Month: February 2024

Lunar New Year Celebration

The sixth-grade students joined together during their Language Arts and Humanities classes on Friday, February 9th, to learn, share, and celebrate the Lunar New Year. 2024 is the year of the wood dragon, which happens every 60 years.

Saklan students and teachers brought in elements of their own Lunar New Year family traditions from Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam. These students shared and explained the symbolism behind red envelopes, special food, celebratory dress, and unique New Year customs. The sixth-grade class read about ancient Chinese oracle bones and the origins of the Chinese language. Then, using the students’ experiences from their fourth-grade calligraphy art instruction, they brushed the character for “good luck” before joining to have a potluck lunch. Students brought special New Year foods, and everyone enjoyed a few dishes from China Moon.

 After lunch, Christina led a combined group of sixth and eighth grade students through various meanings behind New Year traditions. Students learned how colors and gestures symbolize different ideas in Asian cultures. Christina shared a Vietnamese tradition that happens on Tet, or the first day of the New Year. This tradition honors your ancestors or loved ones by having family members create a beautiful altar and share offerings. With this knowledge, students made fruit offerings and wrote the names of deceased people they wanted to honor. The “five-fruit tray” on the ancestral altar during the Tet Holidays symbolizes the admiration and gratitude of the Vietnamese to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors.

Overall, the Lunar New Year was a special day for all who participated and learned about or shared their culture with their classmates. Activities like this help increase a sense of belonging in our community as students learn more about one another and gain understanding, allowing them to be more empathetic to one another. Thank you to all the sixth-grade students willing to be courageous and share about their own culture and family.

#SaklanCommunity

Bikes, Buses and Scooters

From guest experts talking about kick flips on skateboards to riding down trails on BMX bikes, the Owlets have had a great time learning about the different ways to get around as they continue their transportation study!

The Owlets continued to welcome guest experts to share the unique forms of transportation they use, including one of our fourth grade students who rides a BMX bike and has even received trophies for it! He talked about the safety gear needed when riding a BMX bike, and showed the Owlets his bike, boots and helmet. The owls learned that just like David’s motorcycle, you need to wear a helmet and a special jacket to keep safe on a BMX bike. 

The Owlets love to see the big yellow bus pull up in front of the school and were very interested to see inside the bus. Our bus driver, Mike, was happy to not only show the Owlets the inside of the bus, but to take them on a short ride. The preschoolers had a blast riding on the school bus!

On Tuesday, the Owlets excitedly welcomed guest expert Jordan to their classroom. Jordan shared his fold-able bike with the students, showing them how it can go from a full-size, ride-able bike, and then fold up small enough to be held with just one hand. The Owlets were very interested in the bike, and especially fascinated with ringing the bell!

On Wednesday, the Owlets were excited to bring their own bikes and scooters to school for Wheels Day! The preschoolers happily dawned their helmets for the chance to ride their wheels in the school parking lot!

#SaklanGuestExperts

The Suns are Back

Saklan hadn’t played basketball games against another school since before the pandemic, but this month the Suns returned to the court! Recently a team of Saklan 4th – 8th graders played two games against the Contra Costa Jewish Day School Grizzlies. Both games were close and well played. Saklan had a big turn out of courageous students willing to put on jerseys. A big thank you to: Aliya 6th, Braden 7th, Cameron 4th, Hailey 6th, Jameson 8th, Jack 7th, Kiran 8th, Lucien 6th, Mori 8th, Oliver 8th, Riley 5th, Sam 8th, Sean 5th, Sebastien 4th,  and Yiannis 8th.  These students, without any formal practice, took on a middle-school aged varsity level basketball team and won one home game and lost a close away game. Way to go Saklan!

Basketball Club continues on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 3:00 p.m. All 4th – 8th graders are invited to join in the fun out on the Sports Court. As we move towards March, Volleyball Club will start alongside Basketball Class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Stay tuned for more info about volleyball games planned for April and May. Go Suns!

#SaklanCourageous #SaklanSports

Saklan’s Snack Shack

Every Saklan student knows how rewarding a snack can be at the end of a busy day of learning and having fun with one another here at school. Our dedicated and resourceful Student Council heeded the requests from the entire student body–and Snack Shack is back!

Student Council officers and representatives in grades 1 through 8 decided on the final items for sale based on desirability, minimizing waste, and being able to set reasonable prices ranging from 50 cents to $2.00 per item. Yummy snacks for sale include: gummies, chips, Hello Panda, La Croix bubble water, and Martinelli’s apple drink. The money earned from the Snack Shack will be donated to a charity chosen by Student Council (stay tuned for an update on the chosen charity in March).

Snack Shack is open outside David’s office from 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Thursday.  Students in grades 1 through 8 are invited to come by and purchase a snack from our hardworking Student Council members. Cash only, please. 

Thank you, students and parents, for supporting our Student Council.

Snack on!

