The Owlets had so much fun celebrating Valentine’s Day together! In the days leading up to the holiday, they read the books A Little Spot of Kindness and A Little Spot of Love, both by Diane Alber, to give them ideas about how to be loving and kind. The students were excited to put “kindness spots” on their hands to help them remember to be kind.
To further embrace being kind to each other, the Owlets now have a “Little Jar of Kindness” in their classroom that they try to fill every day by doing kind deeds!
The Hoot Owls have also been learning about kindness and what it means to be a good friend. They made a long list of things they can do to be kind, and then added “The Kindness Jar” to their classroom. Whenever a teacher sees or hears about a Hoot Owl doing something kind, they write a little note and put it in the jar. When the jar starts to get full they read all the notes together as a class.
The 4th graders are currently working to answer the driving question, How can we use our knowledge of the gold rush to understand the impact of humans on the CA environment today?
Students have been conducting research to explore their own questions about the 1849 CA gold rush and it’s lasting impact on the environment. They have been learning virtually with staff from various CA State Parks, Dr. Sarah Duddigan, an environmental scientist at the University of Reading, and Jared Naimark, a CA mining organizer from the non-profit organization, Earthworks.
As they continue their unit, they need your help connecting with a few more experts. Do you, or someone you know, have interest in sharing your knowledge in the following areas?
Comic books or graphic novels
Animation or drawing
Self-publishing
Gold jewelry making or recycling
Mercury and/or cyanide toxicology
If so, please reach out to Linda (llathrop@saklan.org) and Ashley (ajennings@saklan.org) to see how your knowledge could help the 4th graders with their study.
The Saklan Middle School offers a variety of elective classes that cater to the community’s diverse hobbies and interests, which we call LBD (Learning by Doing) classes. On Thursday, February 16th, the students had the opportunity to explore Korean culture through the class “Exploring Cultures through Food.” Students learned about the various ingredients that make up a traditional Korean meal, as well as the customs and etiquette associated with dining in Korea. Students were eager to try Kim Chi, Japchae, and Tteokbokki. Before dining, the students practiced how to serve their elders while avoiding eye contact, as custom in Korean etiquette. They expressed their appreciation for learning about other cultures and their eagerness to learn more.
In addition to the Exploring Cultures through Food class, Saklan also offers classes such as Sadie’s Baking Class (8th grade student), Bookworms with Jennifer (7th-8th grade Humanities teacher), and African Drumming with Isaac (Saklan’s drumming teacher). These classes are a combination of teacher-led and student-led activities, providing students with the opportunity to make memories while learning new skills. We encourage middle school students to continue creating their own classes to teach their community.
In Spanish, the fifth graders have been learning about the food groups and what types of foods make up a healthy, well-balanced plate. They each created a slide of a healthy plate and then wrote sentences about the items that one should consume for a balanced diet. Check out examples of their slides and sentences below!
We hope you will join us for to this year’s Auction Fiesta on Saturday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. The celebration will focus on community building and have several activities (games, photo booth, raffles) to encourage socializing and reconnecting with friends old and new! Our Fiesta will also include a taco bar dinner, open bar, wine ring toss, silent auction, and lots of fun!
Auction Tickets
Tickets are now available online for a discounted rate of $75 each. But the price increases on March 1st, so get your tickets today!
Don’t miss this special celebration and chance to support Saklan. Proceeds from this event are invested directly back into our children’s educational experiences, in and out of their classrooms.
Fund-a-Needs
Instead of having one large fund-a-need, this year we have multiple different projects/items that we are raising funds for. They are:
The Summer Reflection Fund/Professional Development for Saklan Faculty & Staff – Support teachers and staff in their pursuit of professional development projects of personal interest that also benefit their students and the school.
Collaborative, Flexible Seating – Help us create learning spaces, inside and outside of the classrooms, that inspire collaboration.
Media Arts Literacy – Help the art program expand to teach digital art and graphic design, as well as give students the opportunity to photograph their own artwork and create a digital portfolio.
Water Refill Station for the Early Childhood Area – Provide Saklan’s youngest students with a water bottle refill station to help keep them hydrated and foster independence.
All-weather Library Book Return Station – Help protect Saklan’s newly expanded Library collection from water and weather damage, as well as create a central location for all community members to return their library books.
