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.

Feeling the Love

Thank you, Saklan families, for a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week! It was a week full of kind notes, wonderful gifts, and lots of delicious food. You definitely made all of the Saklan teachers and staff feel very appreciated!

We enjoyed tasting your favorite recipes! Each day of the week featured a delicious spread of appetizers, main courses, and desserts. From the Blooming Garden Soup and Salad Bar to the Picnic in the Park Sandwich Spread, and the Taco Fiesta to today’s Special Family Recipes, there wasn’t a day when any of us left Saklan hungry!

The posters that hung on the front of the school and on the classroom doors were so heartfelt and made us feel seen and appreciated. Thank you to all the parents who helped with the printing of the posters and who helped the students add their kind thoughts to them.

Special thanks to Christine Jensen, Vadim Alden, Lauren Scranton, Gina Altman, Neela Campbell, Meredith Avant, Joy Kim, and the PA Board for organizing all the Teacher & Staff Appreciation activities. We are so grateful for your efforts.

See You at the Art Show!

The Saklan School’s Annual Art Show opens this afternoon, Friday, May 2nd, at the Moraga Art Gallery in the Rheem Valley Shopping Center! We will be hosting an opening reception from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., and you are invited to join us. The students’ work will remain on display in the gallery through Sunday; feel free to stop by over the weekend to see it. The gallery hours are 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Thank you for helping us celebrate and support the talents of our young artists!

Community, Curiosity, and Culminations: May at Saklan

May is a flurry of events and amidst all the special happenings, are PBL culminations! These student-driven showcases of learning are the perfect opportunity for family and friends to come together, and you’re invited! Owlet, Hoot Owl, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th grade families, do you know what’s coming? Read on for opportunities for all of us to come together in community to support our learners. 

Early Childhood Education

Our ECE students spend many weeks during a project unit building expertise on a topic of high interest. They learn from experts, head out into the field to get their questions answered, and represent what they have learned through a wide variety of methods: dictating stories, creating 3D models, drawing pictures, and much more! 

This semester, both ECE classes have been learning all about bugs! The ECE yard has been an exciting place as students buzz around finding, observing, and sharing critters they find on the yard. Come support our youngest learners and hear all they have learned about bugs on the morning of May 20th after drop off! 

Lower School and Middle School

In LS and MS, our students always begin with a driving question. This question drives the content learning for 5-10 weeks, depending on the product and content standards being covered. Each year the question may remain the same, but how the students answer it, interpret their research, and create a public product shifts. This helps keep the authenticity and student engagement high as teachers are also rigorously assessing content standards. 

After all their hard work, students welcome the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge with the support of the community. Save the dates below to see how our LS and MS have answered the following driving questions! 

GradeDriving QuestionCulmination Information
KHow can writing our own fairy tales help us spread magic and joy?Friday, May 16th after CLAS
1How do homes keep us safe?Friday, May 16th during CLAS with reception after
3How can we become eco-friendly entrepreneurs who create products people want?Friday, May 23rd after CLAS 
6How are we still connected to ancient Greek culture, language, and mythology today?Friday, May 23rd after CLAS

Doing a project is much different than Project Based Learning, and attending culminating events is a great way to support our learners and see strong Project Based Learning in action. We hope you can join us!

#SaklanPBL

Teacher Appreciation Week 2025

Teacher Appreciation Week is next week! The Parent Association has planned lots of fun and unique ways to celebrate the Saklan faculty and staff, but they need your help!

Meals for the Saklan Staff

One of the beloved Saklan Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week traditions is themed potluck lunches from the parent community!  If you are able, please sign up to bring something yummy for the teachers and staff by clicking on the button below.

Help Provide Lunch for the Saklan Staff

Thank you for helping make this year’s Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week extra special!

#SaklanPA #SaklanTeacherAppreciation

Staff Spotlight: Mylesa

Lover of iced coffee, sports, and sneakers, our staff spotlight is Director of Admissions, Mylesa Alexander! This school year was Mylesa’s first at Saklan, but she has been working in independent schools for many years in the Bay Area. If you don’t already know her, keep your eyes peeled at drop-off and pick-up times where she can often be found chatting with parents and petting all the well-loved Saklan family dogs! Read on to get to know her a bit better! 

As you wrap up your first year at Saklan, what has surprised you most about the Saklan community?

As I wrap up my first year at Saklan, I’ve been most surprised and truly impressed by how much agency and leadership skills students are given, especially at the middle school level. Middle School is such a weird time in their lives, and being able to know exactly who they are makes way for stronger adults. They’re given opportunities like leading family groups or student councils. Our students are empowered to lead, make decisions, and truly have a voice! Something that’s rare but so impactful at this age. As a mom of a middle schooler myself, I’ve seen firsthand how the Saklan environment is pushing students to grow in every area with strong core values and understanding. 

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work or with your family?

My favorite thing outside of work is traveling with my son and sharing new experiences. We both thoroughly enjoy going to sporting events: 49ers, SJ Sharks, or SJ Earthquakes. My son is starting to share a love for concerts, so we’ve been going to more of those. We both love spending a magical day at Disneyland (I love the snacks the most!) or just playing soccer in the backyard. For me, it’s just enjoying the simple things and spending time together, laughing, joking, and being together. These moments bring us closer and create memories that we both cherish.

What are you most looking forward to next year?

Next year, I’m excited to kick off our admissions events with more in-person open houses! Getting our community more involved and OUT into the community more too, bringing more awareness to Saklan! I want to increase outreach with local partnerships in the area, working closely with Rob and his TAP program. Exploring the Lamorinda area and participating in events with The Town FC soccer games or the Art and Wine festival in Lafayette, I think, will be a great way to engage with the broader community. New admission seasons always excite me because I get to really expand and try new events that cater to each family’s needs. The possibilities are endless in admissions, and I’m excited to be able to grow our community. 

