Category: General

Watching Our Students Shine

What a wonderful experience it was to gather together at the Lesher Center last Friday to watch our students shine on stage!

Thank you to all of the families for making Friday’s logistics work in order to support the students and watch the performance. 

Thank you to the Saklan students for showcasing your creativity and courage by taking the stage in front of such a large audience and singing your hearts out.

Thank you to the faculty and staff for all of the behind-the-scenes work to prepare for the concert, from your flexibility with the schedule to helping with rehearsals. Your support of your students and encouragement to take the stage is greatly appreciated!

A huge thank you to Erin for guiding our Owlet and Hoot Owl students in sharing their songs with our community! Their excitement, bravery, and pure joy for music lit up the stage, creating a heartwarming and memorable performance. We are so proud of our little musicians!

Thank you to Lauren and Linda for working with the second and third grade students on the gorgeous backdrop. Thank you for your continued PBL work, and for the passion you ignite in our students by elevating their voices and choices.

Thank you to Isaac for sharing your knowledge of traditional Ghanaian drumming with our students. What a delight to see them drumming, singing, and dancing together!

Thank you to Javier for helping set up for rehearsals, creating the boom whackers, moving instruments, and doing it all with a smile. 

Thank you to John Kim for sharing beautiful pictures of the event with us.

And finally, a huge thank you to Dianne for leading her first Saklan Concert with such passion and purpose! The show was incredible, and your dedication helped our students shine bright. We’re so grateful for your talent, guidance, and commitment to bringing music to life at Saklan!

#Saklan Creative #SaklanArts

Spring Enrichment Classes

Saklan is excited to announce the launch of two new after-school enrichment classes this spring: Pickleball and Basketball!

These classes, led by Coach Rob, are designed to promote physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship while providing a fun and engaging environment for students of all skill levels. Classes will begin the week of April 7th. Pickleball will take place on Mondays from 3:10-4:00 PM, and Basketball will take place on Wednesdays from 3:10-4:00 PM. 

More information, including the class schedule, descriptions, and registration link, can be found on the enrichment webpage.

We hope your child, whether new to the sports or experienced, can take advantage of these wonderful opportunities to develop new skills and make new friends!

70th Anniversary Gala Tickets

Put on your flapper dresses, fedoras, and spats, and join us for The Saklan School’s 70th Anniversary Gala & Auction on Saturday, April 26th, from 6:00 – 11:00 PM at the Lafayette Park Hotel. This swanky, adults-only affair is sure to be a roaring good time celebrating 70 years of The Saklan School. This 1920s-themed event will include:

  • Cocktail Reception with an Open Bar and Tray-passed Hors d’oeuvres
  • Plated Dinner with Wine and a Choice of Pan-Roasted Sea Bass, Filet Mignon, or Butternut Squash Ravioli
  • Silent & Live Auctions
  • Paddle Raise for New Playground Structures
  • Dancing
  • And Live Entertainment by Radio Gatsby

Early bird tickets are now available online; prices go up on March 29th!

Get Your Auction Tickets Today!

The Saklan School’s Annual Auction is a fun, community-building event and the school’s second-largest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds from the auction support the unique programs offered at Saklan, including field experiences, guest experts, Project Based Learning, family groups, and professional development opportunities for our amazing teachers.

Can’t make the auction?

There are several ways to participate in this year’s event even if you can’t attend: underwrite a teacher ticket, donate wine to the wine ring toss, or stay tuned for more information on participating in our online silent auction.

Thank you for your support of Saklan.

#SaklanAuction

Head’s Corner: Fueling Innovation

The Impact of Your Generosity

As we prepare for our milestone 70th Anniversary Gala & Auction, I want to express my profound gratitude for your generous “Fund-a-Need” contributions at last year’s event. Your collective generosity raised an impressive $63,250, enabling us to transform our learning spaces into innovative, project-based learning environments where students collaborate effectively and pursue their authentic curiosity.

Your support has made tangible differences throughout our campus. We provided specialized PBL training for 12 educators, equipped classrooms with technology for seamless video conferencing with guest experts, and installed collaborative furniture that fosters student interaction. These strategic improvements have created dynamic spaces where students now engage in meaningful projects that develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills they’ll carry forward into their futures.

Your generosity has truly transformed our learning environment, empowering your children to thrive and grow in ways that will impact them for years to come. Thank you for making a lasting difference.

Explore, Create, & Innovate

SIGMA: Science • Innovation • Game Development • Math • Activities

Explore, Create, and Innovate with SIGMA!
Are you the parent of a 2nd-5th grader at The Saklan School who loves science, math, coding, and hands-on STEM challenges? If so, your kiddo can join SIGMA—The Saklan STEM Club!

Led by 5th-grade students Benji Spicer-Youakim and Leo Xie, SIGMA meets once a month after school for exciting activities like coding, robotics, engineering challenges, and more! Get ready to tinker, build, experiment, and crack mind-bending challenges—SIGMA is where your STEM adventure begins!