Indoor Vertical Garden for the Science Lab – Provide students with the opportunity to learn about life cycles and biology through hands-on, indoor gardening and plant growing.
Can’t Attend the Auction?
Even if you can’t join us in person at the Fiesta, you can still be involved in the auction. From donating wine for the wine ring toss to underwriting a teacher’s ticket, there are many ways to show support for the event. This year’s silent auction and fund-a-needs will be available online, so all community members can participate in the auction even if they can’t be at the event!
Still Collecting Wine
We are still collecting wine for our Wine Ring Toss! Please consider donating a favorite bottle or two (valued at $20 or more, or rated 90 points or higher) to this year’s collection. Please bring your wine donations to the Saklan Office or drop them off at the Auction Fiesta table in front of Saklan during morning drop off.
Have Questions?
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions page on the auction website for more information about the event, as well as to see the list of auction donors.
On Friday, February 10th, Saklan students celebrated the 100th day of the 2022-2023 school year. To mark the occasion, the Hoot Owls made “100” crowns and participated in several counting activities.
The Kindergartners celebrated the 100th day of school by asking questions of an (almost) 100 year old. Check out their questions and the answers they received via video by clicking here!
The Kindergarteners also made a special snack of a 100 things, as well as glasses, crowns, and structures with 100 cups. They also shared mystery bags of 100 items that they brought from home, giving clues to their friends to try and guess what was in each bag!
The first graders enjoyed counting by tens to make trail mix with 100 snack items in it, and made necklaces with 100 loops on them.
The third graders celebrated by completing some challenges related to 100. They wrote a list of 100 words from 10 different categories, completed a 100 multiplication chart and collaborated on STEM challenges: building a tower with 100 cups, building a Lego structure with 100 Lego blocks, and making a design with 100 pattern blocks.
The students had a wonderful day celebrating 100 days of learning!
Last week, our compassionate fifth graders created heart table toppers to brighten the dining room of Aegis Senior Living Center, and then hand-delivered them. The students also delivered cards that the Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students made, as well as table-toppers from 4th grade.
Lin and Alison, of Aegis Senior Living Center, were delighted to receive the Valentine’s Day decorations. They shared that they were used to decorate their dining tables on Valentine’s day night, and that their residents loved the cards and table décor!
Written by Guest Blogger, Saklan 7th Grader, Astro
Deep within the lush tropics on the island of Oahu, there resides an 1875-acre nature park by the name of Waimea Valley. This valley holds more significance than simply being a botanical garden, for the abundance of wildlife is also reflected in the richness of its history. The seventh grade class visited Waimea Valley on Tuesday, February 7th. During the visit, we walked the 3.5-mile hike, and at the end of it, swam under a waterfall.
Waimea Valley is one of the most flourishing environments for farming and is considered one of the best environments for tropical plants in Polynesia. This is because of the heavy tropical rainfall that happens all over the Hawaiian archipelago which in turn creates vibrant soil. In fact, Waimea Valley is home to 5,000 species of plants, most of which are rare Polynesian plants or native Hawaiian plants. Though this doesn’t seem all that exciting, Waimea Valley is one of the reasons why many native Hawaiian plants are not extinct, which makes it extremely important. When we visited, we saw many foreign plants that have adapted to live in a climate like Hawaii. The valley is located on the north shore of Oahu, near Haleiwa. We were lucky enough to experience this beautiful location on our Hawaii field experience.
A summer of creative exploration awaits your child during Summer@Saklan! Saklan’s summer camp offers children the chance to have fun learning new languages and cultures, creating art projects, playing games, meeting special guests, and more!
This summer will feature three sessions of Spanish and Mandarin classes in the mornings, and fun, enriching activities in the afternoons. The Camp days run from 8:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. (with Extended Day available until 4:30 p.m.), for both the Mini Campers (ages 3-5) and Explorers (entering 1st – 4th grade). Each day will feature activities including art, music, language, science, engineering, and tech, with field trips and fun workshops taught by members of the community on Fridays.
On Thursday, February 9th, Saklan hosted its annual State of the School presentation over Zoom. This year’s presentation focused on the Interim Strategic Framework, showcasing Saklan’s emphasis on connection, belonging, love of learning, and spaces that support collaboration. In addition, the CAIS accreditation process was shared, as well as the overall solid financial health of the school.
View the 2022-2023 State of the School presentation below.
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