Día del Niño

The Spanish-speaking world is vibrant with music, art, literature, and cherished traditions. At Saklan, learning Spanish goes beyond vocabulary and grammar, and includes cultural understanding and global empathy. Exploring cultural practices helps students appreciate why they are learning Spanish and gives them insight into the values and contributions of Spanish-speaking communities around the globe.

One such tradition is Día del Niño (Children’s Day), a holiday celebrated in many Spanish-speaking countries to make children feel special, loved, and appreciated. In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, this day is recognized annually on April 30th and honors the role children play in families and society.

To bring this celebration to life, students worked in groups to create their own piñatas! Each group chose a character for their piñata—some favorites included dog paw prints, Lilo, Stitch, and Baby Yoda! Students decorated their piñatas with colorful paper, ribbons, and creative touches.

On Wednesday, the students couldn’t wait to break open their piñatas as a special treat, celebrating not only the language they’re learning, but the rich traditions that come with it.

Collaborative Students

Throughout May, Saklan students are focusing on being collaborative. Across all grades, students are discussing what it means to collaborate and to work as a team. Discussions around taking turns, listening to each other, and supporting each other can be heard across campus!

Students in 1st – 8th grade will put their collaborative skills to the test later this month during Field Day on Tuesday, May 27th. This fun-filled event will be a true celebration of collaboration, with family group teams working together in exciting and meaningful ways.

#SaklanSEL

Head’s Corner: How Life Imitates Project Work (and Vice Versa)

Pop Quiz! Which of the following statements applies to Project Work at Saklan?

 A. At the start of a Project, the end product is unknown
B. Project often takes unexpected twists and turns
C. Project is driven by prior experience and curiosity
D. All of the above

The answer, of course, is D—but you knew that already.

Now, go back and reread A, B, and C. This time, replace the word “Project” with “Life.”

That isn’t just a clever switch—it’s the reason project-based learning prepares students so well for life. Through project work, our students are practicing the very skills they’ll use every day: embracing uncertainty, exploring new ideas, and following their curiosity wherever it leads.

That’s what’s been on my mind lately, especially as we turn our attention to this year’s Fund-a-Need. What began as a straightforward plan to update some of our traditional play structures has grown into something much more meaningful, just like a good project.

The shift started with something small: a water spigot installed near the redwoods. That’s all it took. The kids flocked there, drawn by the natural beauty, the water, and the freedom to imagine. What emerged was an impromptu play zone, rich with storytelling, collaboration, and creativity.

Then came a visit from a landscape architect. And just like that, our focus shifted—from replacing monkey bars to reimagining our redwood grove as a nature-based play and exploration space, inspired by the children themselves.

This is what happens when we listen to kids, honor their play, and trust in the process. It’s life. It’s Project. It’s learning in motion.

This year’s Fund-a-Need will help bring this vision to life. With your support, we can transform our redwood grove into a place where imaginations continue to bloom.

Let’s build a space worthy of their creativity.

Exploring Culture Through Rhythm

Last week at Saklan, students in 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades had an exciting and enriching opportunity to dive deeper into music and culture with a special guest teacher, Vodzi. A PhD student in Ethnomusicology, Vodzi brought a wealth of knowledge, personal experience, and vibrant energy to campus.

Raised in Ghana, Vodzi plays a key role in his community as an indigenous knowledge keeper, music director, and performer. His visit gave students a meaningful connection to the cultural traditions behind the dances they have been learning with Isaac during African Drumming Classes.

A big thank you to Vodzi for sharing his passion and heritage with our students.

Bug-tastic Learning

Saklan’s Preschool, Pre-K, and 7th grade students have been diving into the fascinating world of bugs, and recently had a visit from a special guest expert, Los from SaveNature.org, and some of his six-legged (and many-legged!) friends!

Los brought the Insect Discovery Lab to Saklan, where students had the opportunity to meet live invertebrates up close and learn what makes a bug a true bug. It turns out, not all the little creatures we find crawling around are actually bugs! Thanks to Los, our students learned that millipedes, snails, slugs, and spiders are all invertebrates (animals without backbones), just like insects—but they aren’t classified as true bugs. To be a real bug, a creature must have three body parts—a head, thorax, and abdomen—and exactly six legs. That means slugs and snails (with no legs) and millipedes (with way too many legs!) don’t qualify.

Los introduced the students to some truly incredible insects, including:

  • Darkling Beetles – Nocturnal neighbors we might spot nearby!
  • Malaysian Thorny Stick Bugs – Experts at camouflage.
  • Australian Giant Stick Bugs – Mimic scorpions to scare off predators!
  • Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers – So toxic that predators steer clear.
  • Giant African Millipede – The star of the show!

Our youngest learners—the Owlets—showed amazing bravery and curiosity. Every single one held or touched one of Los’s fascinating bugs, and some even did so more confidently than the adults! After the visit, the class voted on their favorite, and the winner was no surprise… the Giant Millipede stole everyone’s hearts.

To reflect on the experience, the Owlets used Model Magic to sculpt their favorite bugs from the visit and then dictated fun facts they had learned. The Hoot Owls also jumped right into hands-on learning, creating models of the bugs and sharing their knowledge. From mimicking scorpions to ward off predators to being brightly colored to warn of toxicity, our students discovered just how smart and strange bug adaptations can be.

#SaklanHandsOn