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.

Being Humble

On Thursday, 1st – 8th graders gathered with their family groups to talk about being humble and how they could show humility to others. The students then worked together to write an 8-line, rhyming poem containing a few specific words: humble, turkey, stuffing, grateful and Saklan. The students also dressed up one of their family members as a holiday character or Thanksgiving food item, using only newspaper and tape. The families definitely showed their creativity!

All family groups then gathered on the sports court to share their poems (some groups acted them out) and holiday characters/food items. Among the characters presented were: turkeys, a scarecrow, a football player and a chef!

#SakanSEL

Showing Respect

How can we show respect for the people whose ancestral land Saklan is on?

This is the driving question that the third graders are currently working to answer in their PBL unit. They have been learning about the Saklan people (part of the Bay Miwok nation) who have lived on this land for thousands of years longer than anyone else.

The third and fourth graders were recently visited by the founders of Cafe Ohlone, Vincent Medina (of Chechenyo Ohlones) and Louis Trevino (of Rumsen Ohlones). Vincent and Louis shared with the students all about their culture and traditions, and how their work is centered around keeping their culture alive. They requested that the students refer to indigenous peoples in the present tense, not the past, because they are still here and their culture is still celebrated by their people.

The third graders continued to learn more about the Saklan/Bay Miwok peoples through expert learning research groups and a virtual field experience with guest experts from Coyote Hills Regional Park. Stay tuned for more information on their unit and their culminating end product.

#SaklanPBL

A Big Bang

The fifth graders have been visiting the science lab to learn about our solar system. The lessons kicked off with a bang, quite literally. Students were introduced to the theory that the solar system began with a big bang, and because understanding abstract concepts is made easier with hands-on models, Ms. O stood on the center desk and popped a balloon filled with confetti.  Students counted up confetti pieces that spread in various grid areas around the room after her “big bang,” seeing that those closest would have been pulled towards each other by the gravitational forces all objects have.  

In the next lesson, students created scaled planets and a sun. They then carried them across the street to the church parking lot, to help understand the relative distance between the sun and its closest planet.  After placing the sun at the far end of the parking lot, students counted off 38 meters, using meter sticks, from the sun to hold up Mercury, which was one confetti dot in size compared to the 140cm diameter sun! That the sun is a small star is quite mind boggling when its relative size is created in this hands-on way.

#SaklanHandsOn

Carnival of the Animals

The Kindergarten students have been immersed in a music project centered around Camille Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.” In music class, they have been exploring the movements and behaviors of various wild creatures through this music.

As a culmination of their “Carnival of the Animals” music unit, the kindergartners took a field experience to the Oakland Zoo, where they went on a musical scavenger hunt! The students listened to each piece, using musical clues to guess which animal they were after. They then put their heads together, using basic map skills to track down their chosen animal.

Once they reached their destinations, it was all about observation. They compared the real-life behaviors of the animals with those expressed in the music. It was an opportunity for the kindergartners to use teamwork, honing their listening and observation skills.

Their love of animals and natural curiosity definitely shone through!

#SaklanFieldExperience

Building Shield Volcanoes

In science, the sixth graders just wrapped up their study of volcanoes. They learned about the different types and parts of a volcano, where volcanoes are located, the different types of eruptions that can occur, and how they create different rocks and formations.

As part of their hands-on study, the sixth graders looked at different types of igneous rocks and tested different fluid viscosity to see how different lavas might flow. Then they built their own shield volcanoes and tested different batches of “magma.” The students determined the speed of flow, what minerals make the lava flow slower, and how those different flows cool into different rocks.

The sixth graders also talked about the dangers and advantages of living by active volcanoes. They learned about Mt. Vesuvius, one of the most famous eruptions in history, which buried the city of Pompeii in 79AD.  Students were amazed at the preserved history they saw and the amazing power of the volcano. 

#SaklanHandsOn

 Día de los Muertos

In October, the Kindergarten – 3rd grade students celebrated Día de los Muertos and California’s cultural roots with a field experience to watch the professional performance group Cascada de Flores. The bilingual and participatory performance included lively songs, stories, musical instruments, and dance. Students learned about the difference between Halloween and Day of the Dead, and then explored Day of the Dead traditions, such as building an altar, to honor lost love ones.

Student highlights of the trip included the opportunity to participate in the performance by dancing on stage and carrying flowers to the altar, as well as riding in a yellow school bus!

#SaklanFieldExperience

Grandfriends’ Day: Last Call for RSVPs

Saklan is excited to host Grandfriends’ Day on Friday, November 17th from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. We have an exciting morning lined up for grandfriends, including student presentations, time in classrooms, a photo booth and other fun activities for students and grandfriends to work on together!

Please remind your grandparents and special friends (a friend or family member that your child looks up to and/or has a grandparent-like relationship with) about this event so they join us! 

Rsvp for grandfriends’ day here!

#SaklanCommunity

Pop-Up Book Fair

Next Friday, November 17th, Saklan will host a 1-day Book Fair. This will be a great opportunity to purchase books to be used as holiday gifts or to donate to a Saklan classroom. The Book Fair will be open before school, during Grandfriends’ Day and before and after Fall Follies.

We are looking for volunteers to help set up, run and clean up the book fair, and would love your help! Click on the button below to see the volunteer options.

Book Fair Volunteer Sign Up

We look forward to sharing a wonderful selection of books with you!

Getting School Right

A couple of weeks ago, Adam Grant wrote an opinion piece, “What Most American Schools Do Wrong,” in the New York Times. The article speaks to our typical approach to education that does not leverage two critical tools teachers have in helping students excel. His discovery of the tools comes after examining why countries like Finland and Estonia consistently outperform other bigger and richer countries.

The tools: knowledge of students and relationships. Not testing, not longer school days, not increased homework.

Grant speaks of the power of “looping” – the practice of teachers moving up a grade level with students. The effect is teachers have a profound grasp of a student’s strengths and challenges and a nuanced understanding of each student. They can then take that understanding and build a meaningful relationship with the student while uncovering the hidden potential of each child. 

What Grant is hitting on, though, is how big of an impact seeing each student as an individual can have on their educational journey. At Saklan, our small class sizes and focus on relationships allow us to take “uncut gems” and see “beyond the surface and recognize the brilliance beneath.”  

There is no secret to helping students love learning and excelling academically. It starts with focusing on the person before you and building the relationship; from there, challenging them academically and helping them reach their full potential comes naturally. In other words, one can’t Bloom until you Maslow.

#SaklanConnected #SaklanHeadsCorner

Legend of the Hypnotized Subject

In geometry last week, Mr. Zippin gave the students an opportunity to test the Legend of the Hypnotized Subject. The old legend says that if you place a mirror on the floor 200 cm away from your subject and stare into the reflection of their eyes just the right way, your subject will squawk like a chicken. However, you have to stand exactly in the right place or the trick won’t work.

In order to test this legend, the students had to work together and apply their knowledge of similar triangles.

First, the students decided to draw a diagram of the situation.

They noticed that it looked like they were working with two triangles. Using their understanding of angle-angle similarity, the students determined that the triangles were similar. Therefore, they knew they could make and solve proportions to find the hypnotist’s unknown distance to the mirror. They reasoned that they needed to find out how high their eyes were off the ground. After measuring for this, they quickly solved the equations they made and were ready to test the Legend.

“Squawk!”