The Saklan School Friday Blog

Bryan’s House

In March, Saklan’s eighth grade students took part in a service-learning field experience in Puerto Rico in which they helped rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Check out the blog post from the fourth day of the trip below.

March 27, 2022

Today we went to a different work site than the other days. We went to Bryan’s house and met up with William, Angel, and the team. We all had different tasks. One was shoveling sand and rocks into a wheelbarrow for Mr. Javier to take down to the cement mixer. Other people shoveled cement into buckets and then took them up to where the cement was being poured. After we did our job, we went to Maria’s house and ate a scrumptious lunch. While at Maria’s house, we reflected on our work from the past three days. William and Angel spoke about how grateful they were for us and how our work has helped their community. After we said goodbye and hopped on the bus, we went to the beach and washed away the concrete from our skin. Once we were back at the BYH (Big Yellow House), we journaled and got ready for dinner with the community. We enjoyed the food, and said our last goodbyes. Before William left, he gave out bracelets to show his appreciation and so we will never forget this experience.

-Evie, Cassidy, Thomas

Thank you Evie, Cassidy and Thomas, for sharing your experience with us.

#SaklanFieldExperience

Willing Hearts

To say Grace spent a little time curating the songs for the concert would be an understatement. From “Seasons of Love” to “People Get Ready” to Wyatt’s moving introduction to “Fight Song,” the message of the concert was clearly of hope and looking forward. I would not be surprised if Grace has spent the past two years thinking and waiting to have your children share this message of hope with us.

Grace had a lot of support. The 3rd- 8th grade students had the privilege of learning Ghanian drumming with Isaac while Annie worked with the Owlets and Hoot Owls to prepare for their concert debut. Shay and Emily made sure every logistical detail was taken care of while Javi prepared the venue for the audience, sound, and instruments. Our teachers were flexible, patient, and helpful throughout the process. The students showed their courage by singing their hearts out.

Pulling off a whole school concert is not a task for the faint of heart. Executing it outdoors – in a parking lot- at the end of the rainy season (whatever that means these days) with 70% of the participants new to the activity- the word impossible comes to mind.

But then again, “nothing is impossible to a willing heart.” And if Grace is anything, it is a willing heart. A willing heart that inspires others.

In immense gratitude,

David

#SaklanCreative #SaklanCourageous

Frog Pond Subtraction

What does a song about frogs and a ruler have to do with subtraction? The Kindergarten students recently enjoyed hearing a song and watching a video about frogs jumping one by one, into a pond. Then using a paper cut out, the class acted out the song. Next, the children worked with a partner. One child set up markers and told their partner how many to take away. The other child knocked over that many markers to get the answer. The Kindergarteners used a ruler to knock over the markers. Using a ruler, which looks like a minus sign, helped give the students a concrete experience of subtracting. Finally, the cut out was used to solve equations. The Kindergartners practiced using different paper cut outs to help them gain experience with subtraction.

If you walked by the Kindergarten room recently and it sounded like the students were being loud and having fun, it was probably math time!

#SaklanAcademic

Pen Pals

The third graders were very excited to receive their first letters back from their pen pals last week! Saklan’s third grade class is paired up with a third grade class from Parkside Elementary School in Lawrenceville, IL through the USPS PEN PAL Project. Saklan’s third graders wrote the first set of letters and mailed them off to Illinois back in early March. Ever since then, the third graders had been anxiously waiting for a reply, and on April 11th their letters finally arrived!

Through this project students learned how to write a friendly letter with an opening and closing, as well as how to address an envelope. The class also tied in some geography as they used a map to see where their pen pals live.

The third graders have already written their second letters back to their pen pals and hope to hear back from them soon!

#SaklanHandsOn

State of the School

On Thursday, April 14th, Saklan hosted its annual State of the School presentation over Zoom. Through highlights of the year, we shared how Saklan delivers on our mission to Think Creatively, Act Compassionately and Live Courageously. In addition, a portion of the presentation addressed the school’s successes in our fundraising efforts and the overall solid financial health of Saklan. Lastly, we gave a short preview of things to come in the future, including strategic initiatives and our WASC/CAIS accreditation process. If you would like to view the State of the School presentation, click here.

Celebrating Saklan’s Teachers

Teacher Appreciation Week is the week of May 2nd – 6th. One of the beloved Saklan traditions is themed potluck lunches from the parent community, making the week extra special for our incredible teachers and staff! We still need a few main dish sign-ups on Monday, May 2nd, Wednesday, May 4th, and Thursday, May 5th. Please take a look at the Sign-Up Genius and have fun in the kitchen to celebrate our teachers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044ca4ab2da1f58-teacher1

Additionally, you should have received emails from your Room Parents to fill in thank you notes on Kudoboard for each teacher and staff. Please be sure to have this done by Monday, April 25th.

