Category: General

Air Quality

We are well into the fire season, and unfortunately, have already had our first bout of smokey air pass through Moraga. Our response to the smokey air is complicated by COVID protocols as well as the location of the high-quality EPA AQI sensors (Oakland and Concord). While we realize the Purple Air sensors are not as sensitive as the EPA ones, we feel using the sensors near the school is a better choice than relying on the distant EPA sensors. When using the Purple Air app, our menu settings are EPA PM 2.5 AQI combined with the US EPA conversion pull down.

Our protocols for responding to poor air quality are informed by the California EPA guidance. 

We monitor air quality throughout the day and offer these parameters according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) for some school operations:

Moderate (yellow 51-100)

  • Avoid heavy exertion in PE. 
  • Monitor students with sensitivities

Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange 101-150)

  • PE may be held outdoors with little to no physical exertion
  • Outdoor recess will be offered with reduced time and low physical exertion.
  • Preschool, Pre-K move indoors
  • Students with asthma and other respiratory issues should be monitored closely and should stay indoors and not participate in physical activities.

Unhealthy (red 151-200)

  • All physical activities moved indoors – we often use space at the Holy Trinity Church to move outdoor activities inside, including recess and PE.
  • Lunch held indoors.
  • Students with asthma and other respiratory issues should be closely monitored and should not participate in physical activities.

Very Unhealthy (purple 201-300)

  • See “Unhealthy Red”
  • Consider closing schools (COVID-19 considerations might require closing schools)

Hazardous (maroon 301 and above)

  • See “Very Unhealthy Purple”
  • Close School

We hope this brings you more clarity on how Saklan will approach any upcoming days with poor air quality. 

Saklan students participating in indoor activities due to poor air quality.

Saklan has CLAS

Students share appreciations during the first CLAS

Last year gave us time to think about some of the things we have done for years and how to do them better. One of those things is Friday Flag- a long tradition that we have held out in front of School every Friday morning. After conversations with parents, teachers and students, we will be moving to a new Friday morning assembly called CLAS (Community, Learning, Appreciation, and Sharing). 

The impetus to move to CLAS was to emphasize the aspects of Saklan we sincerely appreciate: our community, that love of learning is central to everything we do, that gratitude and appreciation is our lifeblood, and that sharing is how we all grow as individuals. 

CLAS will be held on the Saklan Sports Court every other week. This allows each division to meet on the off weeks and hold assemblies that bring them together as a smaller group; the Saklan Sports Court provides a more protected gathering space. 

Parents are invited to join us for CLAS by entering campus through the fire lane near the church right at 8:30 a.m.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning for our first CLAS! It was so wonderful to see our entire community in the same space and to hear the words of wisdom and appreciations that the students shared with us. Check out pictures from today’s gathering below.

#SaklanCLAS #SaklanCommunity

Saklan’s Annual Art Gallery

Saklan students have been working hard all year with Ms. Natalie, learning about different art mediums and styles and ways to express themselves through art.

The culmination of all that hard work is Saklan’s Online Art Gallery, which launches today. Like last year, the students’ artwork will be displayed on Artsonia, which all Saklan families can access. In addition to viewing art works, you can also comment on different pieces, or purchase commemorative items featuring your child’s artist masterpiece.

Students were able to select for themselves which pieces they wanted to feature in the gallery, continuing the focus on self-expression. We hope you’ll enjoy a taste of these pieces below, but please be sure to browse the full gallery on Artsonia.

A huge thank you to Ms. Natalie for making this happen, and to Kim Anderson and Daisy Coby for helping to photograph all of the student work. We’re so proud of what all of our Saklan artists have accomplished this year!

#SaklanCreative

Call for Library Books

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 two weeks of school, please check in with your student to see if they have any checked out library books, and remind them to return any books before the last day of school.

Ms. Meredith and Ms. Joy will be sending out overdue emails next week, and we appreciate your help in ensuring your student gets their books returned on time. Thank you!

#SaklanCommunity

Saklan Stays Sunny

The good energy and sense of appreciation and joy from Teacher and Staff Appreciate Week is still very much alive at Saklan! This year’s theme of “Here Comes the Sun” resonated with the entire faculty, especially as we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel after a challenging year.

In order to show the Saklan parent community that all their hard work is noticed and appreciated, the Saklan faculty put together a little video to express how we feel. Please enjoy the video here – and thank you again for this year’s incredible Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week! You truly made us feel like the sun is shining once again!

#SaklanAppreciation

Thank You, Parents!

