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.

Protecting an Ecosystem

As part of the sixth grade earth science curriculum, the students learned about invasive species and how they can affect an ecosystem. One species they focused on was the Crown of Thorns (COT) sea star. They learned how the sea star’s fast reproduction and limited predators on the Great Barrier Reef are creating quite a problem for that precious ecosystem. The COTs eat the algae in the coral which is causing the coral to die at rapid rates. Students then learned how scientists are using Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to learn to identify and inject vinegar into the COTs. The vinegar dissolves them from the inside out. These ROVs can work 24 hours a day in all kinds of weather conditions. 

Last year, Ms. O incorporated an ROV unit into the 6th grade earth science class after attending an ROV course where she learned to create and operate SEAMate ROVs. She was excited to bring this knowledge back to the classroom and share it with the sixth graders again this year! Ms. O had the students team up to create their own ROVs in order to simulate the work of the scientists out on the reef. The students had to wire their electrical control box (which took multiple days), wire the motors and assemble the propellers, design a frame, and decorate their ROV.

With the ROVs completed, the students were given the challenge of collecting COTs from the local MCC Augusta Pool. Students had to figure out how to maneuver their ROV and remove the imitation COTs from the pool.

Through this process, the sixth graders learned a lot about electricity, engineering, design, scientific research and careers in both robotics and ecology. Many expressed how much they enjoyed taking part in and learning about robotics!

The purchasing of the Seamate ROV’s and other necessary materials necessary for this project were made possible by a grant from the National Marine Science Foundation.

#SaklanHandsOn

CLASY Resilience

Last Friday, the lower school students had their very last CLASY meet up of the year. For our social and emotional learning this month all students have been thinking about what it means to be resilient. They have been talking about what people can do when things are hard, including to keep going, positive self talk, and breaking down difficult tasks into smaller chunks. During this CLASY the Kindergarten – 5th grade students worked on a tricky activity with their friends: passing a hula hoop around a circle while everyone was holding hands, and thus couldn’t use their hands.

The students were delightfully surprised that hard work could be so much fun! 

#SaklanSEL

The Anatomy of Common Organisms

As part of the 7th grade biology unit on animals, the students looked at different phylum found within a particular kingdom. The class talked about the characteristics and important adaptations each have for survival. In doing so the students took part in multiple dissections in order to learn and compare the anatomy of common organisms. In their study of invertebrates, the seventh grade dissected a squid (part of the mollusk phylum) and a worm (the annelid phylum). Each organism has a different circulatory system, number of hearts, different sequence of body parts and the class learned that some invertebrates have no brain at all. 


In the vertebrate group, students started out with a dissection of a bony fish, a perch and then a dogshark, which is a cartilaginous fish. Students were able to feel a back bone in a fish and the flexibility of a the shark. The seventh graders were able to feel the difference in the outer dermis and see the different reproductive parts of each animal. Students also noticed that more of the structures in the vertebrate group looked like that of humans.


Lastly, after a visit from Ms. Meredith’s chicken, Lightening, the seventh graders dissected a chicken egg . This allowed the students to see how the egg is formed and how all parts of the egg are necessary for the growth of a chicken.

#SaklanHandsOn

Final Days of the School Year

As we count down to the end of the 2023-2024 school, there are a few reminders we would like to share with you.

Uniform Exchange

We are collecting gently used uniform shirts, jumpers, sweaters, sweatshirts and jackets (items with the Saklan logo on them) to be used in the Uniform Exchange. Next week there will be a plastic container in front of the school, please feel free to place any unwanted uniforms in it.

Lost and Found

We have many sweatshirts, jackets and water bottles currently sitting in the lost and found. These items will be placed out in the front of the school next week. Please look through them and take what is yours. All items left over after the school year ends will either be added to the uniform exchange or given to charity.

Graduation

All Saklan families and friends are invited to attend this year’s graduation on Thursday, June 6th at 10:00 a.m. The event is being held outdoors on the Sports Court, so if you are joining us, please prepare for potential sun (hats/sunscreen/glasses/water bottle) or for breezier cool weather (sweaters/jackets). We kindly ask all attendees to RSVP.

Your are Cordially Invited to Attend

We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2024 with you!

Engaging, Insightful Work

As we approach the end of the year, we would be remiss not to pause and reflect on the past two weeks. From the delightful and hilarious Middle School Musical and impressive and thought-provoking Art Show, to two PBL Culminations that showcased deep, authentic project work, our students demonstrated their creativity and courage. Their work has been engaging, insightful, and truly representative of who we are at Saklan.  

Our Hoot Owls shot beyond the stars with their Space Culmination exploration of the moon, sun, Earth, our solar system, space objects, and rockets! Meanwhile, our 6th graders designed and created a Museum dedicated to exploring how we are still connected to Ancient Greek culture, language, and mythology today. Thank you to our dedicated ECE team and Linda for providing our students with the invaluable opportunity to explore these topics in such depth.