Open to all 2nd – 5th grade Saklan students
Free for all participants
To sign up or learn more email Hector at hdiaz@saklan.org.

All-School Concert Tomorrow!

Saklan students are very excited to share our All-School Concert with you tomorrow, Friday, March 21st, at 4:30 p.m. Students will be dismissed at noon from the Lesher Center and asked to return at 4:00 p.m. in preparation for the performance.

Please note the following details for the day:

  • All Saklan students need to be at the Lesher Center at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow. Parents are asked to park and walk their child directly to their teacher at the backstage entrance on Locust Street.
  • Normal Saklan Bus & Van service will NOT be operating that day. 
  • Students will be dismissed at noon from the Lesher Center.
  • Extended Day will be available until 3:00, but it is recommended that students go home at noon to have some downtime before the concert. Reserve your child’s spot in Extended here.
  • All students are asked to report back to the Lesher Center at 4:00 p.m. dressed in all-black clothing, with the assigned accessory color shown below. 
ClassesAccent Color & Apparel Suggestions
Owlets, Hoot Owls, 3rd, and MS Instrumental EnsembleLight Blue Accent
1st, 2nd, 5th, and MS Music ProductionGreen Accent
Kindergarten, 4th, and MS ChoirOrange and/or Bright Pink Accent

The concert is free and will begin at 4:30 p.m. Family and friends are invited to join us!

Staff Spotlight: Ester

You may already know our K-3rd Spanish teacher and Chile native, Ester Vines, but did you know she loves visiting Mexican ruins and cenotes? Or that she loves spending time in nature and camping? Ester brings her joyful creative energy to all her endeavors at Saklan. In addition to teaching Spanish to our Kinder-3rd grade students three times a week, Ester leads ECE yoga and Lower School creative dance and movement classes as part of our Saklan after school enrichment program. Her creative pursuits don’t end there, Ester is also a talented painter!

How long have you been teaching Spanish at Saklan?

I have been teaching Spanish for 11 years at Saklan.

We know you love nature, camping, and hiking! What hobbies or interests do you like weaving into your Spanish classes?

I like to pass onto my students the love for nature and how important it is to take care of our planet, our home, appreciating our ancestors and their knowledge and wisdom. I love to draw, paint, dance and sing so we do a lot of hands-on projects in my classes, we also sing and sometimes we dance.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to your students as they are learning a second language?

Learning a second language opens many doors to students as they go through life. They can connect to other kids or people and learn about their culture, their way of life, visit ancient ruins, being able to help communities by doing social work, and communicating to them in their language is priceless.

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#SaklanStaff

Student Council Spirit Days 2025

Join the Saklan Student Council in showing your school spirit! All students and teachers are invited to dress up for the following spirit days:

Monday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day – Wear Green

Friday, March 28: Ode to Sweatpants – Wear Sweats

Friday, April 11: Color Out Day – Wear Black

Friday, April 25: Pajama Day – Wear School-Appropriate Pajamas (no slippers please)

Friday, May 2nd: Sports Day – Wear Clothing Representing Your Favorite Team or Sport

Friday, May 16: Funky Fashion Day – Wear Mismatched and Fun Fashion

Participation in these spirit days is optional. If students choose not to dress up, they need to wear their uniforms.

#SaklanSpirit

Ridwell Recycling at Saklan

What do we do with the items that don’t go into the blue recycling or green compost bins? Do they all have to go into the gray landfill bin? At Saklan, the new answer is, “Not anymore!”

Student Council voted to use money they earned from weekly Snack Shack sales to open a school account with the recently formed Ridwell recycling company. Every two weeks, the Ridwell van retrieves plastic chip bags, Ziploc bags, candy wrappers, and even styrofoam!

After the Student Council approved of setting up a full account for our school, Middle School Student Council representative Lucas looked online to find new bins to be placed inside each classroom and near the lunch areas for disposing of waste items collected by Ridwell. These bins are now visible all over campus because they are the same as our school color: Orange!

Every week, two Middle School Student Council members will collect all of the waste from the orange Ridwell bins and consolidate it for sorting into labeled cloth bags provided by Ridwell.

Ridwell delivered their metal collection bin to be placed outside the school’s front gate for biweekly pickups. The friendly driver came by to retrieve our first full bin on March 5th!

But using Ridwell effectively also involves educating everyone here at school about what specific items can go into the Ridwell recycling bins. Student Council Publicity Co-Chairs Haley and Mae designed this poster to inform every member of the Saklan community about which specific items can go into the Ridwell recycling bin. 

On Thursday, members of Student Council also visited the K-5 classrooms to give presentations on what specific items can be recycled using Ridwell.

To learn more about Ridwell, check out this article. To learn more about what can be placed in the orange bins around campus, ask a K-8th grade student!

Fostering Curiosity & Creativity

During March, all Saklan students are focusing on being curious and creative! Students are discussing what it means to show curiosity and creativity, teachers are posing lots of questions for students to ponder, and everyone is working on keeping an open mind when it comes to listening to others or trying new activities.

#SaklanSEL