On Wednesday, docents from the Lindsay Wildlife Museum came to school and did a wonderful presentation for the Kindergarten through Second Grade on Animal Habitat. The students discussed and saw many wild animals that live in our neighborhood and found out about their habitats and adaptations.
To help their learning, the students also saw and touched some wild friends: a tarantula, a gopher snake and a guinea pig. They learned so much and had a wonderful time!
The eighth grade have been studying the Periodic Table. Each student had to pick an element they were interested in learning more about and create an artistic shirt showing the electrons, protons and neutrons, the history of the element, and uses of that element in real life.
The Set Design Middle School Elective is thought by Ms. Natalie and Maestra Padilla. In this class, the middle school students are working hard to complete the backdrop for the Lower School play, James and the Giant Peach. This Art class is in collaboration with the Music program and a great opportunity for the kids to work on a larger scale.
Their main focus right now is completing the Giant Peach! See their work and enjoy watching the Lower School play on Wednesday, December 19th at 1:30 pm!
The 6th grade just wrapped up their volcano unit. They learned about different types of volcanoes and their parts, where they are located, what type of eruptions occur, dangers and advantages of living by active volcanoes, and how they create different rocks and formations.
Students looked at different types of igneous rocks, tested different fluid viscosity to see how different lavas might flow, and then built their own shield volcano and tested off different batches of “magma.” They determined the speed of flow, what minerals make the lava flow slower, and how those different flows cool into different rocks. The students also learned about historic volcanoes and ones we still might want to be concerned about. It was a lot of fun!
Exciting news about Nick Barendregt, Class of 2010, recent graduate of Case Western Reserve University
He was at Saklan from preschool through 8th grade and went on to College Preparatory School for high school. He is a huge supporter of Saklan and often attributes his success and love of learning to the academic foundation received here at Saklan.
Currently, he is at the University of Boulder Colorado receiving a full scholarship in their applied mathematics doctorate program. Woohoo, Nick!
Please click here to read the article: http://artsci.case.edu/magazine/2018/a-happy-discovery/
As we take a breather (poor choice of words considering the AQI) this week leading up to Thanksgiving, I have been pondering the relationship between the Saklan Annual Giving Fund and gratitude. As a nonprofit, Saklan depends on the generosity of others to give students a unique experience. A couple of quick examples would be the marine biology field study we took students on a few weeks ago or importing drums from Ghana.
When I think about the Annual Giving Fund, I want to be sure that the message behind it is that we are grateful for anything that people can give. We sincerely value the fact that families make significant sacrifices to send their children to Saklan and support our community. When we seek a donation for the extra, we want it to come from a place of pride, love, and inspiration. But more importantly, we want you to know how grateful we are that you support our school.
Some of the things that I am grateful for is the fact that you allow us to spend significant time with your children, that you trust us, that you understand we sometimes make errors, and you help us grow as a school. But mostly, I am grateful that Saklan feels like family and we are all in this together: raising good people.
And yes, to do some of those extra things it takes money, but I do not want this to be about the money. I want it to be about a family school coming together. Thus, we are measuring not dollars, but participation. I ask you to give what works for your situation, be it one dollar or ten thousand dollars. Whatever you decide you can give, I want it given because you believe that what we do together at Saklan is life changing.
Warm regards,
David
The kiln is getting used to its fullest potential! The photo on the left is the middle school Dinner Party Project bone dry and ready to go into its first firing. The photo on the right shows the work completed to bisque ware and ready to get glazed! After the work is glazed, the work goes back into the kiln for its final fire. Working with clay is quite a process, so the students are learning all the science behind how clay works.
Each student read a book of their choice. After students read their books, they created a new brand of cereal that was related to their story somehow. The cereal boxes have creative names and illustrations on the front. The sides of the boxes explain the main characters, setting and story summary. Inside the boxes, students made a free prize, just like some real cereals have. Also, book recommendations were included.
Another part of the report was for students to create their own commercial presentations that we gave to our classmates. The purpose of the commercial was to “sell” their cereal and get kids to read their book.
If you are looking for a good book to read, our cereal box reports might give you some ideas. We will be putting our boxes in the library for you to look at. Way to go fifth graders!!
Kindergartners have been learning about bridges. The children learned the name and structural style of a few different bridges: arch, beam and suspension. They read a few versions of Three Billy Goats Gruff, about three hungry, billy goats and a troll that lives under a bridge.
The children, using one of the class tables as a bridge, acted the story. One afternoon, they walked to the bridge on the walking path behind Saklan. The children trip, trapped over the bridge, looked for a troll beneath it, and identified it as a beam bridge. A few even noticed the beams were cylinders! Finally, the children built their own bridges using Duplos, Legos and blocks. Little engineers at work!
FRIDAY BLOG 
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