August 2021 – FRIDAY BLOG

Head’s Corner

Dear Saklan Community,

What a fantastic first week! From our social gatherings to all the negative COVID tests to the countless emails to the safety protocols and new routines – THANK YOU for your compliance and understanding. Our community feels stronger than ever!

Thank you to those of you who joined us for CLAS this morning. This was the first time we gathered our entire community outside together in almost a year and a half, and it felt incredible! Your children are gracious, kind and so brave.

Thank you also to those of you who stayed for the PA social afterward. It is always inspiring to see the number of enthusiastic parents here to support the school. We welcomed 53 new students and 36 new families to Saklan this week! I appreciate the PA for being so proactive to connect our new families to the school community.

Some personal highlights from my week were seeing the faculty and staff jump into this school year with renewed energy and a collaborative spirit; hearing about the middle school students’ courageous experiences on the ropes course in Sonoma; being able to start the school year IN PERSON; helping the Kindergarten class look for Pete the Cat; enjoying the sight of students playing together during recess; and having my daughter on campus as a student for the first time!

I could go on and on. Having students on campus – laughing, playing, learning, sharing – is the life-blood of Saklan. The school is vibrant. I see the students connecting and the teachers fulfilled. And that, to me, is a sign of success and great things to come. I look forward to a year of tremendous growth and connection. Thank you all for trusting us with your most precious commodities and for supporting us along the way.

In gratitude,

David

#SaklanCommunity

COVID-19 Pool Testing

Next Wednesday, September 1st, we will begin our weekly COVID-19 pool testing for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. We are asking parents to do a one-time consent form. If you are providing consent for more than one child, please complete the process separately for each child.

Click here to complete the consent form. The access code you will need on the second screen is SPOVM4.

Additional instructions to guide you through the consent process can be found here.

Thank you, once again, for your support in keeping our community safe.

Enrichment Classes

We are thrilled to announce that The Saklan School will be bringing back after school enrichment classes for the 21-22 school year. For the fall session the following classes will be available:

Wonder Robotics for K-2nd Grade on Tuesdays from 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.
Coding: Game Design for 2nd – 5th Grade on Tuesdays from 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.
Digital 3D Modeling for 5th – 8th Grade on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 3:45 – 4:45 p.m.
Ceramics with Ms. Natalie for K – 4th Grades on Mondays from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Ceramics with Ms. Natalie for 5th – 8th Grades on Wednesdays from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Classes begin the week of September 13th, and have limited space available. If you are interested in signing your child up for one of the above classes, please click on the class name for additional information about the class and sign up options.

Saklan will also have enrichment opportunities for our Preschool and Pre-K friends that will be announced in the coming weeks. Our youngest students take a little more time to settle into the routines of coming to school, so we want to give them additional time before we introduce new classes into their day.

#SaklanHandsOn

Air Quality

We are well into the fire season, and unfortunately, have already had our first bout of smokey air pass through Moraga. Our response to the smokey air is complicated by COVID protocols as well as the location of the high-quality EPA AQI sensors (Oakland and Concord). While we realize the Purple Air sensors are not as sensitive as the EPA ones, we feel using the sensors near the school is a better choice than relying on the distant EPA sensors. When using the Purple Air app, our menu settings are EPA PM 2.5 AQI combined with the US EPA conversion pull down.

Our protocols for responding to poor air quality are informed by the California EPA guidance.

We monitor air quality throughout the day and offer these parameters according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) for some school operations:

Moderate (yellow 51-100)

Avoid heavy exertion in PE.
Monitor students with sensitivities

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange 101-150)

PE may be held outdoors with little to no physical exertion
Outdoor recess will be offered with reduced time and low physical exertion.
Preschool, Pre-K move indoors
Students with asthma and other respiratory issues should be monitored closely and should stay indoors and not participate in physical activities.

Unhealthy (red 151-200)

All physical activities moved indoors – we often use space at the Holy Trinity Church to move outdoor activities inside, including recess and PE.
Lunch held indoors.
Students with asthma and other respiratory issues should be closely monitored and should not participate in physical activities.

Very Unhealthy (purple 201-300)

See “Unhealthy Red”
Consider closing schools (COVID-19 considerations might require closing schools)

Hazardous (maroon 301 and above)

See “Very Unhealthy Purple”
Close School

We hope this brings you more clarity on how Saklan will approach any upcoming days with poor air quality.

Saklan students participating in indoor activities due to poor air quality.

Saklan has CLAS

Students share appreciations during the first CLAS

Last year gave us time to think about some of the things we have done for years and how to do them better. One of those things is Friday Flag- a long tradition that we have held out in front of School every Friday morning. After conversations with parents, teachers and students, we will be moving to a new Friday morning assembly called CLAS (Community, Learning, Appreciation, and Sharing).

The impetus to move to CLAS was to emphasize the aspects of Saklan we sincerely appreciate: our community, that love of learning is central to everything we do, that gratitude and appreciation is our lifeblood, and that sharing is how we all grow as individuals.

CLAS will be held on the Saklan Sports Court every other week. This allows each division to meet on the off weeks and hold assemblies that bring them together as a smaller group; the Saklan Sports Court provides a more protected gathering space.

Parents are invited to join us for CLAS by entering campus through the fire lane near the church right at 8:30 a.m.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning for our first CLAS! It was so wonderful to see our entire community in the same space and to hear the words of wisdom and appreciations that the students shared with us. Check out pictures from today’s gathering below.