Category: General

A huge thank you to everyone who supported Saklan through financial gifts this year. As a community we have raised $167,716 of the $170,000 we hoped to raise for this year’s Annual Giving Fund (AGF). AGF gifts are tax-deductible donations that allow us to provide the many extras that make Saklan the incredible school that it is: personal attention from dedicated teachers, an engaging curriculum, arts, music, Spanish, STEM, and physical education at all grade levels.

If you haven’t made a gift yet, it’s not too late to contribute! Gifts towards this year’s AGF campaigns will be gratefully accepted through the end of June.

Thank you to everyone who gave so generously to this year’s auction. Our Fiesta raised over $63,700. We are especially grateful to our fund-a-need donors; together you gave:

• $6,900 to Flexible/Collaborative Seating
• $5,800 to the Summer Reflection Fund/Professional Development for Saklan Faculty & Staff
• $15,000 to Media Arts Literacy
• $1,500 to a Water Refill Station on the PS – Kindergarten Playground
• $1,500 to an Indoor Vertical Garden for the Science Lab
• $500 to an All-Weather Library Book Return Station

Your generosity will provide many exciting new opportunities for our students and teachers in the year ahead.

If you are interested in giving to these initiatives it isn’t too late. Fund-a-Need donations will be happily accepted through June 30th. Additionally, all Fund-a-Need gifts at the $100 level are eligible to be matched by the Moorhead Family (meaning your gift will go twice as far!).

On behalf of all of us at The Saklan School, thank you very much for your support.

Saklan’s annual Family Group Field Day took place last Friday afternoon. In their family groups, the 1st to 8th grade students delivered fun and entertaining cheers to a panel of judges (faculty and staff) to start the festivities!

Following the cheers, the family groups faced off against each other as they rotated through the following activities:

• Super Volleyball
• Sponge Relay
• Marbles, Marbles
• Sack Relay
• Charades

Next up was the water-balloon toss! 

Finally, the family groups ended the day on the sports court where the top 3 teams were announced and popsicles were enjoyed by all. It was a terrific day, filled with exemplary sportsmanship, great team spirit, and tons of fun. It was also a great final family group activity for the year, as students were able to showcase their understanding of all the Social Emotional Learning topics they learned this year:

• Accepting
• Growth Mindset
• Compassionate
• Self-disciplined
• Fairness & Equality
• Honest & Trustworthy
• Curious
• Resilient

#SaklanConnected #SaklanFamilyGroups

You are Cordially Invited to Attend

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

10:00 AM on the Saklan Sports Court

We are excited to invite you to a graduation ceremony celebrating the Saklan Class of 2023! This year’s ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 7th at 10:00 a.m. on the Saklan Sports Court. RSVP is requested for those who will be joining us.

Seating: Will begin at 9:45 a.m.

What to Bring: The event is being held outdoors and weather can vary this time of year. Please prepare for potential sun (hats/sunscreen/glasses/water bottle) or for breezier cool weather (sweaters/jackets).

RSVP: Please RSVP by June 1st, 2023.

We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2023 with you!

#SaklanGraduation #Classof2023

As we shared at the beginning of the year, the sixth grade partnered with GotSneakers, an organization that helps keep sneakers out of landfills by recycling and reusing them. Each pair of shoes donated can earn their class money, which they are using to symbolically adopt a species affected by climate change as part of their way to give back.

To date, 12 bags of sneakers have been sent to GotSneakers. Thank you to everyone who helped support this initiative. Your donations have really helped the environment:

• Shoes displaced from landfill: 206
• Carbon Dioxide: 6180 Pounds Displaced
• Water: 464,942 Gallons Saved

It isn’t too late to donate sneakers! The 6th graders will be collecting sneakers through Friday, June 2nd.

#SaklanServiceLearning

During the month of May, all Saklan students are focusing on being resilient! Students are discussing what resiliency means and practicing having a positive attitude and not giving up when faced with challenges.

Later this month, the 1st – 8th graders will showcase their resiliency and teamwork skills when they participate in Family Group Field Day!

#SaklanSEL

On April 11th, Saklan celebrated Earth Day early by doing a service learning project of building wood duck egg boxes. The boxes built will be placed in the wild for wood ducks to use for nesting, hoping to increase survival rates their young.

Additionally, students got to learn about and see several animals from Wildmind, an animal rescue organization. Wildmind shared the stories of Pugsley the turkey vulture, Sonora the grey fox, Taborri the red-tailed hawk, Oscar the opossum, and Sherman the desert tortoise. The goal was to inspire students to help support our beautiful animal kingdom. The students were excited to see the animals and learn their stories, and took away a greater understanding of ways to help support our local animal species.

#SaklanCompassionate

Middle schoolers have been planning and making “textured” ceramic vases that represent a theme, idea or hold personal connection. Students started the unit with an in-depth exploration of the art element of “texture” and how people can react differently, and sometimes strongly, to how different surfaces look and feel. 

Students worked in groups to observe, respond to and research the work of ceramic artists who use texture to create meaning and visual interest in their artwork. After presenting the work and meaning behind their artists to the class, they began to plan their own work. 

Their challenge was to create a themed, functional vase, that a viewer could experience both visually and tacitly. Student themes vary greatly and range from representing objects or items of personal meaning, eliciting strong reactions or feelings from their audience, or wider explorations such as capturing the beauty of natural decay, people’s fears of imperfection, or the passing of time. 

The works in progress are stunning and incredibly well made. Join us on April 21st to see them yourself, as they will be on display at the Spring Art Show. 

#SaklanCreative #SaklanArtShow

All Saklan families and friends are invited to join us for The Saklan School’s Spring Art Show on Friday, April 21st! The event will take place in the Holy Trinity Cultural Center and feature artwork from all of our Preschool – 8th grade students.

We hope you will join us!

#SaklanArtShow #SaklanCreative

During the month of April, all Saklan students are focusing on being curious! Students are discussing what it means to show curiosity, 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

What a wonderful experience to be back at the Lesher Center to watch our students shine with Joy! 

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

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. Thank you also for your support of your students and encouraging them to get up on that stage!

Thank you to Lauren for working with the second and third grade students on the gorgeous backdrop that we got to see during the concert. Thank you for your continued collaboration with teachers, and for the inspiration you ignite in our students.

Thank you to Erin for preparing the Preschool and Pre-K students to be on stage for their first concert at the Lesher Center! The little ones were so excited and brave and shared their joy and love of music with the audience. 

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

Thank you to Ashley, Hector and Isaac for sharing your musical talents and accompanying the students on piano, drums and guitar. Without you, the concert would have been a very different experience.

Thank you to Shay and Emily for behind the scenes work on the program, communication, transportation logistics, ushering duties, securing seats, and filling in all the gaps where they were needed. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Thank you to Daisy Coby for beautifully photographing the concert.

Thank you to Javier for helping set up for rehearsals, for moving instruments all week, for moving artwork, transporting students, and for doing it all with laughter. 

Thank you to Grace for the vision of Joy, for teaching with purpose and for knowing what songs and parts to choose for whom. You create magic on stage and allow students to shine bright. What you do is invaluable and greatly appreciated.