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.

Identity Circles

In humanities class, the Middle School students have been creating identity circles. These circles allow the students to convey aspects of their identity that they might not otherwise get a chance to share with their classmates. The circles also allow the students to see identity traits they share with others. In addition to the personal identity circles, the middle schoolers are also creating class identity circles to post in the language arts/humanities classroom. The goal of the whole class posters is for all middle school students to see the identities of peers in other grades, who they may not have class with on a daily basis. 

#SaklanCommunity

Hopscotch Tournament

The Back-to-School Hopscotch Tournament is back!

After a year hiatus, the annual hopscotch tournament will begin in the middle of September and continue as a single-elimination tournament in the weeks following, until there is a champion. The competition is open to Saklan students in 1st– 8th grades and faculty. Those interested in joining the tournament should tell Mr. Crabtree they want to participate.

The game of hopscotch dates back to at least the 17th century, and different variations are played worldwide. For our tournament, we will use a nine-square layout and players are encouraged to make their own markers. Two players will “duel.” Both markers are placed on the first square, and the players rock, paper, scissors to determine who goes first. A player must hop over the marked square and complete the pattern without touching a line. When they return they must retrieve their marker without losing balance and clear the opponents marker. Once back to the beginning, the player tosses the marker to the next square and repeats the sequence. If a player makes a mistake or misses the toss, they lose the turn and it is the opponent’s turn to complete the layout. The first player to complete nine tosses and retrievals wins.

Hopscotch is a fun game that all ages can play against each other. The skills come down to an accurate toss of the marker, agility hopping on the squares, and balance and flexibility in retrieving a marker. The activity seems simple, but is deceptively hard.

Get your markers ready and start hopping!

Head’s Corner

Dear Saklan Community,

What a fantastic first week! From our social gatherings to all the negative COVID tests to the countless emails to the safety protocols and new routines – THANK YOU for your compliance and understanding. Our community feels stronger than ever!

Thank you to those of you who joined us for CLAS this morning. This was the first time we gathered our entire community outside together in almost a year and a half, and it felt incredible! Your children are gracious, kind and so brave. 

Thank you also to those of you who stayed for the PA social afterward. It is always inspiring to see the number of enthusiastic parents here to support the school. We welcomed 53 new students and 36 new families to Saklan this week! I appreciate the PA for being so proactive to connect our new families to the school community.

Some personal highlights from my week were seeing the faculty and staff jump into this school year with renewed energy and a collaborative spirit; hearing about the middle school students’ courageous experiences on the ropes course in Sonoma; being able to start the school year IN PERSON; helping the Kindergarten class look for Pete the Cat; enjoying the sight of students playing together during recess; and having my daughter on campus as a student for the first time!

I could go on and on. Having students on campus – laughing, playing, learning, sharing – is the life-blood of Saklan. The school is vibrant. I see the students connecting and the teachers fulfilled. And that, to me, is a sign of success and great things to come. I look forward to a year of tremendous growth and connection. Thank you all for trusting us with your most precious commodities and for supporting us along the way.

In gratitude,

David

#SaklanCommunity

COVID-19 Pool Testing

Next Wednesday, September 1st, we will begin our weekly COVID-19 pool testing for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. We are asking parents to do a one-time consent form. If you are providing consent for more than one child, please complete the process separately for each child.

Click here to complete the consent form. The access code you will need on the second screen is SPOVM4. 

Additional instructions to guide you through the consent process can be found here.

Thank you, once again, for your support in keeping our community safe.

Enrichment Classes

We are thrilled to announce that The Saklan School will be bringing back after school enrichment classes for the 21-22 school year. For the fall session the following classes will be available:

Classes begin the week of September 13th, and have limited space available. If you are interested in signing your child up for one of the above classes, please click on the class name for additional information about the class and sign up options.

Saklan will also have enrichment opportunities for our Preschool and Pre-K friends that will be announced in the coming weeks. Our youngest students take a little more time to settle into the routines of coming to school, so we want to give them additional time before we introduce new classes into their day.

#SaklanHandsOn

Air Quality

We are well into the fire season, and unfortunately, have already had our first bout of smokey air pass through Moraga. Our response to the smokey air is complicated by COVID protocols as well as the location of the high-quality EPA AQI sensors (Oakland and Concord). While we realize the Purple Air sensors are not as sensitive as the EPA ones, we feel using the sensors near the school is a better choice than relying on the distant EPA sensors. When using the Purple Air app, our menu settings are EPA PM 2.5 AQI combined with the US EPA conversion pull down.

Our protocols for responding to poor air quality are informed by the California EPA guidance. 

We monitor air quality throughout the day and offer these parameters according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) for some school operations:

Moderate (yellow 51-100)

  • Avoid heavy exertion in PE. 
  • Monitor students with sensitivities

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange 101-150)

  • PE may be held outdoors with little to no physical exertion
  • Outdoor recess will be offered with reduced time and low physical exertion.
  • Preschool, Pre-K move indoors
  • Students with asthma and other respiratory issues should be monitored closely and should stay indoors and not participate in physical activities.

Unhealthy (red 151-200)

  • All physical activities moved indoors – we often use space at the Holy Trinity Church to move outdoor activities inside, including recess and PE.
  • Lunch held indoors.
  • Students with asthma and other respiratory issues should be closely monitored and should not participate in physical activities.

