General – Page 33 – FRIDAY BLOG

Collaborative Start to the Year

The first few weeks of each school year are all about developing new routines, making connections with teachers and classmates, and building relationships that will enable the class to work collaboratively throughout the year ahead. During this time, each class works together to create a class agreement (sometimes called class rules). As part of the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching, the agreements are created collaboratively between students and teachers, focusing on what all members of the classroom community can do to help create a calm, orderly and safe environment that promotes academic autonomy.

The agreements will look different for each class, but all are phrased in the positive, offering clear expectations of behavior and how students can live up to those expectations. By including students in the process of creating the agreements, the students are engaged in their learning, feel a sense of belonging and safe in school, and view the rules in a positive light.

Check out some of this year’s class agreements below.

#SaklanSEL

Box Tops for Education

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 Saklan will receive a referral bonus for your participation.

Don’t want to download an app? We will have a basket out at the front gate with the Box Tops logo on it. Drop your receipt in the basket, 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!

Fall Enrichment Classes

The fall session of enrichment classes will begin the week of September 12th and run through December 8th. Classes available this session include: Book Making, Ceramics, Homework Club, and ECE Art. The complete schedule of classes offered this fall is below.

Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, and some classes already have a wait list. To enroll your child in a fall enrichment class, please click on the button below.

#SaklanEnrichment

First CLAS of the Year

Thank you to all of our families who stayed to participate in our first CLAS of 2022-23! What a beautiful way to start the year together, welcoming new families, celebrating birthdays, giving out appreciations, and singing “This Little Light of Mine.” As is Saklan tradition, the 8th grade class ran around the group of students during the last verse of the song, shining their light around the world.

As you hopefully know, CLAS stands for Community, Learning, Appreciations, and Sharing. We look forward to seeing you at future CLAS assemblies, which will showcase more student presentations to the community.

CLAS will be held at 8:30 a.m. on the following Fridays:

September 9th
September 23rd – Parent Coffee to Follow
October 7th
October 21st – Parent Coffee to Follow
November 4th
November 18th – Parent Coffee to Follow
December 2nd – Parent Coffee to Follow
January 13th
January 27th
February 10th – Parent Coffee to Follow
February 24th
March 10th – Parent Coffee to Follow
March 24th
April 21st
May 12th – Parent Coffee to Follow
May 26th
June 2nd – Parent Coffee to Follow

We hope you can join us!

Back to School BBQ

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Monday for Saklan’s Back to School BBQ Social. We were delighted to host this beloved event once again!

It was so nice to see all the smiling faces and feel the positive energy of the 300+ attendees. This was the best attended BBQ to date, and a wonderful way to kick off the new year!

Thank you to the PA for setting up the Uniform Exchange, helping attendees make name tags, and helping us build community through volunteer opportunities. Additionally, thank you to everyone who volunteered to help with community events this year.

#SaklanCommunity

Legally Blonde Jr.

On Thursday, May 19th, the Saklan Middle School students presented Legally Blonde Jr., their final collaborative project of the year for Music class. The show was fun and funny while dealing with serious topics, including: stereotypes, snap judgements, and what it truly means to be yourself without fear.

The middle schoolers had multiple conversations about the play, coming to understand the material on the deepest level and performing it in a way that allowed both themselves and the audience to experience the joy of Elle’s story.

A big thank you to Mrs. Chaffey for helping the students to gain a deeper understanding of the show’s material and providing them with a safe space to explore who they are, or even who they might want to become. Her caring guidance of the students through the production process allowed the students to truly understand the message that Elle gives us: “even if I crash and burn ten times a day, I’m going to find my way.”

Thank you to Mr. Javier for getting the stage and set pieces together and to Ms. Christina, Mr. E, and Ms. Lauren for serving as stagehands.

Additionally, thank you to all of the parents and teachers who made the production possible.

And of course, thank you to all the middle school students. Their hard work to bring Legally Blonde Jr. to the stage was evident. The show came together well and was so much fun!

#SaklanCourageous #SaklanCreative

Library Book Round Up

The end of the year is approaching fast, which means students are running out of time to return library books! As we head into the last week and a half of school, please check in with your student to see if they have any library books at home. Ms. Meredith and Ms. Joy request that all Saklan Library books be returned by next Friday, June 3rd.

Ms. Meredith will be sending out emails next week, detailing which books each student still has checked out. We appreciate your help in ensuring your student gets their books returned on time. Thank you!

#SaklanLibrary

Celebrating Mrs. C

Earlier this week, we announced the retirement of our beloved Mrs. C (Karen Catanzarite). From Preschool teacher and ECE Director to Kindergarten teacher, Karen has been an integral part of Saklan’s success for almost two decades. We know there are many families whose lives she has touched, and we’d love to extend an opportunity for them to send a note of appreciation/congratulations to Mrs. C from afar. To that end, we have created a kudoboard where anyone can add a message for Mrs. C to read and keep forever. We know as parents that it’s hard to forget your child’s first teachers. Please take a moment to share a memory or thought for Mrs. C as she begins this transition.

Additionally, if you have any pictures of your child/children with Mrs. C, we would love for you to share them with us. Please email pictures to Emily at ewilliamson@saklan.org.

We love you, Mrs. C! Thank you for all you have done for Saklan.

Creative Saklan Students

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Art Show! It was a fantastic event, showcasing the creativity and hard work of all Saklan students.

Thank you to Ms. Lauren for making the Art Show a reality. Her expert guidance of the students through the art making process, helping them to explore their creativity and express themselves, was evident in the art. We also appreciate the time she took to organize the art, determine the placement on the boards, create the scavenger hunts for the students, and take care of all the other details that made the event a success!

Thank you to the volunteers who helped set up and prepare for the event. Amy Schofield, Saphierrina Sutherland, Elizabeth Stoltzfus, Lucy Luo, Amy Perkins, and Bob McClain, thank you for sharing your time and energy to bring the Art Show to life.

Thank you to the Saklan teachers and staff for their help in getting ready for the Art Show, guiding their students through the event, and helping with clean up at the end of the day.

Thank you to the Saklan students for sharing their work with us. The time and detail that went into each of the pieces was evident, as well as their propensity to think creatively!

#SaklanCreativity

Thank You, Saklan Families

Thank you, Saklan families, for a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week! It was a week full of warm messages, Saklan swag, and delicious food. You definitely made all of the Saklan teachers and staff feel like stars!

We enjoyed tasting your family recipes! Each day of the week featured at least 14 appetizers, main courses and desserts. From ‘Crockpot Cookout’, ‘Holiday Faves in May’ to ‘Special Family Recipes’ there wasn’t a day when any of us left feeling hungry!

The messages the students left for all of us on the Kudoboards were so heartfelt and made us feel seen and appreciated. Thank you to all the parents who worked with your kiddos to help share their thoughts and for sharing your own words of thanks.

From our own Walk of Fame, red carpet and stars hanging in the entryway, to swag bags and our own step and repeat screen, it was certainly a week full of star-studded activities!