Author: The Saklan School Friday Blog

The Saklan School is a private Pre-K through 8 school located in Moraga, CA. Our mission is to think creatively, act compassionately, and live courageously.

Fifth Grade Autobiography Projects

One tradition we have in fifth grade is students put together an Autobiography Project. This has been a Saklan tradition for many years. This year’s fifth grade has just completed this treasured keepsake. The Autobiography consists of six chapters written by the students. Each chapter is tailored to inform the reader about different parts of the students’ lives. Chapters range from: A Parent Interview, My Favorite Activity, Family Activities, Timeline, Me Today and a free choice chapter. The free choice chapter gives students the opportunity to create what they wish. Many students wrote poetry, wrote about their pet, favorite place, are some of the examples.

On Wednesday, the fifth graders shared their projects with their parents, classmates and teachers during a gallery walk presentation. Fifth graders were so excited to share their amazing projects. Students also brought their favorite dessert to share during the presentations.

We are very proud of their hard work and creativity on the projects. Way to go fifth graders!

#SaklanCreative

Fall Fun

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To get into to the fall spirit, the Owlets carved their class pumpkin. First, they did their five senses with it. They told Mrs. Amanda what the pumpkin smelled like, what it felt like, what it tasted like, what it sounded like, and what it looked like. They guessed how many seeds could be in the pumpkin. Then, they washed the seeds and roasted them. When Mrs. Amanda asked if they liked pumpkin seeds or not, the majority of the children answered yes. It was a lot of fun!

Owlets had an amazing Halloween party and pumpkin hunt on the 30th of November. It was very cute to see the children hunt for their pumpkins and get excited when they found theirs. Halloween was a blast. It was a lot of fun for the children to parade through the school and attend Flag in their Halloween costumes.

#SaklanHandsOn

Why Do You Donate?

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”What wouldn’t I give when my children are blossoming in an environment that nurtures the love of learning and allowed to be themselves confidently! I wanted them to have a different learning experience than the one I grew up having; where going to school is an exciting event rather than a dreadful one that I’ve felt growing up. Going to Saklan every morning, as we drive 45 minutes each way, is a day my children look forward to. That’s enough of a reason for me to give.” 

Jenny Choi

Makenna (7th) and Nikko (4th)

#SaklanGiving

The Power of Saklan

The Saklan School is a special community whose essence is often easier to capture through the senses than with words. Perhaps sometimes it is easier to feel than to describe. Families and teachers feel connected and purposeful. Students are engaged and confident. Academics are challenging and meaningful.

It is the essence of Saklan that founded our mission to Think Creatively, Act Compassionately, and Live Courageously. These same principles have laid the groundwork for our school’s growth and longevity. As we continue our 66th year, we would like to focus on the Power of Saklan. To that end, we have created three new videos to help identify and explain the fundamentals of who we are as a community and why families continue to find a home at Saklan.

It is our hope that these videos have captured the spirit of Saklan, and that you see within them why you are part of our community. We hope you are inspired by these videos and share them with friends, family, and colleagues.

#ThePowerofSaklan

Why Do You Donate?

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“Every year when we donate to the Annual Giving Fund, we know we are investing in not only in our daughter’s future but in the future of all current and prospective Saklan students. The money we give goes directly to the school through educational programs, financial aid and faculty development classes that help make Saklan the amazing school that it is.”

Bo and Geri Buhl
Bjerre Buhl, 6th grade

#SaklanGiving

Fourth Grade Personal Narratives

Fourth graders have connected reading to writing in their personal narrative unit. After learning that stories follow a plot diagram, they were ready to tackle their first fictional personal narrative. They aren’t silly enough to start their stories in a boring, predictable way, but have learned four interesting hooks to engage their audience.

At Friday Flag, they read their “Great Beginnings” by sharing the first sentence of their haunted mansion story. They could begin with an action, dialogue, thought, question, or sound beginning. Wow! What a difference!

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Fourth graders were proud to present their “Spooky Forest” stories to parents. They showed off their new skills of great beginnings, building suspense, word choice, similes and metaphors, all while following their plot diagram format. They sure were spooky!

4th Presentation

They loved presenting a second time to their second grade buddies. They got to catch the vision to read quality books to help them become amazing authors. Fourth graders learned how powerful it is to paint a picture in the minds of those who read or hear their stories! They look forward to carrying these skills on to their next expository unit!

#SaklanCreative

Atomic Attire

The 8th grade has been learning about the periodic table. From researching what all the symbols mean to understanding what the atomic number and atomic mass tell us about each element, they are becoming more comfortable every day.

They have been working on their atomic attire shirt. Each student picked one element they wanted to get to know more about. They designed a shirt for it to show off and model for you all. While our 8th graders are still figuring out what they want to be, some may have the skills to be runway models! Click below to check out their video.

#SaklanCreative

Fall Family Get Together

Pumpkin Carving Picture

Although this fall has been challenging for many of our families with power outages and fires, it was the intense winds that changed the course of our Pumpkin Decorating and Carving Get Together last weekend. Moraga Commons was blowing too intensely to make it an enjoyable afternoon. We would still like to give much love and appreciation to Lori O’Keefe and the PA for organizing and planning an enticing fall gathering for our community. The number of RSVP’s is a great indicator that we would love to continue this tradition for years to come. Thank you again, Lori, for the inspiration!

#SaklanCommunity

Dry Ice Experiment

8th grade is in the middle of their chemistry unit. They have been learning about the periodic table and different properties of these elements. This week, the 8th grade was looking at boiling and freezing points. It’s hard to imagine a liquid oxygen molecule or a solid gas since we are used to living at a comfortable climate. So to understand this, students investigated dry ice or frozen carbon dioxide. At a cool -109 degrees F (approximately) and the classroom at a temperature of 68 degrees F, this drastic temperature change creates a sublimation state change for the dry ice; it changes straight from a solid to a gaseous form.

Students began to understand how the quick change creates a dense gas or fog coming off the dry ice. This dense air sank and created a bubble of air the students could use to float the block on top of the counter. They pushed pennies into the block to see how matter responds at that temperature and how solid gases react to warmer solids colliding into them. By adding water to the block, they saw the water bubble (boil) with white gas filled bubbles and then freeze the water they had once put over the dry ice.

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They then related their understanding of what was happening in our solar system. As frozen gases orbit through space, when they come close to stars, they melt, much like our dry ice was doing on the table, and produce a gaseous tail. We recognize these orbiting frozen gas balls as comets.

#SaklanHandsOn

Mexican Folk Art

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The Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout México and, in recent years, it has been adopted by the U.S. On this day, families and friends come together to honor those who have passed and help support their spiritual journey.

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The students learned about the Mexican folk art called “hojalatería y pintura.” They created embossed metal folk art – a technique that raises a 2-dimensional image into 3-dimensional. With embossing, students crafted traditional Mexican imagery.

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They also made flores de papel china (tissue paper flowers) to decorate the arch for Día de Los Muertos. It is believed that the strong scent of the colorful flowers can guide the souls from cemeteries to their family homes.

#SaklanCreative