Very Unhealthy (purple 201-300)

  • See “Unhealthy Red”
  • Consider closing schools (COVID-19 considerations might require closing schools)

Hazardous (maroon 301 and above)

  • See “Very Unhealthy Purple”
  • Close School

We hope this brings you more clarity on how Saklan will approach any upcoming days with poor air quality. 

Saklan students participating in indoor activities due to poor air quality.

Saklan has CLAS

Students share appreciations during the first CLAS

Last year gave us time to think about some of the things we have done for years and how to do them better. One of those things is Friday Flag- a long tradition that we have held out in front of School every Friday morning. After conversations with parents, teachers and students, we will be moving to a new Friday morning assembly called CLAS (Community, Learning, Appreciation, and Sharing). 

The impetus to move to CLAS was to emphasize the aspects of Saklan we sincerely appreciate: our community, that love of learning is central to everything we do, that gratitude and appreciation is our lifeblood, and that sharing is how we all grow as individuals. 

CLAS will be held on the Saklan Sports Court every other week. This allows each division to meet on the off weeks and hold assemblies that bring them together as a smaller group; the Saklan Sports Court provides a more protected gathering space. 

Parents are invited to join us for CLAS by entering campus through the fire lane near the church right at 8:30 a.m.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning for our first CLAS! It was so wonderful to see our entire community in the same space and to hear the words of wisdom and appreciations that the students shared with us. Check out pictures from today’s gathering below.

#SaklanCLAS #SaklanCommunity

Head’s Corner

Congratulations, Class of 2021!

Dear Saklan Families, 

Saying farewell to our graduates is always bittersweet. Perhaps it was even more pronounced this year because the majority of them had been at Saklan since the lower school and because it was an extraordinarily difficult year. It was not just COVID-19 and everything that came with it (the masking, distancing, testing, etc). But for an age group that thrives on optimism, it was a challenging year politically, socially, and culturally.

But they persevered. They kept their heads up and did not complain. Forces out of their control threw them curveballs and they responded with compassion, courage, and creativity. Our graduates ended the year with grace and dignity, delivering some of the best graduation speeches we have seen in a long time. Thank you, class of 2021.

In case you missed it, you can view the graduation here. Two highlights of the ceremony were powerful, original pieces of prose by graduates Reese Kammerer and Levi Kim that sought to open our minds and challenge our beliefs.

Reese Kammerer – The Power You HaveDownload
Levi Kim – The World Through My EyesDownload

Each year we create a slideshow that highlights the memories of our graduates from their first years at Saklan all the way through the last week of 8th grade. Take a moment to watch this video and relive their journey. 

I would like to extend a special thank you to Lori Anders, Jenny Choi, Jen Cogen, and Christy Mack for helping to organize the graduation dinner and the ceremony. It takes a lot of planning and coordination, but both events were beautifully orchestrated and the perfect way to send off our graduates. Additionally, a special shout-out goes to Kim Parks, Shay Sager, Emoke Veres, and Javier Yacarini for all their behind-the-scenes work handling the logistics of the graduation. 

Thank you, again, for helping us all make it through one of the most challenging years in our memory. Our community moves forward to planning for the 2021-22 school year with so much strength, unity, humility, and hope.

I wish you all an incredible and rejuvenating summer.

Fondly,

David

#SaklanGraduation

Head’s Corner

Why We Do “Standardized’ Testing

In the middle of May, students in grades 3-8  took standardized math, reading, and language usage tests.  Traditionally, Saklan has used the ERB Test to measure the success of our students and program.  The ERB was a paper and pencil test that was the same for every student in their respective grade level.  The data gained from that test gave us information about how we were doing as a school against other schools, but little else. 

In September of 2019, we switched to the NWEA MAP test ( Measures of Academic Progress).  The MAP test is a very different tool from that of the traditional ERB test.  To begin with, the MAP test is dynamic, meaning that as a student answers questions correctly, the test adjusts. The student begins to see more challenging and complex questions, which often take them well beyond their grade level.  If a student begins to struggle, the test will start to ease up on the questions.  Through this process, the MAP test can determine exactly where a student’s strengths and challenges lie.   

The second significant differentiator of the MAP test is that it is untimed.  The actual testing is predicted to take 45-60 minutes, but students can take as much time as they need.  This approach emphasizes knowledge and ability over speed, giving a more accurate indication of what a student knows and taking away pressure that leads to mistakes and inaccurate data. 

Thirdly the MAP test does exceptionally well in giving parents and teachers useable data to help support students and take them to the next level.  Student progress is recorded year on year, giving a picture of a child’s overall growth.  That information is then used to predict future growth as well as college readiness. Moreover, the test breaks down each curriculum standard by what content and skills the student has mastered or needs reinforced.  This information helps teachers differentiate their approach and  individualize instruction.  It also can be used to connect students to educational software such Khan Academy or IXL, helping students narrow in on gaps.  

We will be sending out end of semester grade reports in the middle of June.  At that same time, if you are a parent of a 3rd -8th grade student, you will receive a MAP Growth Report. This report will give information regarding how your child did on the testing as well as next steps we all can take to academically grow.  

Have a great weekend
David