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.

Mars Wonders & Rovers

Last week in science, the fourth graders began to learn all about Mars! Students started with writing down their “wonders” about the planet. Wonders included:

  • Is there life on Mars?
  • Are there rovers on Mars right now?
  • Could humans make a base on Mars?

Next, the class learned all about missions that have been taken to Mars, and what rovers are there right now.

The students stepped into virtual reality and toured the actual landing sites of the Mars rovers to learn more about the rovers themselves and the purpose of their missions while on Mars. The fourth graders discovered that Mars once had water. They also learned that Perseverance, a rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, is looking for samples that could contain signs of life.

The students are enjoying their unit studying Mars. If you have questions about Mars, ask our resident experts – the fourth graders!

Welcoming Jack Wong

On Wednesday, May 10, Saklan’s Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade students had the pleasure of meeting with author Jack Wong. Jack read his debut picture book, When You Can Swim, to the students and shared that the idea for the book came from his own experiences as a kid.

Jack was born in Hong Kong to a mother who had been forbidden to learn to swim. As a kid, he moved to Canada but didn’t like swimming or heights. He said he disliked swimming because being in the water feels so different from what we normally feel. A good friend encouraged and helped him feel more confident to take risks like jumping off a bridge into the water. Through his book, Jack paints a compelling picture of the many joys and surprises that the water holds, and invites others to discover their confidence to explore the warmth and wonder of swimming and the natural world.

Jack not only wrote When You Can Swim, but illustrated it too! He taught the students how to draw different creatures underwater. He explained that by drawing a line around the head of the creature you are drawing and then making ripples out from the line, the animal looks to be poking its head out of the water. He asked the students for suggestions on what to draw. A shark, seal and dinosaur were the winners!

V is for Volcano

While studying the letter Vv, the Owlets became very interested in volcanoes. The class watched some footage of real volcanoes erupting and decided to make their own volcano to erupt! They made a chemical reaction using baking soda, vinegar, dish soap, and food coloring to make their volcano bubble with “lava.”

Many of the Owlets came up with some great questions about volcanoes that even Ms. Jessica didn’t know the answers to, so they decided to do some research. One of the questions the Owlets answered was “Can you make lava?” Next, they made “lava” lamps using oil, water, and food coloring.

On Thursday, the Owlets had a special guest expert, a Saklan first grader, join them to answer some of their volcano questions. It was fun to learn more about volcanoes from one of the big kids!

Feeling Appreciated

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

We enjoyed tasting your family recipes! Each day of the week featured a delicious spread of appetizers, main courses and desserts. From ‘Crockpot Specials’, ‘Taco Bar’, and ‘Favorite Finger Foods’ to ‘Special Family Recipes’ there wasn’t a day when any of us left feeling hungry!

The quotes from the students, hung on the front of the school, in the breezeway, and in the office, were so heartfelt and made us feel seen and appreciated. Thank you to all the parents who worked with your kiddos to help share their thoughts and for sharing your own words of thanks.

Special thanks to Shannon O’Connor, Erin Moorhead, Makeda Assefa, Liz Goulding, and the PA Board for organizing all the Teacher & Staff Appreciation activities. We are so grateful for your efforts.

#SaklanTeacherAppreciationWeek

Physics of Roller Coasters

Last Friday, the 8th grade class went to Great America to put their physics to the test by riding roller coasters and other amusement rides, determining speed, acceleration, and which forces were acting on them. Then they applied Newtons 3 Laws of Motion to see how physics plays a key role in the design, fun and safety of roller coasters. Students timed the rides, wore accelerometers to test the amount of g-force the ride exerted on their body and filled out a packet of physics! 

They will now be using the rides of Great America as inspiration for their culminating project in their physics class; building their own roller coasters! 

#SaklanFieldExperience

2023 Middle School Musical

The Saklan Middle School students have been rehearsing the junior version of The Drowsy Chaperone musical as their culminating project for music class. Every student in the Middle School is participating in the production, whether it is acting in a main role, taking care of props, helping with costumes, or being a stage hand. It is a true collaborative effort to produce an amazing final product.

