Clonlara School

What does it really mean to be a MENTOR? 💚

It’s not about having all the answers or making learning easier. It’s about knowing how to guide each learner with intention — creating the right balance between choice and challenge, independence and support, curiosity and rigor.

When students are given ownership of their learning, with a mentor beside them to guide, question, encourage, and challenge them, something powerful happens: they begin to see themselves as capable, active participants in their own education. 💫

Swipe through as we rethink 3 common myths about mentoring — and explore what student-centered learning can really look like.

✨ And stay tuned… something exciting is coming!

Got a big idea, but no time to pursue it? 💡🤩

At Clonlara, high school students can build a portfolio, strengthen college applications, learn a trade, or start a business as part of their learning path. 💚

Curious about a different way to learn?
Talk to us at www.clonlara.org/contact-us 👈

MEET OUR TEAM!
Berenice Siegmund has been a Clonlara academic advisor for two years. However, her connection with Clonlara began six years ago, when she joined as a mother of four students. 💚 She brings both professional experience and a personal understanding of the learning journeys many of our families embrace.

“Working at Clonlara is a lot of fun and combines my personal beliefs with my job, which is a gift for me.”

🗨️ “I believe in the individual and very different learning paths and life journeys of human beings, and I find it important that children are allowed to follow their own path from an early age in order to stay connected to what lies within us,” she says. “And this is exactly what Clonlara enables us to do.”

It is a pleasure to work with passionate people like Berenice. We are fortunate to have her on our team! 🙏🏼

Berenice Siegmund has been a Clonlara academic advisor for two years. However, her connection with Clonlara began six years ago, when she joined as a mother of four students. 💚 She brings both professional experience and a personal understanding of the learning journeys many of our families embrace.

“Working at Clonlara is a lot of fun and combines my personal beliefs with my job, which is a gift for me.”

🗨️ “I believe in the individual and very different learning paths and life journeys of human beings, and I find it important that children are allowed to follow their own path from an early age in order to stay connected to what lies within us,” she says. “And this is exactly what Clonlara enables us to do.”

It is a pleasure to work with passionate people like Berenice. We are fortunate to have her on our team! 🙏🏼

What if learning didn't only happen in a classroom? 💭🤔

Everyday life is full of opportunities to build lasting knowledge and skills. A conversation, a creative project, travel, community experiences, and real-world challenges can spark curiosity and offer learning no lesson or textbook can offer alone. 🌏💚

In our latest blog, Clonlara advisor Isabelle Guillemin shares seven insights that challenge common misconceptions about education and show what personalized learning can look like in practice.

💬 “Personalized learning starts with a simple idea: learning is part of life.”

Read the article and discover a broader way to think about where, how, and why learning happens: ➡ https://clonlara.org/2026/08/14/living-is-learning-7-insights-into-personalized-learning-that-may-change-how-you-think-about-education/

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” — Alan Kay

The future is shaped by people who question, explore new possibilities, and turn ideas into action. 💭🤩

Whether that means designing a robot, composing music, launching a business, writing a novel, or engineering a prototype, our students' futures begin with the freedom to pursue what matters to them.

At Clonlara, we make space for their future. 💚

For 58 years, Clonlara has been a leading advocate of personalized learning. Today, we are excited to extend that work beyond our own programs through a new professional learning opportunity for educators! 💚

📆 📍 Our upcoming workshops will be held in October and led by one of Clonlara’s most experienced mentors in this area, Heather MacPhail.

40 years in education taught Heather one thing: the most meaningful learning begins with connection. 🫂

For Heather Sullivan MacPhail, education has never been simply about sharing knowledge. It’s about seeing people — truly seeing them — and creating the trust they need to grow. ✨️

Through four decades as an educator, her own journey as a mother, and a lifelong commitment to learning, Heather has discovered that some of our greatest teachers are the people we meet along the way.

That’s why she doesn’t see mentoring as a one-way relationship.
Because when people feel seen, respected, and supported, something changes: confidence grows, curiosity opens up, and learning becomes possible. 💫

For Heather, that’s where mentorship begins. 🤍

Our upcoming workshop, led by Heather Macphail, will be on October 21. Learn more and register. Link in Bio.