Category: General

Democracy is alive here at The Saklan School! Thirteen Middle School students announced their candidacy for one of six Student Council offices this year. The election took place on October 13th after a vigorous and exciting two-week campaign. 

Earning a seat as a Student Council officer involves more than simply winning the popular vote. Each candidate had to submit a Letter of Intent, make two campaign posters, sit for an interview conducted by Jennifer Lettieri and Kim Parks, and share slogans and stickers with the Lower School students during lunch recess.

The culmination of their campaign was their speech at CLAS before balloting took place in grades 1 through 8. Candidates were awarded points for timeliness and quality when carrying out each of these tasks, and the candidates with the most points were the winners.

Lower School Student Council representatives were selected by their respective homeroom teachers in grades 1-5. 

Congratulations to our 2023-2024 Student Council members!

Middle School Officers

• President – Nikko
• Vice President – Eleanor
• Activities Chairs – Skyler and Braden
• Treasurer – Jack Z
• Publicity Chair – Aliya
• Secretary – Madeline

Lower School Representatives

• Grade 1 – Olin and Satya
• Grade 2 – Sophie and Max
• Grade 3 – Reva and Teddy
• Grade 4 – Airlie and Cassy
• Grade 5 – Elyse and Cade

Saklan’s 23-24 Annual Giving Fund (AGF) officially begins next Tuesday, October 24th with Orange Envelope Day! All Saklan families are invited to join us in celebrating Orange Envelope Day by dropping off the orange envelope and donor form that was mailed to you in the orange box in front of Saklan.

Thank you to those who have already made a gift. Below are important things to know about Saklan’s AGF.

What is the AGF?

The Annual Giving Fund is Saklan’s yearly fundraising drive that raises money to support the amazing people and programs that make Saklan special.

Why do we have it? 

Saklan relies on the generous support of the community to create such a vibrant place for children to learn and develop. AGF gifts support things such as science lab equipment, professional development for faculty and staff, tuition assistance, field experiences and guest experts.

Is there a Goal?

This year, our goal as a school is to have 100% of families participate and raise $175,000 by December 1. Join us by making a gift that is personally meaningful to you. For some families that may be $20, while for others that may be $20,000. 

How can I make a gift?

You can make an AGF gift via the following methods:

• Cash or a Check payable to The Saklan School
• Online using a Credit Card – The online platform gives you the option to set up recurring payments that allow you to pay for your donation over several months. 
• Invoiced through the Saklan Business Office.

Have questions about Saklan’s AGF? Feel free to reach out to Emily at ewilliamson@saklan.org.

Thank you for your support of Saklan.

#SaklanCommunity #SaklanAGF

The 2024-2025 admissions season has officially begun! Saklan has several events planned to help prospective families get a better understanding of our programs and philosophy:

• Middle School Open House: Friday, October 13th, 8:30am
• Lower School Open House: Wednesday, October 18th, 9am
• Middle School Open House: Friday, November 10th, 8:30
• Preschool/Pre-K Open House: Wednesday, November 15th, 2:15pm
• Kindergarten Info Session: Wednesday, November 29th, 9am
• The Parent Perspective Parent Panel: Friday, December 1st, 12pm
• Lower School Open House: Wednesday, December 6th, 12pm

All prospective and current parents are invited to attend these events. Feel free to invite friends or family members to join these events as well.

We encourage Pre-K families to join one of our K-5 Open Houses and for our 5th grade families to join one of our Middle School Open Houses, to see what’s ahead during your child’s experience at Saklan.

If you can’t join us for one of the events listed above but are interested in learning more about Saklan, we will gladly give individual tours at a mutually convenient time. To schedule a tour or more about the admissions process, please reach out to the Saklan Admissions Office at admissions@saklan.org.

In October, Saklan’s social-emotional learning emphasis is to be creative.

During this month, all Saklan students are discussing what it means to be creative and looking for ways to showcase their creativity. On Wednesday, October 25th, the first – eighth graders will meet with their family groups and take part in cross-grade level discussions and activities to gain an even greater understanding of being creative.

