Fifth grade students have been working on their Autobiography projects. They are producing some amazing writing! After they had learned about sensory words, the students went on a sensory walk, off campus, noting many sensory items.
They returned back to do a silent sensory experience with a cookie. Students were able to describe their cookies using sensory vocabulary. Lots of “sparkle words.”
The Saklan School recently held an election for Student Council. The students campaigned by writing speeches and presenting them at Flag. The students voted later that day. We announced the results of the election to the middle school students on Tuesday. Here is a list of the elected officers.
Max B. (8th grade) and Harrison L. (8th grade)
Co-Presidents
Jordan D. (6th grade) Makenna C. (6th grade)
Secretary Treasurer
Evy A. (6th grade) and Elishka G. (6th grade)
Co-Publicity Chairs
Lauren A. (8th grade) and Phoebe K. (6th grade)
Co-Activity Chairs
We are very proud of all the students who ran and we are excited for a great year!
Fifth graders traveled to Sacramento to learn more about the California State Capitol Museum.
Students went on a docent led tour of the building. This capitol building was the fifth. The building had been moved five times in the first four years. The Senate Chamber was very interesting.
Students were able to see the senators desks that were built in the 1860’s and are still used today.
In addition, the docent explained how a bill becomes a law in California. And that anyone can come up with the idea for a bill and submit it to their representative. One of the most important concepts they learned was that “We the People” are where the true power sits.
This month, Family Groups discussed collaboration: working as a team, taking turns, listening to ideas, doing your best, and encouraging others. Students read the book: The Dot, where a girl is encouraged to find out she is actually a great “dot” artist. She ends up encouraging others to find out what they are good and what they bring to the community. Students were then asked to create their own dot with something they are good at and bring to their community. Each family group worked together to build paper and sticky dot towers.
Fifth graders had their Writer’s Celebration this week. Students shared their published stories as a culminating activity of their best fifth grade stories. Students worked together in writing clubs and with their peer editors to revise and edit each other’s stories. Many of the writing elements students learned were: creating interesting story leads, sensory words, interesting vocabulary, repetition, figurative language, “said” is dead, and character development. The published stories were illustrated and bound into a keepsake book. Way to go authors!!!
This week, we celebrated Earth Day with a series of activities at school that involved our Family Groups. The program included a presentation by Classroom Safari – an educational and entertaining adventure into the wild. The animal ambassadors shared interesting facts about the animals diets, enemies, and special adaptations that help them survive. The students were excited about learning conservation and seeing animals from around the world. After the presentation, the students in Family Groups discussed what the idea of Responsibility has to do with animals and Earth Day.
Earth Day was organized by our wonderful Science Teacher, Vickie Obenchain, and supports our program of environmental education to make Saklan students aware of the issues that are confronting our planet.
The fifth grade class visited the Marin Headlands for an amazing outdoor experience. The goal of the program was to broaden the student’s awareness of the natural world and his/her relationship to it. Students participated in many nature hikes, hands-on laboratory experiences, and many team building activities. They spent time learning about the many plant and animal species that live in the Marin Headlands. It was an incredible three days!
Fifth graders have been researching important historical figures in the Revolutionary War. Students completed an informative research report on their historical figure. They also created amazing hanger people. Using a hanger as the base, they designed and put together an accurate depiction of what their historical figure looked like.
Lastly, students wrote speeches to use for the presentations to parents on Thursday. Fifth graders learned many interesting facts about the Revolutionary War and important people that contributed to our independence.
Fifth graders have completed their Autobiography Projects. This project included six chapters detailing important information all about them. The students were asked to write a chapter on various parts of their lives. Each chapter included photos and captions that corresponds with the chapter. In addition, students organized and drew a twenty important events timeline of their lives. Lastly, we invited parents and family members to come and see all of the autobiographies during a gallery walk in fifth grade. Students also shared their projects with various classes that visited later that day. This project is a special keepsake for fifth graders, and we are all proud of their hard work and dedication toward their terrific autobiographies. Way to go fifth graders!
The last few weeks the 5th grade has been coming to science lab to learn some basics of astronomy. They have learned about the big bang theory, scaled down the solar system, learned about the formation of the moon, and discovered how our sun produces its energy. Lastly, we have been discussing space exploration, and so the 5th graders worked together to create their own rockets to shoot off!
FRIDAY BLOG 
You must be logged in to post a comment.