If you have any questions, please email Teachers Appreciation Committee Chair Shannon O’Connor at oconnorsd1@gmail.com or PA President Sandy Lo at sandralo@gmail.com.

#SaklanTeacherAppreciation

Shoveling Sand & Rocks

In March, Saklan’s eighth grade students took part in a service-learning field experience in Puerto Rico. While there, the students took turns writing daily blog posts. Check out the blog post from the third day of the trip below.

March 26, 2022

In the morning, we woke up, got ready, had breakfast then went on the bus. We took the bus to go to the worksite and help out with rebuilding a house that had fallen due to the hurricane. There was a very nice dog there. While we were at the house, we helped make cement. The 12 of us were divided into groups of 6, one for rocks and one for the sand. We non-stop shoveled sand and rocks into buckets where the adults proceeded to place them in the mixer. If our bucket fell in the mixer and we reached in, it could take your hand off (Si nuestro balde se bajo en el batidora, se puede sacar tu mano!), so the adults took on that responsibility. After we mixed the concrete over 10 times, we had filled the hole where the septic tank was being built. After that, we went back to the Big Yellow House to get ready for a nice few hours at the beach. We found a cracked Go-Pro in a bed of seaweed, but unfortunately it stuck to the ground and could not be retrieved. After refreshing a bit, we went on a walk to a nearby island close to the place we were swimming in, where we took pictures. There were crashing waves and nice sand on our feet, with palm trees swaying around us. After that we had a nice walk back, where the water was warm, and there were fishermen near the shoreline catching a ton of crabs! We soon came back to the Big Yellow House where we had (Virgin) Pina Coladas prepared by one of our tour guides, Annika. Later that night, we had pasta with a choice of marinara or alfredo sauce. Lastly, we had games and the two teams competing were “Los Pollos Hermanos” and “yes, YES!”. The games ended in a tie because everyone is a winner at The Saklan School! We had a very nice day and we can’t wait for tomorrow!

– By Zoe and Alessandro

Thank you Zoe and Alessandro for sharing your experience with us.

#SaklanFieldExperience

Early Earth Day Celebration

On Thursday, April 14th, The Saklan School held an early Earth Day celebration! Earth Day is a holiday celebrated in multiple countries around the world to call attention to the need to protect our planet. At Saklan, each year we commemorate Earth Day by learning about how we can help different species on our planet by being aware of our daily choices.

This year, West Coast Falconry gave a presentation on raptors, sharing that they are meat eating birds that use their feet to eat. They brought 6 different birds with them, which they shared with the students: 2 falcons, 2 hawks, and 2 owls.

They even had one of the birds showcase their sight and flying abilities by flying across the room.

Following the presentation, the students came back to campus where they learned about a local endangered raptor, the California Condor, in family groups. The 8th graders led discussions about California Condor habitats, diets, predators, threats and recovery programs to help save the condors.

Students then wrote on a feather either one thing they can personally do to help raptors or one thing they learned about condors. The feathers were then put together to create a condor!

#SaklanFamilyGroups #EarthDayCelebration

All-School Concert

Saklan’s All-School Concert is next Wednesday, April 20th at 4:30 p.m. in the Holy Trinity Parking Lot! Feel free to invite friends and family to join us.

On the 20th, students will be dismissed at noon and are asked to return at 4:00 p.m. in preparation for the performance. Please note the following details for the afternoon:

The bus will leave campus at 12:05 p.m. that afternoon.
Extended Day will be available until 3:30, but it is recommended that students go home earlier to have some down time before the concert if possible. Reserve your child’s spot in Extended here.
Hot Lunch will not be available. If your child is attending Extended, please send them to school with a lunch.
All students are asked to report to the Holy Trinity Parking Lot at 4:00 p.m. dressed in their “Sunday best” version of all black clothing, with an accessory of pink. Concert outfit ideas can be found here.

We are very excited about the return of the concert, and hope you will be able to join us!

Puerto Rico Service Learning

In March, Saklan’s eighth grade students took part in a service-learning field experience in Puerto Rico. While there, the students took turns writing daily blog posts. We will share more about their meaningful experience by featuring the posts the students wrote over the coming weeks. Check out the blog post from the second day of the trip below.

March 25, 2022

In the morning, we woke up to two roosters screaming at the top of their lungs at the peak of the morning. We then had a very nutritious breakfast including waffles, yogurt, and some scrambled eggs. Then, we got on the school bus and they took us to a construction site. We then worked very diligently on a house for Wilfredo. William and Angel instructed us on what we should do. After that we went back to the beach and had so much fun in the ocean! After ocean time, we went back to the Big Yellow House for the rest of the day. We had a very healthy and tasty dinner including cilantro rice, grilled salmon, and cooked chicken. To finish the day off, we had a 90-minute salsa dancing lesson and learned a lot about Puerto Rican salsa culture. In conclusion, the day was very enjoyable and eventful!