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.

Student Council Officers

The Student Council at Saklan is a special experience for the officers, class representatives, and the whole school community. Students running for Student Council must run a clean campaign that is positive. The candidates can only win if they show dedication and true commitment to making Saklan a better place. To become a member of the Student Council, middle schoolers must earn their space on the ballot through a rather lengthy process.

First, each candidate writes a Letter of Intent that talks about their strengths as a leader and why they want to be part of Student Council. They also must develop a yearly plan of activities for whole school fun, as well as community service ideas. Second, students make two campaign posters. Third, they are interviewed by the faculty Student Council representatives (Jennifer and Kim). During the interview, each student receives a scenario, and must explain their solution to this issue. Fourth, students write a speech and read it to their advisor and the community, earning points for speech quality, creativity, and delivery at CLAS. Finally, students vote and the ballots are tallied. If a candidate wins the popular vote they earn 10 points; otherwise they earn 5 points. There are a total of 55 points available. The student with the most overall points for each position becomes the Student Council member.

Congratulations to our 2022-2023 Student Council Officers!

  • Sadie-President
  • Eliana-Vice President
  • Kori-Activities Chair
  • Andrea-Secretary
  • Nikko-Treasurer
  • Astro-Publicity Chair

Get Ready for Orange Envelope Day!

Saklan’s 22-23 Annual Giving Fund (AGF) officially begins next Tuesday, October 25th with Orange Envelope Day! All Saklan families are invited to join us in celebrating Orange Envelope Day by dropping off the orange envelope and donor form that was mailed to you in the orange box in front of Saklan. 

Thank you to those who have already made a gift. Below are important things to know about Saklan’s AGF.

What is the AGF?

The Annual Giving Fund is Saklan’s yearly fundraising drive that raises money to support the amazing people and programs that make Saklan special.

Why do we have it? 

Saklan relies on the generous support of the community to create such a vibrant place for children to learn and develop. The funds raised through the AGF allow Saklan to provide the many extras that make Saklan the incredible school that it is—personal attention from dedicated teachers, an engaging curriculum, arts, music, Spanish, STEM, and physical education at all grade levels. 

Is there a Goal?

This year, our goal as a school is to have 100% of families participate and raise $170,000 by December 2. Join us by making a gift that is personally meaningful to you. For some families that may be $20, while for others that may be $10,000. 

How can I make a gift?

You can make an AGF gift via the following methods:

  • Cash or a Check payable to The Saklan School
  • Online using a Credit Card – The online platform gives you the option to set up recurring payments that allow you to pay for your donation over several months. 
  • Invoiced through the Saklan Business Office.

Have questions about Saklan’s AGF? Feel free to reach out to Emily at ewilliamson@saklan.org.

Thank you for your support of Saklan.

#SaklanCommunity #SaklanAGF

Button Families

Maggie and the Hoot Owls have been learning about and talking about their families. The Hoot Owls made family portraits by using buttons as heads to count how many people are in their families.

Next the Hoot Owls took the portraits and graphed how many people are in their families. They learned that ten Hoot Owls have four people in their family, four Hoot Owls have five people in their family, and two Hoot owls have three and six people in their families. The class read the book My Family is from Different Places by Daria Leavitt about a mixed race family and how special it can be to have two cultures to celebrate. The teachers encouraged the Hoot Owls to find out where their ancestors are from to see if their family is also from different places.

Saklan’s West African Music Program

Every Thursday, the Saklan campus has a different beat, a beat that hails from West Africa. Under the guidance of Isaac Narell, students in third through eighth can be found studying music from the Ewe speaking people who live in Ghana, Togo and Benin (countries in West Africa).

Ewe music consists of singing, dancing, and drumming.  All these elements make up music styles. In 3rd grade, the students are performing a style called “Agahu.”

4th grade dancing and singing a Gota song.

Fourth and fifth graders are learning the styles “Gota” and “Tokoe.”