Dear Parents,

First of all, thank you to all parents who helped contribute quotes for the teachers and staff at Saklan. It is so touching to see the thoughtful, sweet, funny things that the students have to say about us. What a lovely reminder of not only how connected we all are, but of how we have no idea what small moment or simple gesture will be meaningful or memorable for a student.

Second of all, thank you to all the parents who brought food all week long to feed us lunch. Summer BBQ Favorites on Monday, Special Family Recipes on Tuesday, World Food Tour from Home on Wednesday, Holiday Favorites on Thursday, and Aloha Breakfast from the Lo Family on Friday – we are full of food and love and appreciation. THANK YOU! Nothing brings more joy for teachers than having lunch prepared for them during the week – we had so many smiling faces. 🙂

Third of all, thank you to the parents who came to help decorate the school over the sweaty weekend! Specifically, thank you to Sandy and Myron Lo, Erin Moorhead, Shannon O’Connor, Lindsay and Huntley Montgomery, and Tara Grammer for taking time out of their Saturday to decorate the school for us. It was so joyful to walk in on Monday morning to see all the sunshine, love, and appreciation greeting us. THANK YOU! It means SO MUCH!

Additional helpers behind the scenes were Eric and Shira Lompa (they donated ALL the printing work via their print shot ScanArt!), Diane Bode, and Eze Wachuku. Thank you!

Last but not least, a special thank you to the Teacher Appreciation Week Committee that helped plan this amazing week of gratitude and goodies: Sandy Lo, Erin Moorhead, Shannon O’Connor, and Lindsay Montgomery. You set the bar high and made this such a memorable week for all of us!

If the past fifteen months have taught us anything, it is how important true connection is and how much we have missed it. The sweet notes, the wonderful food, and the incredible effort brought us not just a sense of appreciation but one of connection. THANK YOU! As we move into next year, we feel loved, appreciated, and connected.

#SaklanConnected

Save the Date!

Our 4th and 5th grade students will be performing Seussical KIDS on Friday, May 28th at 10:30 AM at the outdoor performance space at Joy In Motion. This is right down the street from Saklan, and they will be outdoors at all times.

Each 4th and 5th grade student can bring 2 adult family members. Family groups will be physically distanced six feet apart and must always maintain six feet of physical distance from others. Please bring a lawn chair to sit in and wear well-fitting mask.

Seussical KIDS is great fun for the whole family. We look forward to seeing you all there.

The show will be live streamed for those who can’t attend in person.

#SaklanPerformingArts

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week

From May 10-May 14, Saklan will be celebrating Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. This year has been like none other–both in the challenges faced and the successes achieved–so it feels especially important to celebrate our Saklan teachers, and let them know how much we appreciate the work that they do.

In addition to surprises and celebrations put on by the Saklan Parents Association, we will also mark the occasion with a half-day on Friday, May 14. Please note that this will be a noon dismissal day for students.

Huge thank you to the Parents Association and in particular Sandy Lo for organizing the week’s events. We are all looking forward to a week of appreciation, and showing Saklan teachers just how thankful we are for the work they do!

#SaklanCommunity

Pioneer Day

On Tuesday, April 27, the third grade class traveled back in time to 1888 to experience life as a pioneer student. Each student took on a new identity by choosing an old fashioned name and came to school dressed in their finest pioneer attire.

Mrs. Rokas, with the help of Ms. Meredith and Ms. Joy, brought traditional pioneer activities into her own classroom. The day started in the classroom with the three R’s: reading, writing and arithmetic. Students read from McGuffey Readers (published in 1879), practiced their cursive writing using quill feather pens and ink, and practiced their math on slate boards with chalk. They also had a spelling bee!

During morning recess, students played like pioneers. They walked on can stilts, used jump ropes, and played hopscotch and jacks. Afterwards, they listened to pioneer stories from Ms. Meredith under a shady tree and made some pioneer crafts with Ms. Meredith and Ms. Joy: tin punch art and yarn dolls. 


For lunch, each pioneer student brought authentic pioneer food in baskets, pails or tied to a stick. After lunch, students sang pioneer songs and learned square dancing with Mrs. Chaffey. Next, they made butter in mason jars and tasted the delicious homemade butter on biscuits brought by Kaylah.

The day ended the day with group games: tug-o-war, sack races and three-legged races.  

The third graders really embraced the pioneer spirit and enjoyed their time travel back to 1888! Huge thank you to Mrs. Rokas, Ms. Meredith, and Ms. Joy for bringing this day to life for the third graders!

#SaklanHandsOn