Thank you to Lauren for bringing the Art Show to life. It was a fantastic event, showcasing the creativity and hard work of all Saklan students. Lauren’s dedication to the artistic process and her support in helping students explore their creativity shone through every piece. We also appreciate the time she took to meticulously organize the art, create engaging scavenger hunts, and manage all the details that made the event a resounding success!

Thank you to Grace for directing our middle school students’ wonderful performance of Into the Woods at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette last Friday evening. For 16 years, Grace has directed extraordinary shows at Saklan, and this last one was no exception. Her hard work, dedication, and love for the students was evident throughout the show. Her casting created magic on the stage, allowing the students to shine brightly. Inspiring middle school students to share their creativity, compassion, and courage on stage is no easy feat, but Grace does it with ease year after year. Thank you!

None of these events would be successful without the help of our community. Teachers, parents, and administration all come together to support and make each one possible. Thank you to all those (too many to mention) helping hands.

Thank you to the Saklan students for sharing their work with us; it is inspiring for all of us to witness their voices and ideas reflected in these culminating events!

With gratitude,

David  

Rainforest Plants & Animals

The Owlets continue to become experts on tropical rainforests! So far they have learned what a rainforest is, the different layers of the rainforest, and the various amphibians, reptiles, and mammals that live in each layer. Recently, the Owlets stayed up late, got out their flashlights and explored the nocturnal animals that roam the rainforest at night. With the help of the book While the World Is Sleeping, the Owlets learned that some of the animals in our woodland forest are similar to the nocturnal animals in the rainforest. In the local forests we have possums, bats and owls, and in the rainforest there are striped tree possums, fruit bats and flying foxes and spectacled owls! To help keep track of all the nocturnal animals they learned about, the Owlets added a nocturnal rainforest to their room.

Next, the Owlets learned about another type of interesting and unique life in the rainforest: the plants! There are a lot of really different plants that live in the rainforest. The Preschoolers learned that carnivorous plants have evolved to trick insects into thinking they have food; some plants even smell like rotting meat. The Owlets made some venus fly plants for their classroom using paper plates, and then added some flies for the their venus fly traps to eat!

The Owlets are excited to teach the Saklan community all about the tropical rainforest next Friday, May 31st at 9:00 a.m. during their culmination event!

Class of 2024 Graduation

Your are Cordially Invited to Attend

Thursday, June 6, 2024

10:00 AM on the Saklan Sports Court

We are excited to invite you to a graduation ceremony celebrating the Saklan Class of 2024! This year’s ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 6th at 10:00 a.m. on the Saklan Sports Court. RSVP is requested for those who will be joining us.

Seating: Will begin at 9:45 a.m.

What to Bring: The event is being held outdoors and weather can vary this time of year. Please prepare for potential sun (hats/sunscreen/glasses/water bottle) or for breezier cool weather (sweaters/jackets).

RSVP: Please RSVP by May 31st, 2024.

RSVP for Graduation Here!

We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2024 with you!

#SaklanGraduation #Classof2024

Back to 1888

On Tuesday, the third grade class traveled back in time to 1888 to experience life as a pioneer student. Each student took on a new identity by choosing an old fashioned name and came to school dressed in their finest pioneer attire.

During the day, the third graders participated in several traditional pioneer activities into the classroom. The day started with the three R’s: reading, writing and arithmetic. Students read from McGuffey Readers (published in 1879), practiced their cursive writing using quill feather pens and ink, and practiced their math on slate boards with chalk.

For lunch, each pioneer student brought authentic pioneer food in baskets, pails or tied to a stick. The students enjoyed their unique lunches at the garden, as well as time to pet the chickens.

The students also enjoyed working on some weaving and making butter in mason jars.

The third graders really embraced the pioneer spirit and enjoyed their time travel back to 1888! Huge thank you to Lisa, Meredith, and Joy for bringing this day to life for the third graders!

Library Books

The end of the year is approaching fast, which means students are running out of time to return library books! As we head into the last week and a half of school, please check in with your student to see if they have any library books at home. Meredith, Joy, and our newest librarian, Reva, request that all Saklan Library books be returned by next Tuesday, May 28th.

The library staff is busy sending emails detailing which books each student still has checked out. We appreciate your help in ensuring your student gets their books returned on time. Thank you!

Science of Energy

The first graders have really enjoyed their time learning about energy in the science lab over the last two weeks! The students are learning what energy is, the different forms of energy, and how it moves in waves. Additionally, they have learned specifically about sound and light waves, explored the waves the sun produces and how that energy is transferred to us here on Earth. They have also learned about the potential energy and kinetic energy found in different objects.

This week the students investigated heat energy! They looked at what affects energy’s absorption by radiation, the ways energy can be conducted, and how it creates currents through convection.

The pictures above are of the students investigating the movement of heat through fluids by convection, like in a lava lamp. Students layered cold water (blue) on top of hot water (red) and watched them switch places. Then they put hot water (red) on top of cold (blue) and saw they did not switch, proving that in fluids heat rises and cold sinks.

Next week the first graders will investigate using energy to do work!