5th grade practicing Tokoe drumming

This unique music experience is a beloved aspect of the Saklan Music Program. Some 5th graders are so enthralled, that are choosing to stay in at recess on Thursdays and practice drumming together, while a group of  Middle Schoolers are practicing drumming at lunch time on Thursdays. 

#SaklanCreative #SaklanLearningByDoing

Protecting & Empowering Our Children

The Saklan Parent Association is very excited to announce the next Parent Education event: Protecting & Empowering Our Children & Youth, presented by Kidpower.

All Saklan adults are invited to join this session in which you will learn how to help children and young people build social-emotional skills to take charge of their own safety, and how to adapt these skills based on their ages, abilities, and life situations in person and online

Save the date; you don’t want to miss this virtual event!

#SaklanPA

Thankful For a “Re-Newed” Space

Inspired by the generosity of our community we were able to complete the initial phase of our Pavilion renovation this September. What was once a mundane eating spot for 25 minutes a day is evolving into a place where learning flourishes.

The roof was raised to give a feeling of openness and calm. Skylights were installed to bring in light and air. Screened walls drop down on demand from the ceiling, providing privacy and protecting users from inclement weather. It is really coming together.

Our next phase will be to replace the current table setup with furniture that promotes collaboration and fosters creativity, giving students an environment where they can share ideas, develop projects and share their learning with others. It will be a space that will give students the confidence to tackle complex problems.  

And while we were inspired by the generosity of our donors, it is our students who will be inspired by the space you helped create.  

With Gratitude,

David

A special message from our students!

#HeadsCorner

Zooming with NatGeo’s Enrique Lomnitz

Enrique Lomnitz is an industrial engineer who is solving water access problems in areas such as Mexico city (where he was born). This week, Saklan’s fifth graders got to join Enrique live over Zoom, to hear how he is developing water infrastructure for communities facing high levels of water insecurity, primarily through rainwater harvesting using roof catchment, pipes, and rainwater tanks.

Enrique Lomnitz presenting on NatGeo Explorer

As part of NatGeo Explorer Classroom, the students not only got to hear from Enrique, they also got to ask him a question, and in the process were featured live on Youtube.

Connecting with experts in the field, such as Enrique, enriches student learning. Additionally, hearing about the innovative ways he is helping his community encourages the students to think beyond themselves and develop the compassion, creativity, and courage to plan innovative ways to help others.  

#SaklanGuestExpert #SaklanCompassion

What Makes a Good Scientific Sketch?

The third graders recently learned about scientific sketches, a tool used by scientists to record and communicate information, not to make art. Along with a drawing, a scientific sketch often includes labels and diagrams, questions and explanations. You don’t have to be an artist to create a successful scientific sketch. You simply have to take time, observe closely, and record what you see.

The third graders learned the criteria for a successful scientific sketch through the mnemonic: ABCDE

Scientific sketches should be:

  • Accurate
  • Big
  • Colorful
  • Detailed
  • Explained

The third graders then used their careful observation skills and practiced sketching like scientists!

#SaklanLearningByDoing

Getting Ready for Halloween

The Owlets have been getting excited for Halloween! Ms. Erin read a silly, spooky story called Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and the students had fun making their own creepy carrots to hide around the classroom and playground.

The Owlets also got to observe pumpkins of different sizes, shapes, colors, and textures. Philippa opened a small pumpkin to show the Owlets what was inside. She read the book Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson to teach the class about the life cycle of a pumpkin.

Each Owlet got to plant their own pumpkin seed, which they will tend to and (hopefully) watch grow!

#SaklanHandsOnLearning #SaklanCreative

Your Child’s Brain on Sugar

All Saklan parents are invited to join us in the Pavilion on Friday, October 21st, following CLAS for a discussion on how sugar impacts the brain and learning. Vickie Obenchain, Saklan’s Science Teacher, will be our guest speaker for the event. We hope you can join us for this informative talk!

#SaklanPA