow. Either way, most of the cars on the freeway will eventually get to where they want whether they decide to stay or get off the freeway. It can be a lot of work to gain success, but if you find a way something doesn’t work, you’re closer to success.
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Presentation Of Class Gift
A New Ginkgo Tree In The Center Quad
"The Class of 2020 talked about a few ideas for our class gift. We wanted to find something to honor Mr. Millard our former Assistant Head of school. We know he loved being outside in nature so we picked something he would have liked." - Aidan Chui
"We decided it would be great to provide a new ginkgo tree for the center quad. This tree was planted in a spot where it will be able to grow nice and big to provide shade for years to come." - Thomas Espinoza
"It also will add to our annual fun of playing in the ginkgo leaves. All of the students love this tradition and we hope we are adding to the joy of future classes of Cougars." - Wendy Waite
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Graduation Remarks From Dr. Patzlaff
 When I think about the Class of 2020, your impressive and varied skills and talents come to mind. Some of you are exceptional athletes, some gifted students, some debaters, some dancers, some artists or musicians, and some wonderful friends. All of these are impressive and can lead to fabulous experiences for you, but I was wondering about which skills will be the most important for you as you go through your lives.
In one book I read, the author David Epstein, talks about what is better, being a specialist or being a generalist. He concluded that in a very narrow game with fixed rules and an opponent that can’t impact your game like golf, being a specialist is better. You just have to be really good at driving, chipping, and putting, no matter how your opponent plays. But in a game with an opponent that can impact your game, being more of a generalist is better because you can adapt to the changes your opponent throws your way. Think of basketball where a team who plays a fast break offense requires something different of you than a team who sets up a fixed offense. So what does that have to do with you if you are not going to join the PGA or the NBA?
I was thinking about this year and how it compares to these sports analogies. This year was something completely new. It felt like we were all playing Blindfolded Alien Soccer. The rules were not clear and kept changing. We aren’t even sure who our opponent is or who is keeping score. For that matter, how is the score kept and when does the game end? How in the world are we supposed to hone our skills for this new game when we don’t even know how it works? Which skills should be practiced? How do we make sure we aren’t wasting valuable effort in skills that aren’t going to be helpful? Do we even have a chance?
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Graduation Photos 2020
View & Download Graduation Photos
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High School Acceptances
The Graduating Class of 2020 will attend the following High Schools:
Barreau, Madison - Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
Bu, Emily - La Salle College Preparatory
Chang, Kyle - St. Francis High School
Chen, Jenny - Mayfield Senior School
Chen, Matthew - Flintridge Preparatory School
Chiu, Aidan - La Salle College Preparatory
Drazic, Leah - California School of the Arts San Gabriel Valley
Echemendia, Zaria - Flintridge Preparatory School
Espinoza, Thomas - La Salle College Preparatory
Gokgoz, Sophia - La Salle College Preparatory
Ho, William - Campbell Hall
Hong, Austin - Flintridge Preparatory School
Jones, Cyanne - Polytechnic School
Lopez, Alexander - St. Francis High School
Marshall, Raymond - La Salle College Preparatory
Pavel, Andrew - La Salle College Preparatory
Plummer, Roxy - Out of State
Reiling, Matthew - Flintridge Preparatory School
Sheng, Kaylie - Flintridge Preparatory School
Tian, Raymond - La Salle College Preparatory
Tseng, Jaleen - Flintridge Preparatory School
Waite, Wendy - Mayfield Senior School
Zhang, Barbie - La Salle College Preparatory
Zhang, Kevin - Flintridge Preparatory School
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CFA Appreciation
Thank You To The CFA From Dr. Patzlaff
The CFA volunteers are a vital part of what makes the Clairbourn community so special. This year was no exception. We had volunteers who made countless events fun for everyone. They invited us to barbeques, a magical book fair, a tennis social, holiday events, a glamourous benefit party, important meetings with parent information and wonderful food, weekly served lunches for the students, and daily Cougar Corner treats. It was even more evident how much they add to the community during this last quarter when we weren’t able to be together. But even during this time, they reached out to host virtual get-togethers to maintain the community feeling that we all love. I didn’t want to let this year end without expressing a heartfelt, public THANK YOU to each and every one of the CFA volunteers. And a special thank you to the CFA Board who worked to organize all of the events big and small. Clairbourn is grateful for you!
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