The Hoot Owls read the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud. The book teaches that everyone carries around an imaginary bucket. When you do kind things for someone your bucket gets filled and so does the other person’s bucket!
The Hoot Owls created a class bucket/jar to fill with kind things that are done throughout the week. On Fridays they read aloud all the kind things that happened that week!
#SaklanSEL
During art class, in honor of Lunar New Year, students in grades K-8 have been exploring the ancient art form of Chinese brush painting. After learning about how the Lunar New Year is celebrated, students observed the artwork of Guan Daosheng, a famous female painter from 13th century China, and noted how each line and mark is made by a single brushstroke. All students practiced the tradition by holding their brushes in the correct positions, then making different kinds of brushstrokes.
Kindergarten, first and second grade students used their new painting knowledge to paint tigers, which is this year’s zodiac animal. Third graders practiced calligraphy and learned how to write the Chinese character for good fortune.
Fourth and fifth graders painted bamboo, and will be creating their own “chops” or stamps to print a “signature” design onto their painting. Middle school students had a choice of practicing to paint bamboo, orchids or a mountain landscape.
#SaklanCreative #SaklanHandsOn
Love wine? We are excitedly preparing a Wine Raffle for this year’s Auction Shindig, and we would love y’alls help! Please consider donating a favorite bottle or two (rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate or Wine Enthusiast) to this year’s collection.
All proceeds from this year’s Wine Raffle will support Saklan’s Summer Reflection Fund, which funds summer professional development opportunities for our beloved teachers and staff.
Please bring your wine donations to the Saklan Office or drop them off at the Auction Shindig table in front of Saklan on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Not a big wine fan, but want to support professional development opportunities for Saklan teachers and staff? Click here to contribute to the Summer Reflection Fund.
#SaklanShindig
Recently, science merged with physical education when sixth graders came to P.E. with special goggles which allowed them to see all the colors in the light spectrum. While these were special goggles, all students are encouraged to wear sunglasses and hats outside on the sports court, especially during morning and afternoon classes.
Speaking of afternoons on the sports court, Monday through Thursdays from 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. students in 3rd grade and up are invited to the sports court to learn and practice basketball. No experience needed.
A scrimmage against another school has been scheduled for March 17th for any players interested in a challenge. If we have enough participants we can have a junior varsity and a varsity team. So come on out to the sports court, sunglasses encouraged!
Let’s Go Saklan!
The sixth graders recently wrapped up a study of watercolors in art class. For their final project, students had a choice of four different assignments, all of which centered around the artwork of a key artist. The projects also showcased different watercolor techniques and skills, such as color mixing, stretching their imaginations, science integration, and self-reflection. Student projects included: painted terrariums featuring plants, animals, and imaginary organisms; free-flowing, imaginative creatures decorated with intricate pen patterns; precise, angular geometric masterpieces; and much more.
Save the date for Saklan’s Annual Art Festival on April 28th to check out these and many other works of art!
#SaklanCreative
Fourth graders continued learning about California’s history as they conducted virtual explorations of 19th century Mexican ranchos. Their study of the ranchos began with a series of learning centers, which included looking at historical and geological maps of the Bay Area and the entire state, a video virtual tour of a rancho, articles about the practices of land granting, branding and the savage treatment of Native people, and looking at images from the past that included hand-drawn diseños (rough maps). Next, the students worked together to determine which aspects of the ranchos were worthy of preservation and which they would want to make reparations for. Finally, working in partner teams, students plotted their own ranchos on a map, wrote a petition for a land grant to the governor, cooperated to create new and improved rancho policies, and then drew a scaled diseño of their ranchos.
The fourth graders had fun “visiting” each others’ ranchos this week and sampling some tortillas and frijoles after!
#SaklanAcademic
The Kindergarteners are now pros at creating “huts” out of hula hoops! During P.E., the students have been working together to stack six hoops to create a small, hut-like structure. The symbolism of rings and spheres is significant in many human cultures. Hula hoops gained popularity in the 1950’s, but they can be used for more than twirling around the waist. In the world of dance and gymnastics there are many tricks and moves which practitioners can master.
In addition to building huts, the Kindergarteners and first graders have been working to master various hula hoop tricks, and making other creative designs with the hoops. Check out the design below, which some of the first graders collaborated to create.
#SaklanCreative
This week, the 1st through 8th graders met with their families groups to discuss the January Social Emotional Learning themes of being respectful and accepting.
The 8th graders led a discussion of what the words respectful and accepting mean, and then shared the book Where Oliver Fits, by Cale Atkinson, in which Oliver finds that trying to fit in is a lot harder than he thought it would be.
Following a discussion of the story, the each student decorated a paper puzzle piece with words that describe them. Check out the puzzle pieces that each family group created below.
#SaklanSEL
Roots & Shoots Photography will be taking individual and class portraits of Saklan students on Tuesday, February 15th. 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. Roots & Shoots staff will follow all CDC guidelines, including social distancing when possible, wearing masks and washing/sanitizing hands, in order to make the picture taking process as safe as possible
Roots & Shoots has implemented a new ordering process. Ordering will be fully online, and will take place approximately 2 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 families’ homes ($5.25 shipping fee will apply).
Questions? Please contact Roots & Shoot directly at grow@roots-shoots.com. They will be happy to help!
These past few weeks have been a huge challenge for all of us- from the absences, endless testing, tracking COVID-19 cases, and quarantine protocols, not to mention the Hunger Games-like atmosphere to procure an Antigen Rapid Test. It’s been a lot.
But there is a second front that we have been battling since the start of the pandemic- the mental health of our students. I do not need to cite the numbers; we have all felt or seen it in one way or another. Its roots are in the loss of connection and engagement.
The way we have endured the ongoing stress of this pandemic is to double down on what we know is best for our students, our learning, and our community. While we have worked to keep everyone safe and healthy, we have not lost sight of the importance of a connected community and engaging curriculum. Students begin each morning with a Morning Meeting, Advisory, or Circle Time (depending on the grade level), enabling them to be present, engage, check-in, and feel seen and heard. This allows our community to stay connected with one another despite the chaos and uncertainty that has been surrounding us all.
Not only is our hands-on curriculum and social emotional learning happening on campus, but we continue to plan for our spring field experiences, guest experts, and community events. Our 8th graders are preparing to go to Puerto Rico to build homes; the 4th graders are headed to Coloma to immerse themselves in the gold rush experience; the 5th graders will go to the Nature-Bridge Golden Gate Outdoor Program; we are working on rescheduling the 7th grade Hawaii experience; the all-school concert is being planned for April. Despite the limits the pandemic has imposed, there is still much to be hopeful and excited about.
We know how hard and exhausting these past 22 months have been. However, we will continue to prioritize a nurturing place of consistency and safety for your children. As always, thank you for your support, cooperation, and trust. Your partnership has made this all possible.
In gratitude,
David
FRIDAY BLOG 
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