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.

Learning from Community Experts

As part of their study on the different types of communities, the first graders had a guest expert visit their classroom. Ms. Nerit, from the Moraga Library, came to read stories to the class and share about her role at the library. She shared lots of information with the students, including the differences between public libraries and school libraries, as well as how borrowing from the library is different from buying books from a bookstore. At the end of the visit, the students were delighted to receive their very own library cards!

A big thank you to Ms. Nerit for sharing her expertise with the first graders!

Halloween Family Fun Fest – Cancelled

Due to the forecasted inclement weather, the Family Fun Fest has been cancelled. The PA is saddened to not be able hold this event as scheduled, but will plan a future event for the Saklan community. 

Are you ready for the Saklan Halloween Family Fun Fest?

*Siblings are welcome. Since this is a school event, we ask all participants to follow the Saklan Masking Protocols and “Mask Up” even while outside*

#SaklanPA

Seasonal Change

Recently, the Owlets spent some time learning about fall and what happens when the seasons change. They watched a short video that taught them how and why some tree leaves change color when the weather starts to get chillier. Next, the students used fall colors, like orange, red, yellow, and brown, to create some art pieces. They made hand and fingerprint trees and coffee filter leaves for a tree in their classroom.

The Owlets even helped change the white rice in their rice table to fall colors!

If you are wondering why the leaves are changing colors, ask an Owlet!

#SaklanAcademic #SaklanCreative

Urban, Suburban & Rural

The first graders have been learning about rural, urban, and suburban communities. They read stories, such as Town Mouse, Country Mouse, to get a sense of the differences between the communities, and compared the communities of two characters: Miss Rumphius, who lived in an urban community, and Miss Arizona,who lived in a rural community. To illustrate their learning, the students made Venn diagrams and drawings to show the similarities and differences between the communities.

The first graders also enjoyed learning about producers, consumers, goods and services, and the role each plays in the different communities. To finish up the unit, the students wrote a book on what kind of community they would like to move to in the future.

#SaklanAcademic

The Saklan Library is Open!

Saklan students are finally enjoying library time IN the Saklan Library! Last year, Saklan’s library was homeroom for eighth grade, making it off-limits to students in other cohorts due to COVID restrictions. Lower school grades still had adapted library classes in the pavilion with animated story time and book check out from a curated bin. The experience has been revamped this year! The students walked into the library for the first time with eyes wide and faces smiling as they realized their access to books had immeasurably improved over the previous year’s curated box. The Saklan Library currently has over 4,400 books and more are being added each day.

Students browse for their books of choice by using the Non-Fiction Dewey Decimal System or Fiction Genres. Students can also search for their books by reading level, an important detail for younger readers. The middle school students have a Young Adult Library in the humanities classroom with books that are geared towards the interests and reading levels of middle school students. They can browse and check out books as wanted. 

The library is keeping up with multi-book series readers and non-fiction enthusiasts by continually adding to the book collection. We gratefully accept book donations should families have favorites they are finished with. The librarians, Mrs. Meredith and Mrs. Joy, have specifically focused on new additions that support ideas of inclusion, diversity, kindness and other pillars of Saklan’s mission. 

Anyone in the Saklan Community can search the online catalog and place holds on books for their child. This feature is especially loved by the teachers and allows them to request books that support their classroom curriculum. Browse the collection and request books here: Go to OPAC. If needed, the library name is “Saklan” and no password is required. Books can be searched by title, author, subject, location (genre), or reading level. Click the “Request Hold” button when viewing results by ITEM. 

We would love to hear from you! Email library@saklan.org with questions, concerns and ideas. 

Friendly Family Groups

On Thursday, September 30th, the Saklan first through eighth graders met with their family groups for the first time this year! During the in-person meetings, the eighth graders led discussions of what it means to be friendly.

After hearing The Fruit Salad Friend read aloud, each group talked about how they can be a good friend both in school and in the community. The groups then made their own friendship salads, showcasing the most important friendship traits. Check out the salads below!

#SaklanCompassion #FamilyGroups #SaklanLeadership

Head’s Corner

MAP Testing – Measures of Academic Progress

Over the next two weeks, if your student is in grades 2*- 8, they will spend a few hours taking the NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test. The MAP test is a “standardized” test in Language Arts, Reading, and Math, but is different from most other standardized tests.

The MAP test is computerized and adaptive; as students take the tests, the program feeds them either more challenging or more accessible questions, depending on their performance on earlier questions. In addition, the algorithm is designed to find a student’s strengths and challenges in the subject area. 

When we administered the test last spring, I recall 8th graders lamenting that it was the most challenging test they had ever taken, and they thought they must have failed. But, it turns out, those same students scored above the 90th percentile. The test was hard because it worked to stretch them, feeding them questions meant for 10th and 11th grade students.  

While the MAP test will benchmark students to other students across the country, that is not the emphasis. Instead, the test provides data for teachers, parents, and students alike that will help leverage strengths and fill gaps. Each teacher receives a report on their class and individual students to assess their competency in a subject area. In addition, parents receive a report on their child that offers suggestions for improvement and links to resources that will spur academic growth.

Compared to other standardized tests which would take a week or more of instructional time to complete, the MAP test is not timed and takes approximately 50-70 minutes (some students are done in 45 minutes, others take 80) per subject area to complete. Therefore it is less intrusive to our instructional day.

We look forward to sharing the information gathered from the MAP test as we move into the year and share your child’s results during conferences.

For more information on the MAP test, please click here. 

Warm regards,

David 

*This is the first year we are testing 2nd graders. They will only be taking the reading portion of the test – it will last between 45 and 75 minutes.  

Overnight Field Experiences Return

Last week, the 6th graders participated in the first overnight field experience we have been able to offer in 18 months. They attended Westminster Woods, an environmental education and character development program, nestled in 200 acres of redwood forest in Sonoma County. Students hiked through the redwood forest, scoured the Dutch Bill Creek, took part in many team building challenges and ventured through an incredible high-ropes challenge course under the redwood canopy.

Students not only learned about ecology, teamwork and the natural environment, but they got to learn more about each other as well. Here are some of highlights from the experience:


“I think Saklan has us go on these field experiences to learn about ourselves and our class. We now feel like we are all friends.”

James


“I faced some of my biggest fears (heights) on this experience. And trusting my classmates made that easier.”

Kori

“I think these trips are important because it makes you try new things. I was scared when I left home about what the week might be like, but then I was so happy I went!”

Kiran


“I feel like I am more connected to my class after this week. I feel this way because we learned more about each other. So many people have such interesting traits, I thought it was cool to get to know more about them.”

Eleanor


“I felt really connected to my class after the ropes course. We had to work together to get through the activities.”

Mori


“Something I will never forget is taking my blindfold off and finding we were at the top of a hill and had an amazing view of a valley, that was cool!”

Ada

Miss O and Mr. Zippin joined the students for the week at Westminster Woods. Upon returning to campus, they shared that they loved seeing how the students were are to able bond through the experience and how compassionate they were to each other. The week was filled with moments where the students were lending a hand to each other when they needed it and encouraging people they only met 3 weeks ago as if they had known each other for years.

It was a great week!

#SaklanFieldExperience #SaklanCompassionate