#StudentLeadership #StudentCouncil

Looking for Wine Donations

Love wine? We are excitedly preparing a Wine Raffle for this year’s Peace, Love, Saklan auction, and we would love your help! Please consider donating a favorite bottle or two (rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate or Wine Enthusiast or valued at $30 or more) to this year’s collection.

Please bring your wine donations to the Saklan Office. Thank you for your support!

#PeaceLoveSaklan

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Why the student should be an integral part of “parent-teacher” conferences.

As a 3rd grader at Bulman Elementary School, I vividly recall waiting for my parents to return home from parent-teacher conferences. I was anxious about what my parents and Ms. Whickersham were going to talk about.  I adored my teacher and knew she loved me, but I was far from a perfect student.  

Sitting at home, I felt a sense of powerlessness, worrying about the discussions happening about my education without me. When my parents finally returned, they would share the teacher’s observations, and I would hastily add my own thoughts, eager to fill in what I believed were overlooked details. This often led to a sense of disconnection among my teacher, my parents, and myself, as if we were not fully understanding each other.

There were three important constituencies in this conversation, but one (me) was never represented except as a sidebar to the conversation. I missed a critical chance to talk about what was going well for me, what I was struggling with, or understand their perception of what they saw at home or school. Most importantly, I was not given the opportunity to take ownership of my learning.

At Saklan, when we invite students (K-8) to be involved in conferences, we send the message that we are in this together to celebrate their successes and support their challenges. As importantly, we are preparing them for life, teaching them the power of reflection and self-advocacy. 

Involving students in these conversations will empower them to take charge of their own learning journey and strengthen the partnership between teachers, parents, and students.

Warm regards,

David

100 Days of Learning

Did you know that on Thursday, February 8th, Saklan students celebrated the 100th day of the school?  

The Hoot Owls celebrated by making 100 hand prints, 100-day crowns, and counting to 100.

Kindergarteners made a special snack of 100 things, did 100 different exercises, counted to 100 in many different ways, made cheerio necklaces with 100 cheerios, wrote numbers to 100 and built different structures with 100 cups!

One of the highlights of the 100th day of school for the Hoot Owls, Kindergartners and 1st graders was the opportunity to gather in the Pre-K room and watch a video of Joanna’s 100 year old grandmother, who answered questions the students had about being 100. Witnessing a healthy centenarian left the students in awe and provided them with a unique perspective on the passage of time. Check out the video here!

The 4th graders celebrated during their Ohana Circle Time by estimating 100 in various ways, writing their names in cursive 100 times, and tackling an Order of Operations challenge to create equations of 100. 

The students had a wonderful day celebrating 100 days of learning!

Learning in the Field: Hawaii Edition

Last week the 7th graders went to Oahu, Hawaii to spend the week learning about evolution: the evolution of species and the evolution of culture on the Hawaiian islands.

Students spent part of the week learning about different native animals and specific adaptations they have for their survival there on the island and with the impact of human actions, such as invasive species, farming, war and now plastic trash. To do this, they walked through the tropical forest of Waimea Falls, learned about the Dole Plantation and the pressure of having a reliable brand, snorkeled in Hanauma Bay to observe fish adaptations, and cleaned up a beach with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii.

The second part of the week was spent looking at the impact of westerners on the island and on the Polynesian culture. Students discovered art, daily life and music of different Polynesian islands at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Then they learned about the monarchy of the Hawaiian people and the overthrow of their government while visiting the Iolani Palace. Lastly, they saw the effect of war, as they visited the resting place of the USS Arizona.

And while so much learning was going on, there was also tons of fun! From beach walks and swims to snow cones and shopping, the 7th graders were all smiles!

#SaklanFieldExperience

The Depths of the Ocean

The Hoot Owls have continued to explore the depths of the ocean in recent weeks. They learned about coral reefs and read the book “The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs” by Kate Messner. It shared the story of Ken Nedimyer, the creator of the Coral Restoration Foundation. They also watched a video of a scientist exploring the coral reefs and explaining how coral reefs grow. As a class, the Hoot Owls talked about ways they can help keep the coral reefs safe. They talked about making sure trash goes into the right bins so it won’t go into the ocean, about not wasting water, and about being gentle with animals in the water. The students also created their own coral in class, which they drew with oil pastels and then used water color to create the ocean around them.

The class continued learning about more sea animals that they are interested in. Whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, great white sharks and more were on the list! The owls painted these animals, and currently have them swimming in their classroom. Stop by and take a look at their under sea classroom!

#SaklanHandsOnLearning

Internet Safety for Kids

Save the date for the next PA Parent Coffee event on Friday, March 22nd. All Saklan parents are invited to join us in the Pavilion after CLAS to hear from Darryl Holcombe, one of the region’s expert law enforcement officers working to keep kids safe online. He has tips on parent control apps, ideas and strategies to consider, and insights into the bigger picture of kids and social media. Come ready with your questions and enjoy some coffee and snacks during the talk.

#SaklanParentEd