#SaklanSEL

On Tuesday, September 26th, the Saklan first through eighth graders were very excited to meet with their family groups for the first time this year! During the meeting, the students in each group introduced themselves and shared a few of their favorite things. Next, each group had a discussion of what it means to be inclusive and why it is important that we are inclusive, including to help others them feel comfortable and to make friends. Each family then played a game to help them learn something new about everyone in their group, as sometimes its hard to be inclusive when you don’t know much about each other.

The 8th graders then explained to their family group that as they go through the year together, they are a group made up of awesome individuals and they each bring their own strengths to the group. Some may have amazing sports or singing talents. Some maybe be amazing observers or great listeners. These strengths make them a great team, and throughout the year, the group leaders will ask all family members to share their own perspectives.

Each member of the group was then given a puzzle piece to draw or decoratively write one way they have felt included at Saklan. These puzzle pieces were then all put together, with their family group name written on top. Check out their puzzles (and names) below!

#SaklanSEL #SaklanCommunity

Does your family purchase Cheerios, Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies, or Blue Buffalo pet food? If so, you can turn those purchases (and more) into money for Saklan through the Box Tops for Education program. Box Tops for Education is a quick and easy way to support Saklan!

Wondering how it works? All you have to do is buy participating products and use the Box Tops app to scan your store receipt. The app identifies eligible products and earnings are credited to your designated school. Even if you’re shopping online or doing grocery pickup, you can still submit your digital or email receipt with the Box Tops app.

Use this link to download the Box Tops app and get started scanning today!

Don’t want to download an app? Turn your receipts into the front office, and a member of the Saklan admin team will use the app to scan it for you. After scanning with the app, all receipts will be shredded.

Thank you for your support of Saklan!

Thanks to the generous gifts made by Saklan families, grandparents, staff and alums to the Annual Giving Fund and Auction, Saklan has been able to make numerous facilities upgrades, expand our curricular offerings, and provide a more collaborative environment for our students. To get a better idea of what the funds from each fundraising campaign support and how you can get involved, please read below.

Annual Giving Fund

Each fall Saklan conducts an Annual Giving Fund (AGF) campaign, which supports all of the things that make Saklan the incredible school that it is, including: personal attention from dedicated teachers; an engaging, hands-on curriculum; arts, music, Spanish, STEM, and physical education at all grade levels. 

Funds raised from last year’s AGF campaign were also used to purchase a new Saklan Van, allowing for a greater number of field experiences throughout the year. Additionally, AGF funds helped fund some of the campus upgrades over the summer, including the new turf by the main entrance. Thank you to all our donors for making these items possible!

Saklan will kick-off the 23-24 AGF on Tuesday, October 24th with Orange Envelope Day. Stay tuned for more info!

Saklan’s Auction

Saklan’s auction is an adults-only, community building event that features a silent auction, games, food, drinks, a live auction, and tons of fun! Proceeds from the event are invested directly into your children’s educational experiences. Saklan parents, alumni, friends, faculty and staff are invited to come together in celebration of our wonderful school community on April 26, 2024. 

Funds raised during last year’s auction provided for:

• New collaborative furniture in the 5th grade classroom and in the outdoor learning space behind the 1st – 4th grade classrooms
• An all-weather library book return station
• An indoor vertical garden in the science lab
• Media arts literacy equipment and programming
• A water refill station on the PS – K play yard
• 3 Saklan teachers to attend the Broadway Teachers Workshop

Thank you to our generous donors for helping us transform our campus and provide greater opportunities for our students.

Auction Meeting

The first Auction Meeting of the year is next Friday, September 15th following CLAS. Meet us in the Pavilion to help plan this year’s event.

Want to help with the event but can’t make the meeting? Email Emily at ewilliamson@saklan.org and let her know. 

Thank you for your support of The Saklan School.

Each month Saklan focuses on a different Social Emotional Learning (SEL) topic, incorporating it into lessons and discussions from Preschool through eighth grade.

Saklan’s social-emotional learning emphasis for August and September is to be inclusive. During these two months, all Saklan students are discussing what it means to be inclusive and looking for ways to include others, such as by using kind words and sharing.

On Tuesday, September 26th, the first – eighth graders will meet with their family groups and take part in cross-grade level discussions and activities to gain an even greater understanding of being inclusive.

#SaklanSEL