2018 Art Show & Auction

One of our new families asked me the other day what’s the Art Show and Auction. I think the best explanation is that the Art Show and Auction is a wonderful evening celebrating our students’ incredible art, enjoying great food, drink, fun casino games, time with family and friends — it’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of all that makes Clariden so incredible – our students, their families, the unique, quality education that defines our school. It’s a night of FUN!

The goal of the Art Show and Auction is two-fold. First, as mentioned above, it’s a time to come together as a community and celebrate. There is much to celebrate and it’s only April. All of our students have grown academically and socially. The majority of our students are scoring academically above grade level. Our students have experienced wonderful learning opportunities through their class work, field studies and travel. Our seniors have been accepted into top ranking universities.

Clariden students are safe, happy learners, who each day gain more and more confidence in their own abilities. Our award-winning project based curriculum and quality programs prepare our students for life beyond our campus. As students go through Clariden, our curriculum and programs build strong students who have great academic prowess, the ability to speak in front of others with great confidence, strong leadership skills and problem solving ability. There is much to celebrate!

Second, it’s an evening to raise money to support our students and their teachers. Clariden is an 501c3 not-for-profit private school. We receive no funding from the State. We’re also not a community that “nickels and dimes”  our parents. We don’t ask our students to fundraise by selling candy bars, candles, wrapping paper, etc. We simply come together for one evening each year to celebrate, to enjoy each other, and raise some funds for our students – your children. Tuition alone does not cover the cost for all that Clariden provides for our students. The Art Show and Auction is important.

Money raised rolls right back into our program, our curriculum, our facilities, paying and recruiting great teachers, our playground, our off campus field studies, our technology, etc. Over the years, donations have brought wonderful curriculum to our classrooms, maintained our beautiful campus, provided for our Fab Lab complete with 3D printers, put SmartBoards and iPads in some of our classrooms, built swing sets (our second one for our younger students should be installed before the end of the school year along with a new play house), built our outdoor building area, and just recently we purchased over $4,000. worth of VEX robots for our middle and high school students.

A professor I had the pleasure of studying under while attending Harvard’s Independent School Leadership program shared with me and my cohorts that there is an art to giving. He stated that each person’s way of giving reflects the essence of their being. There is no right or wrong way of giving, as it is the expression of the soul – just as a piece of art is an expression of one’s soul – All giving feeds the soul.

I look forward to celebrating with you on April 21!