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.

Solar System Size

In science, our fifth graders have been learning about the relative size and distance of the planets in our solar system. They began by drawing and cutting out scale models of the planets, and then went outside to measure their distance from the sun. The fifth graders had to go very far away from the Sun to correctly locate Mercury and Venus. Students started by placing the Sun in the far end of the church parking lot across the street from Saklan, and then used yardsticks to determine the correct placement of Mercury and Venus. They had to carefully cross the street, and continue measuring through the Saklan parking lot and into the front gate before they got to the correct spots for the planets.

This was definitely a multi-sensory, hands-on way to determine and understand the scale of our solar system!

#SaklanHandsOn #SaklanAcademic

Sugar Blues Parent Ed

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first Parent Ed talk of the year on Thursday, November 9th. During the event, Alexis Bernstein, founder of Within Reach Nutrition and a Saklan parent, shared everything one needs to know about sugar. She discussed how much sugar the average American consumes, sugars effects on the body, why we crave it, and gave advice on how to “crowd it out” of your diet. If you weren’t able to join us, you can view the recording of the session here.

Thank you very much to Alexis Bernstein for sharing her expertise with our community, and to the Saklan PA for organizing this event.

#SaklanParentEd #SaklanPA

Stars and Moons

Our imaginative first graders fashioned constellations out of marshmallows and q-tips! Then the students wrote facts and stories to explain their creations and presented them to the class. They wrapped up their unit by learning their own version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

After learning about stars and constellations, the first graders delved into a unit about moons. Each student kept their own moon log for 4 weeks, observing the moon at home twice a week. They identified and described the different phases and drew them in their logs. Check out some examples of their logs below.

If you have questions about stars, constellations or moons, check with our local experts – the first graders!

#SaklanAcademic

Saklan Food Drive

In their Service Learning class, the eighth graders have been learning about food insecurity. They studied what food insecurity is and why it can occur in all areas of our world, including in our own communities. The eighth graders heard from two experts in the field who shared that those in need are mostly seniors on fixed incomes, working poor, and children. 

In order to give back to the community, the eighth graders are going to be engaging in some activities around hunger in the coming month. On campus, the students will be leading a family group activity where they will teach the first through seventh graders what they have learned about food insecurity. Additionally, the eighth graders will be helping the 10,000 Lunches organization to make approximately 50 lunches for the homeless, and will be hosting a canned food drive for the Monument Crisis Center. They invite you to join them in giving to those facing food insecurity by donating to the food drive.

Since many families have been struggling with food insecurity during the pandemic and need help, the 8th graders decided that donated food would be the most practical way to help them. There will be large bins in the breezeway near the main office starting early next week, November 8th, and ending on Friday, December 10th. The following food items are requested: peanut butter, tuna, canned food (including soup, stew, vegetables, etc.), dry pasta, cereal, and rice. If your family does not want to donate food but still wants to help out, please click here to make a monetary donation. Thank you for showing compassion to our local community!

#SaklanCompassion

Dia de los Muertos

Saklan students have been learning about Dia de los Muertos in their Spanish classes. Dia de los Muertos is a celebratory tradition to welcome the spirits of loved ones who have departed. Ofrendas (altars for the spirits) are built using bright paper, flowers and candles (to show them the way), salt (for preservation and purification), calaveras (sugar skulls that symbolize the sweetness of life), food and drink (for nourishment) and photos of the loved ones. The students learned key vocabulary and then constructed different parts of the ofrenda in Spanish class.

The study of Dia de los Muertos was not only a great way for our students to practice Spanish vocabulary, and take part in a widely celebrated cultural tradition.

#SaklanWellRounded

Why We Give

“For the past nine years, Annual Giving has become a welcomed time of reflection for our family. It’s a time when we pause and think about just how much Saklan means to our family, and to our kids individually. We initially joined Saklan to give Ryan (and eventually Cameron) an academically rigorous experience. We not only found that but gained so much more! We truly feel Saklan works with parents to raise future leaders; individuals with empathy and confidence who are capable of creating community-focused solutions for their generation. The special relationships between the teachers and students have empowered both Ryan and Cameron to embrace their individuality and passions, and be bold about acting on their ideas! The kids love going to school because they are having fun as they learn and they know that their actions, however small or large, can make a difference in the world!  

We feel energized when Annual Giving comes around because it is a time when we can show the school how much we believe in its vision, and support them in shaping a new generation focused on compassion, courage and creativity.  The Saklan community has been our community pillar for nearly a decade and our boys call it their ‘second home.’  What more can we ask for?!“

Sandy and Myron Lo

Ryan (8th) and Cameron (2nd)

Join the Lo Family in supporting Saklan by making an AGF gift today!

#SaklanGiving #SaklanCommunity

A Conversation with Experts on the COVID-19 Vaccine and Children

Wednesday, November 10, 2021 | 5:30- 6:30 P.M. PT

With the recent news that children ages 5-11 are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, UCSF physicians are hosting a virtual conversation to answer your pressing questions.

Time: 5:30 PM- 6:30 PM PT
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Place: Zoom

Register Here

Introduction by Kelley Meade, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics; Dean of Academic and Clinical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, UCSF BCH Oakland

Moderated by Dayna Long, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics; Co-Director, UCSF Center for Child & Community Health, and Saklan Parent

Panelists:
Lisa Arcilla, MD, FACC, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Cardiology, UCSF BCH Oakland
Prachi Singh, DO, FAAP, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, UCSF BCH Oakland
Martha Tesfalul, MD, FACOG, Assistant Professor, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, UCSF 

Closed-captioning and Spanish and Cantonese translations will be available.

Register Here

Head’s Corner

Halloween Brought a Boon of Creativity!

I hope you were able to attend today’s special Halloween CLAS. From the visit of a Transformer (Preston) to the combination group outfit of Ketchup and Fries (featuring brothers Chase and Liam), there was tons of creativity on display. Thank you to all members of our community for supporting the students this morning. 

Thank you and Happy Halloween!

David

#SaklanCreative

Volcanoes

The sixth graders have been studying volcanoes. They learned about the different types of volcanoes, the parts of a volcano, where volcanoes are located, and the different types of eruptions that occur. Additionally, the students have learned about the dangers and advantages of living by active volcanoes, and how they create different rocks and formations.

As part of their hands-on study of volcanoes, the sixth graders looked at different types of igneous rocks, tested different fluid viscosity to see how different lavas might flow, and then built their own shield volcano and tested different batches of “magma.” The students determined the speed of flow, what minerals make the lava flow slower, and how those different flows cool into different rocks. The sixth graders also learned about historic volcanoes and ones we still might want to be concerned about.

The students had a ton of fun learning about all things volcanoes!

#SaklanHandsOn