Month: June 2024

On Thursday morning, we honored and celebrated The Saklan School’s Graduating Class of 2024. It was a heartfelt ceremony in which the middle school teachers introduced the graduates and the graduates shared short speeches with their parents, teachers and fellow students.

A highlight of the ceremony was a speech by Saklan Alumni, Jacob Martin. Jacob graduated from Saklan in 2014 and has since completed high school, graduated from college and started his first “real job” as a paralegal. The wisdom that Jacob shared with the graduates was inspiring! Equally heart warming was Grace Chaffey leading the audience in singing “In My Life” by The Beatles.

There are several people that made the graduation events possible this year. We would like to extend a special thank you to Emily Williamson, Anny Khalil and Jenny Choi for organizing the graduation dinner and gifts. It takes a lot of planning and coordination, but the dinner was beautifully orchestrated. Thank you to Christina Nguyen, Jennifer Lettieri, Kim Parks, and Vickie Obenchain for helping the students express themselves so eloquently in their graduation speeches. Additionally, a special shout-out goes to Grace Chaffey, Shay Sager, Mel Zippin, Kim Parks, and Javier Yacarini for all their behind-the-scenes work handling the logistics of the graduation dinner and ceremony.

SaklanClassof2024 #SaklanCourageous

As we reflect on the 2023-2024 school year, we are reminded of the impact that every Saklan family had in making the year such a joyful experience. Parents, we truly appreciate your partnership and support throughout the year.

Thank you to all the family members that volunteered their time and talents. Your help was instrumental to making the following activities successful:

• Back-to-School BBQ
• Uniform Exchange
• Annual Giving Fund
• Parent Coffees
• Grandfriends’ Day
• Lower School Musical
• All-School Concert
• Peace, Love, Saklan Auction
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• Middle School Musical
• Yearbook
• Field Experiences
• Class Celebrations
• Open Houses
• Fall Festival
• Movie Night
• Spring Service Social
• Graduation Dinner

Additionally, thank you to everyone who cheered on and showed support for our students during the following events:

• CLAS
• Halloween Costume Parade
• Fall Follies
• Frozen Kids
• Basketball Games
• All-School Concert
• Into the Woods
• Volleyball Matches
• Art Show
• Presentations of Learning
• Graduation

It was a wonderful year. Thank you, Saklan families, for your help and partnership in making the 23-24 year a success!

Saklan’s annual Family Group Field Day took place on Monday afternoon. In their family groups, the 1st to 8th grade students delivered fun and entertaining cheers to a panel of judges (faculty and staff) to start the festivities!

Following the cheers, the family groups faced off against each other as they rotated through the following activities:

• Super Volleyball
• Sponge Relay
• Marbles, Marbles
• Sack Relay
• Heads Up

Next up was the water-balloon toss, and then the family groups ended the day on the sports court where the top teams were announced and popsicles were enjoyed by all! It was a terrific day, filled with exemplary sportsmanship, great team spirit, and tons of fun. It was also a great final family group activity for the year, as students were able to showcase their understanding of all the Social Emotional Learning topics they learned this year:

• Inclusive
• Creative
• Humility
• Respectful
• Collaborative
• Loving
• Forgiving
• Resilient

SaklanConnected #SaklanFamilyGroups

The creation and spread of the religion of Islam started on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century, and was a major event during Medieval times. In Humanities class, the 7th graders learned about Muhammad’s life and other key events surrounding the beginnings of the Islamic religion. Jennifer taught the class about the prophet Muhammad and his importance to Islam. Next, each member of the class chose a topic to study on their own:

• The Spread of Islam: 632 – 750 C.E. – Braden and Luke
• The Islamic Golden Age – Cam and Jack D.
• Islamic Beliefs – Jack Z. and Narayani
• Islamic Art – Luca
• Islamic Architecture – Lucas and Maya
• Women in Islam and Islamophobia Today – AJ

During their World of Islam Independent Study unit, the 7th graders reviewed digital sources that related to the individual topics that they chose. Next, the students wrote and answered their own questions based on the information they learned from the sources. The 7th graders also shared what they were learning with one another in classroom displays and seminar-style discussions.

Finally, the students put together their own presentations to share what they learned during their World of Islam Symposium. Each student shared a short lecture, prepared an informative tri-fold display board, and designed an interactive activity to teach visitors about their topics.

During their studies, the 7th graders did their best in their speaking and writing not to make assumptions that could make people feel upset or offended. The students think that it is important to learn about Islam so that they can relate to and work well with people who follow both Islam and all other religions. Additionally, they feel it is important to learn about the history and religion of Islam to help understand stereotypes about Muslims in order to address Islamophobia today. The 7th graders shared that learning about Islam helped them understand and empathize with Muslim people.

Thank you to all of our parents, teachers, and the fourth and sixth grade students who visited the Symposium. The 7th graders enjoyed sharing their learning with you!