Third graders have been learning about the countries where Spanish is spoken in the world. There are a total of 21 countries and more than 500 million people who speak Spanish in the whole world.
The students did some research on some specific countries about population, typical food, music and dance, favorite sports and two famous people from that country, and then presented their findings to the class.
They had a great time and were really excited about this project!
Due to the rain, this week’s planned parent coffee was postponed until after the next CLAS. We hope you will join us on Friday, March 24th from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. in the Pavilion for warm coffee, snacks, and a conversation about social emotional well-being! Saklan Mom, Jaime Pham, will share about the role that emotional well-being plays in overall health. Jaime works in social media with a focus on mental health. She will lead us in a brief meditation and then discuss the youth mental health crisis, social media, and share how she incorporates EQ and emotional management into conversations with her fifth grader. Kim Parks, Saklan’s Director of Teaching and Learning, will share about Saklan’s Social Emotional Learning program as well.
This is a can’t miss parent coffee event and we hope to see you there!
If you can’t make it in person, please join us on zoom.
#SaklanSEL
Many Hoot Owls have been excited about space all year long, and so they were very excited to begin to learn about our solar system in class. They started with the center of our solar system, the Sun. The Hoot Owls all worked together to create their favorite star, then put it up in their classroom to help learn about the order of the planets moving away from the Sun.
Next the Hoot Owls started to learn about the rocky planets. They used different painting techniques for each planet to highlight their differences. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun so they started there. The students learned that Mercury is full of craters caused by meteorites, and then painted Mercury with sponges to give it a bumpy look. Hoot Owls also practiced writing, “Mercury.”
Next, they learned about Venus, and discovered that it is very hot and has thousands of volcanoes and poisonous gases and storms. Hoot Owls practiced writing “Venus” before drawing volcanoes, storms and gases with oil pastels. The Hoot Owls’ drawings showed through the watercolor paints that they added at the end. They also reviewed the terms solid, liquid and gas.
Earth was next! The Hoot Owls created clouds with shaving cream, and used eyedroppers to add blue and green paint that represented the oceans and the land. They used paper to make prints of the shaving cream. The class talked about the seven continents and located them on the globe. They also read the book Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty.
The last of the rocky planets was Mars. The Hoot Owls painted the ice caps on Mars. The students learned that Mars is red due to iron covering its dusty surface. They also learned about Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in our solar system. The Hoot Owls used a Q-tip to “draw” or remove the paint to create the volcano.
Up next, the Hoot Owls are excited to learn about the gas planets!
Join the Saklan Student Council in showing your school spirit! For the next couple of months, every Friday will be a Saklan Spirit Day. All students and teachers are invited to dress up for the following spirit days:
Friday, March 10: Pajama Day – Wear school-appropriate pajamas and normal shoes (no slippers please)
Friday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day – Wear green
Friday, March 24: Identity Day – Wear anything that shows something about who you are and/or what you are passionate about
Friday, April 14: Color Out Day – Wear Blue from head to toe & support Autism Awareness Month
Friday, April 28: Funky Fashion Day – Wear mismatched and fun fashion
Friday, May 19: Beach Day – Wear typical clothes for tropical/warm weather (no swimsuits please)
Participation in these spirit days is optional. If students choose not to dress up, they need to wear their uniforms.
#SaklanSpirit
Recently, Saklan’s sixth graders worked to expand their understanding of volume beyond the equation: volume = length * width * height.
The students experimented with cubic units as they explored a situation involving offices with unusually shaped bases. They quickly were able to determine that a multiplier could be used to extend the height of the office towers much more efficiently than counting. And after a class discussion of why the area of the office tower’s base was the same as the volume of the office tower when it was one unit high, the sixth graders came up with a better formula. Volume = Area of base * height.
An interesting side note: At a math teaching conference that Saul Zippin, Saklan’s Middle School Math Teacher, went to a few years ago, he attended a session about middle school students finding the volume of a parallelepiped (a parallelogram prism) that had one of the sides weighted so it would stand up, as shown in the image below.
