In continuation of Good Humor Month, the students showed off their wacky hairdos and outfits for Crazy Hair and Clash Day on Wednesday.
Stay tuned. Next Wednesday is Pajama Day.
Crazy Hair and Clash Day
Month: January 2017
The Hoot Owls Enjoy Winter Weather!
The Hoot Owl class has been busy this winter. They watched a shaving cream cloud make rain, painted umbrellas and sprayed them with water, painted on ice, made mud and ate it with worms for snack, and the most favorite, played with snow.
Now we hope it stops raining for a few days. Maybe when we take down the rain clouds hanging in our room, the rain will stop!
Less Than 12 Days Left!
Please Make Your Annual Giving Fund Gift Today! 
Thank you to current parents who have donated or pledged so generously to date. We are at 60% participation overall and are inching our way towards our goal of 100% participation by all families.
Over the next 12 days, we will be contacting you if you have not yet pledged or donated to this year’s Annual Giving Fund. When you receive that call or email, please consider making a pledge or a gift that is significant for your family.
Every gift is important because it is a gift of participation and support for our Saklan students. Let’s “Build Our Future Together” by the January 31 deadline.
Annual Town Hall Meeting
What Great Parents Do with Erica Reischer, Ph.D.
Join us for this informative talk with therapist and author, Dr. Erica Reischer. Erica will present highly useful parenting advice from her best selling book, “What Great Parents Do: 75 Simple Strategies for Raising Kids Who Thrive.”
Erica Reischer, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, speaker, and parent educator. Dr. Reischer’s writing about children and families appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The Greater Good Science Center, and The Atlantic.
Dr. Reischer earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Psychology / Human Development, and is an honors graduate of Princeton University. A former consultant with McKinsey & Company, she sits on the advisory board for Happy Healthy Kids and continues to lead popular parenting classes at schools and organizations such as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Habitot Children’s Museum, and University of California.
Wednesday, February 15
7:30 – 9:00PM
The Bee’s Knees. The Duck’s Quack. The Cat’s Meow.
We are excited to announce that your invitations for our 2017 Annual Auction are on their way!
“An Evening in Old Hollywood” will be a step back in time to the glamour of 1920’s Hollywood, as well as being an evening where you just might hear the silliest sayings ever!
Saturday, March 4, will be our PARENTS NIGHT OUT annual fundraiser to bring our community together for the sake of raising funds that will support our students, teachers, and programs.
We look forward to you joining us for a hotsy-totsy time!
Head’s Corner
Dear Saklan Community,
Many thanks to all the parents, Board members, faculty and staff that came to our Envisioning Round Table last Friday led by Robert Miller and I. We had a good turnout with 21 participants representing a cross section of the school community. In well over an hour of discussion and sharing of ideas, we generated a list of things which would be important to consider in looking at the future of the school over the next five to ten years. The Parent Association is planning further discussion around envisioning at the Family Night at Fuddruckers in Walnut Creek on January 22nd, so if you couldn’t make it to the round table last Friday, you still have a chance to get involved in the discussion. The ideas from these sessions will be looked at by our Board and Community Committee and we will talk about the results at our Town Hall on January 27th at 9:00AM.
Students in Pre-K through 5th Grade will get a true taste of the future on Thursday, January 19th when we will have Moving-Up Day. This involves students spending some time in the next grade level, and meeting and interacting with their future teacher. It will be a fun event and will allow students to get a small taste of what is to come and also let our faculty see what great students are on the horizon.
Our SEL theme for the month of January is perseverance. One of the best ways to develop this skill is through goal-setting. This fits in well with the start of the new year and the tradition of setting goals or resolutions for the new year. This past week our students have been working in their classrooms on setting goals and discussing on ways to track their goals. Our faculty committee that have been working on this theme, made up of Sam Prestianni, Carly Russavage and Lisa Rokas, have come up with many great materials and graphic organizers for our faculty and students to use, and will be creating the Family Group lesson which will take place on January 27th.
When we talk about perseverance, we often also talk about grit. When students persevere for a goal with passion and over time, that is called grit. This has been a hot topic in parenting and education, and I encourage you to have a look at Angela Lee Duckworth’s outstanding TED talk titled, “Grit: the power of passion and perseverance.” Angela, who taught 7th grade math in New York City public schools, came to the realization that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. In her talk and book of the same title, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.
On February 15th, our Parent Association will be offering our community an outstanding parent talk given by Dr. Erica Reischer, author of the book, “What Great Parents Do.” This will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lafayette at 7:30PM. Make sure you get this on your calendar.
Remember that Monday is a holiday.
Have a great long weekend!
Peter
Let’s Build Our Future Together!
Many heartfelt thanks to our parents, grandparents, teachers, and trustees who have donated or pledged to date. Together, we have raised $76,000 (and building!)
It is important for every family to contribute regardless of financial means. Outside foundations and major donors like to see high participation rates from parents, teachers, and trustees, so they can believe that their investment in Saklan will grow with the investments made by others.
Every gift is important and needed. Please send in your pledge HERE by January 31, while planning to fulfill your commitment by April 1, 2017.
OR please donate online HERE today. Thank you very much!
Good Humor Month
January is Good Humor Month at Saklan! The Student Council planned a month full of fun! They chose a different theme for three Wednesdays during the month.
The first Wednesday was Sports Day and Saklan students wore jerseys, shirts, sweatshirts, hats, etc. of their favorite sports team.
At lunchtime, the Student Council officers facilitated a 3-leg race between grades 1-8. We hope these activities encourage teamwork and build school spirit.
7th Grade is Getting Ready for Hawaii
In preparation for the 7th grade Science and Humanities Hawaiian field trip, Miss Parks asked her students to use a vintage Hawaiian postcard from the 1920s and 30s. The students were supposed to use their Hawaiian history knowledge to interpret the design and purpose of the postcard. Some of the topics featured were: Pan American World Airways, Libby’s Pineapple Company, and artist Frank Warren. This assignment helps the students have a deeper understanding of the culture of the Hawaiian islands.
FRIDAY BLOG 
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