On Friday, May 12th the students will perform at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette. The entire community is invited to the show. Tickets are required for attendance and can be purchased by clicking on the button below.

Middle School Musical tickets

We hope you can join us for what is sure to be a wonderful show!

#SaklanMusicals SaklanCreative

Life in 1888

Saklan’s third graders recently traveled back in time to experience what school and life were like for children in 1888.

They started the day in the classroom with the three R’s: readin’, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic.  Students read from McGuffey Readers (published in 1879), practiced writing in cursive using quill feather pens and ink, and practiced math on slate boards with chalk.

The students also learned how to weave with yarn and created some tin punch art, two popular crafts back in 1888. 

In music class, the third graders enjoyed square dancing and singing pioneer songs.

For lunch, the class walked down to the little yellow farmhouse on School Street where they picnicked under the trees, and also played on the swings and with the chickens.

During PE with Mr. Crabtree, the students participated in foot races and sack races, and played tug-o-war.

Finally, they ended the day making delicious butter in mason jars. The third graders really enjoyed their time travel back to 1888!

#SaklanHandson #SaklanFieldExperience

Alumni Reunion

Calling all Saklan alums, alumni families, and Saklan staff members (current and past)! You are invited to join us for our Alumni Reunion on Saturday, June 17th at Saklan.

Please RSVP here to let us know if you will be joining us.

We are excited to welcome our past students and their families back to campus!

Excited to catch up with fellow alumni and their families? Join the Saklan School Alumni Facebook Page to start connecting today!

#SaklanAlumni

Head for the Day

It’s been a fun, bright, sunny morning at Saklan; Spring is finally here! I had the privilege of visiting lots of classrooms and noticed many good things. This reminded me of the connections made here at Saklan and how we reinforce them every single day. 

During Morning Meeting, all of the students were listening, paying attention to each other, and using kind, inside voices. In Humanities, I recognized that the 7th graders were collaborating with their table groups and participating respectfully in the discussions. During CLASY, the lower school students were doing fun activities in mixed ages outside. Everyone was smiling and working together.

My time walking around campus this morning made me reflect on some of my favorite Saklan experiences. One of the highlights from this year was the Family Group World Cup. Family Groups played soccer games against each other during lunch recess. It was so fun to cheer on other people, and it brought the whole school together!

Another fun thing that we do at Saklan is the All-School Concert. It’s where all the kids have an opportunity to use their voices to sing, play instruments, and have a fun time. Even the preschool students get to be on stage and participate!

Field experiences are a great part of Saklan because it helps make connections with what we are learning and with each other. One of my favorite field experiences is when I went to Coloma. It was fun because we had a lot of activities and got to tell spooky stories in the cabins. It bonded our class together.

This is what makes Saklan such a great place. Thank you to the teachers and staff members for all that you do!

Sincerely,

Natalie

SaklanConfident #SaklanConnected #HeadsCorner

Scale Factor Discovery

The seventh graders noticed a problem when working with similar figures (figures that are the same shape but not necessarily the same size, as shown below).

The students could find a scale factor and use that to find missing side lengths but when they tried to use the scale factor to find an unknown area it didn’t work. They set out to study the problem in more detail.

First, the 7th graders made triangles with a scale factor of 2, 3, and 4 of the original. The students then repeated this with squares, rhombuses, and trapezoids and displayed their data in a large table. This confirmed what they knew- that the scale factor worked as a multiplier for the side length and the perimeter. It also confirmed the problem – when they multiplied the area of one triangle times 2 (the scale factor) the area they got was 2. But, when they counted the triangles they had 4. When they did times 3, the area was 9 triangles. Times 4 was 16 triangles. It was true for the squares, rhombuses, and trapezoids too. They realized there was something they could multiply by. 

By squaring the scale factor, they found a multiplier that would help them solve unknown areas!