Researchers from the University of Illinois had filmed their students finding the volume of the prism and their outcomes. All of the students used the V = l X w X h idea. Some found the height from their desk to the top (the correct way), while about half measured the side that was the slant instead of the actual height. When it was time for questions, Saul asked how many of the students found the area of the parallelogram (the base of the prism) and then multiplied that by the height. They said that none of the students in their research did that. Interested in how Saklan students would solve this, Saul made a class set of the 3D shapes, weighted the base and asked the students to find the volume. Every student found the volume correctly! Most turned the parallelepiped on its side, found the area of the base and multiplied by the height.
Saul noted that when students are taught to think mathematically using manipulatives and class discussions, they have a huge advantage when attempting to solve problems.
Saklan’s social-emotional learning emphasis for March is honesty and trustworthy. Throughout the month, all Saklan students will discuss what each of these words mean with their class, brainstorm ways to be honest and showcase trustworthiness, and look for ways to put those ideas into practice both at school and at home.
#SaklanSEL
The Owlets had so much fun celebrating Valentine’s Day together! In the days leading up to the holiday, they read the books A Little Spot of Kindness and A Little Spot of Love, both by Diane Alber, to give them ideas about how to be loving and kind. The students were excited to put “kindness spots” on their hands to help them remember to be kind.
To further embrace being kind to each other, the Owlets now have a “Little Jar of Kindness” in their classroom that they try to fill every day by doing kind deeds!
The Hoot Owls have also been learning about kindness and what it means to be a good friend. They made a long list of things they can do to be kind, and then added “The Kindness Jar” to their classroom. Whenever a teacher sees or hears about a Hoot Owl doing something kind, they write a little note and put it in the jar. When the jar starts to get full they read all the notes together as a class.
#saklanCompassionate
The 4th graders are currently working to answer the driving question, How can we use our knowledge of the gold rush to understand the impact of humans on the CA environment today?
Students have been conducting research to explore their own questions about the 1849 CA gold rush and it’s lasting impact on the environment. They have been learning virtually with staff from various CA State Parks, Dr. Sarah Duddigan, an environmental scientist at the University of Reading, and Jared Naimark, a CA mining organizer from the non-profit organization, Earthworks.
As they continue their unit, they need your help connecting with a few more experts. Do you, or someone you know, have interest in sharing your knowledge in the following areas?
If so, please reach out to Linda (llathrop@saklan.org) and Ashley (ajennings@saklan.org) to see how your knowledge could help the 4th graders with their study.
#SaklanPBL
The Saklan Middle School offers a variety of elective classes that cater to the community’s diverse hobbies and interests, which we call LBD (Learning by Doing) classes. On Thursday, February 16th, the students had the opportunity to explore Korean culture through the class “Exploring Cultures through Food.” Students learned about the various ingredients that make up a traditional Korean meal, as well as the customs and etiquette associated with dining in Korea. Students were eager to try Kim Chi, Japchae, and Tteokbokki. Before dining, the students practiced how to serve their elders while avoiding eye contact, as custom in Korean etiquette. They expressed their appreciation for learning about other cultures and their eagerness to learn more.
In addition to the Exploring Cultures through Food class, Saklan also offers classes such as Sadie’s Baking Class (8th grade student), Bookworms with Jennifer (7th-8th grade Humanities teacher), and African Drumming with Isaac (Saklan’s drumming teacher). These classes are a combination of teacher-led and student-led activities, providing students with the opportunity to make memories while learning new skills. We encourage middle school students to continue creating their own classes to teach their community.
#SaklanCreative #SaklanLearningByDoing
In Spanish, the fifth graders have been learning about the food groups and what types of foods make up a healthy, well-balanced plate. They each created a slide of a healthy plate and then wrote sentences about the items that one should consume for a balanced diet. Check out examples of their slides and sentences below!
Debes comer bistec, pan, y arroz.
Debes comer muchas uvas, zanahorias, y fresas.
Debes beber agua y leche.
No debes comer grasas y mantequilla.
No debes beber chocolate caliente.
FRIDAY BLOG 
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