Author: The Saklan School Friday Blog

We hope you will join us for to this year’s Auction Fiesta on Saturday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. The celebration will focus on community building and have several activities (games, photo booth, raffles) to encourage socializing and reconnecting with friends old and new! Our Fiesta will also include a taco bar dinner, open bar, wine ring toss, silent auction, and lots of fun!

Auction Tickets

Tickets are now available online for a discounted rate of $75 each. But the price increases on March 1st, so get your tickets today!

Don’t miss this special celebration and chance to support Saklan. Proceeds from this event are invested directly back into our children’s educational experiences, in and out of their classrooms.

Fund-a-Needs

Instead of having one large fund-a-need, this year we have multiple different projects/items that we are raising funds for. They are: 

• The Summer Reflection Fund/Professional Development for Saklan Faculty & Staff – Support teachers and staff in their pursuit of professional development projects of personal interest that also benefit their students and the school.
• Collaborative, Flexible Seating – Help us create learning spaces, inside and outside of the classrooms, that inspire collaboration.
• Media Arts Literacy – Help the art program expand to teach digital art and graphic design, as well as give students the opportunity to photograph their own artwork and create a digital portfolio.
• Water Refill Station for the Early Childhood Area – Provide Saklan’s youngest students with a water bottle refill station to help keep them hydrated and foster independence.
• All-weather Library Book Return Station – Help protect Saklan’s newly expanded Library collection from water and weather damage, as well as create a central location for all community members to return their library books.
• Indoor Vertical Garden for the Science Lab – Provide students with the opportunity to learn about life cycles and biology through hands-on, indoor gardening and plant growing.

Can’t Attend the Auction?

Even if you can’t join us in person at the Fiesta, you can still be involved in the auction. From donating wine for the wine ring toss to underwriting a teacher’s ticket, there are many ways to show support for the event. This year’s silent auction and fund-a-needs will be available online, so all community members can participate in the auction even if they can’t be at the event!

Still Collecting Wine

We are still collecting wine for our Wine Ring Toss! Please consider donating a favorite bottle or two (valued at $20 or more, or rated 90 points or higher) to this year’s collection. Please bring your wine donations to the Saklan Office or drop them off at the Auction Fiesta table in front of Saklan during morning drop off. 

Have Questions?

Check out the Frequently Asked Questions page on the auction website for more information about the event, as well as to see the list of auction donors.

On Friday, February 10th, Saklan students celebrated the 100th day of the 2022-2023 school year. To mark the occasion, the Hoot Owls made “100” crowns and participated in several counting activities.

The Kindergartners celebrated the 100th day of school by asking questions of an (almost) 100 year old. Check out their questions and the answers they received via video by clicking here!

The Kindergarteners also made a special snack of a 100 things, as well as glasses, crowns, and structures with 100 cups. They also shared mystery bags of 100 items that they brought from home, giving clues to their friends to try and guess what was in each bag!

The first graders enjoyed counting by tens to make trail mix with 100 snack items in it, and made necklaces with 100 loops on them.

The third graders celebrated by completing some challenges related to 100. They wrote a list of 100 words from 10 different categories, completed a 100 multiplication chart and collaborated on STEM challenges: building a tower with 100 cups, building a Lego structure with 100 Lego blocks, and making a design with 100 pattern blocks.

The students had a wonderful day celebrating 100 days of learning!

#SaklanAcademic #100daysoflearning

Last week, our compassionate fifth graders created heart table toppers to brighten the dining room of Aegis Senior Living Center, and then hand-delivered them.  The students also delivered cards that the Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students made, as well as table-toppers from 4th grade.

Lin and Alison, of Aegis Senior Living Center, were delighted to receive the Valentine’s Day decorations.  They shared that they were used to decorate their dining tables on Valentine’s day night, and that their residents loved the cards and table décor!

#SaklanCompassionate #SaklanCreative

Written by Guest Blogger, Saklan 7th Grader, Astro

Deep within the lush tropics on the island of Oahu, there resides an 1875-acre nature park by the name of Waimea Valley. This valley holds more significance than simply being a botanical garden, for the abundance of wildlife is also reflected in the richness of its history. The seventh grade class visited Waimea Valley on Tuesday, February 7th. During the visit, we walked the 3.5-mile hike, and at the end of it, swam under a waterfall.

Waimea Valley is one of the most flourishing environments for farming and is considered one of the best environments for tropical plants in Polynesia. This is because of the heavy tropical rainfall that happens all over the Hawaiian archipelago which in turn creates vibrant soil. In fact, Waimea Valley is home to 5,000 species of plants, most of which are rare Polynesian plants or native Hawaiian plants. Though this doesn’t seem all that exciting, Waimea Valley is one of the reasons why many native Hawaiian plants are not extinct, which makes it extremely important. When we visited, we saw many foreign plants that have adapted to live in a climate like Hawaii. The valley is located on the north shore of Oahu, near Haleiwa. We were lucky enough to experience this beautiful location on our Hawaii field experience.

Thank you, Astro, for sharing your experience!

A summer of creative exploration awaits your child during Summer@Saklan! Saklan’s summer camp offers children the chance to have fun learning new languages and cultures, creating art projects, playing games, meeting special guests, and more!

This summer will feature three sessions of Spanish and Mandarin classes in the mornings, and fun, enriching activities in the afternoons. The Camp days run from 8:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. (with Extended Day available until 4:30 p.m.), for both the Mini Campers (ages 3-5) and Explorers (entering 1st – 4th grade). Each day will feature activities including art, music, language, science, engineering, and tech, with field trips and fun workshops taught by members of the community on Fridays.

More information, including session dates and rates, can be found here.

For fun, engaging learning and play, there’s no better time or place than Summer@Saklan. Join us!

On Thursday, February 9th, Saklan hosted its annual State of the School presentation over Zoom. This year’s presentation focused on the Interim Strategic Framework, showcasing Saklan’s emphasis on connection, belonging, love of learning, and spaces that support collaboration. In addition, the CAIS accreditation process was shared, as well as the overall solid financial health of the school.

View the 2022-2023 State of the School presentation below.

Saklan’s social-emotional learning emphasis for February is equality and fairness. Throughout the month, all students will be learning about the difference between equality and fairness. On Monday, February 27th, the first – eighth graders will meet with their family groups and take part in cross-grade level discussions and activities to gain an even greater understanding of fairness and equality, as well as further their sense of belonging and community.

The opportunity to help our students understand and integrate new SEL concepts each month, is an integral part of the Saklan experience.

#SaklanSEL

Roots & Shoots Photography will be taking individual and class portraits of Saklan students on Tuesday, February 21st. These pictures will be used in the yearbook and are available for purchase.

Pictures will be taken during the school day, outside on the play yard. 1st – 8th grade students need to be dressed in uniform for the pictures.

Portrait Ordering Process

Portraits will be available to order online approximately 4 weeks AFTER picture day. Complimentary proofs will be provided for every student, so you can decide whether you would like to order them. If you do order, all portrait packages will be shipped directly to your home (a $5.25 shipping fee will apply). There will be no school package drop off.

Forgot to Order Last Year’s Portraits?

It’s not too late to get them! Click here to order your child’s 2021-22 school portraits. The password is: sak22.

Questions? Please contact Roots & Shoot directly at grow@roots-shoots.com. They will be happy to assist you!