The Kindergarteners have been busy learning about subtraction. This week, the children played Subtraction Bowling by lining up objects found around their home then using a ball to knock down or take away objects. The Kindergarteners then wrote their equation. Strike!
#SaklanDistanceLearning
Dear Saklan Community,
It’s (virtual) book fair time!! Need to escape your life without leaving your house? Tired of reading the same book to your children night after night after night? Then head on over to https://www.rakestrawbooks.com/
Rakestraw Books is an independent bookstore in Danville, CA and they are hosting Saklan’s (virtual) book fair. They have literally thousands of titles, suitable for children and adults of all ages.
IMPORTANT: To order, simply fill your shopping cart with as many books as you want, then put the word “Saklan” in the coupon code box and click “apply to order.” This is the only way for Saklan to get credit for your order.
You filled your cart? You put Saklan in the coupon code box? Okay, now click “checkout.” At checkout, you will have two shipping options: Standard Shipping (this amount will change depending on how much you order) and a 99 cent pickup option.
IMPORTANT: The 99 cent pickup option only appears if your order is over $25. If your order is under $25 and you wish to use the 99 cent pickup option, please put PICKUP in the comments section. Your total will be manually adjusted once it is received by the bookstore.
Once a week, or once every other week depending on how many orders we get, all “pickup” orders will be picked up from Rakestraw and taken to Saklan. You will get an email telling you your order is ready for pickup and you are then free to come by Saklan at your leisure and pick up your new goodies.
Please share the virtual book fair with friends and family members! Saklan will receive 10% credit for all orders placed between now and the end of the school year so the more people who order the more Saklan will benefit. Just remember, you must write SAKLAN in the coupon code box for Saklan to benefit.
In the next couple of weeks, we will also be releasing teacher and library wish lists. These will be lists that the Saklan faculty (teachers and specialists) and library association would love to have for their classroom or available for checkout. All books purchased from this list, by Saklan community members, will be donated directly to the teacher (or library) for use in his or her classroom. You are welcome to buy books from any teacher’s wish list; you are not restricted to purchasing books only from your child’s current teacher’s wish list.
As the academic year comes to a close, we will also be sending out suggested summer reading lists. With the libraries closed indefinitely, purchasing some books from these lists will be a great way to round out our book fair and give your children some great summer reads.
Questions or comments? Feel free to contact Tara (aka Kaylah’s Mom) at jade4037@gmail.com.
Thank you!
#SaklanBookFair
“Scott and I feel extremely lucky to have Katerina and our family join The Saklan School, even with all that is happening now. We joke that we were homeschooling this year while trying to find the right school, and once we choose schools for both girls [Katerina was in school for less than 2 weeks (officially 4.5 days)!!], we somewhat feel we are back where we were. However, we are NOT in the same place as before because our girls are connected with their teachers and classmates and feel a sense of class social connection. Both schools have risen far above any other school we have heard about in the nation. We are quite proud of The Saklan School in how it immediately stepped up and transitioned into distant learning. I love how a lot of elements are included that I didn’t think were possible (scavenger hunts that lead to laughter, group games in Spanish, daily subject meetings on top of the class meetings, etc). We are extremely grateful.
Today, Penelope, our youngest, created an outside classroom for her and Katerina. It is under our back tree on our lawn. It was even a haven for our pets as well as they joined in school when they chose. It is dreamy, but it doesn’t replace the classroom at Saklan. We look forward to our world being healthier and safer so we can rejoin the wonderful school we just joined!” – Saklan Parent
Please take a moment to share with us your thoughts on how things have gone so far with distance learning, what we have done well, what we could do better and how we can better support your family. Email us at feedback@saklan.org.
#SaklanDistanceLearning
Today, we had about 15 parents show up at our Parents Association Virtual Coffee centered around the topic of ‘Sharing Our Home Solutions to Distance Learning.’ You know how these things can go sometimes, the session was more an opportunity for people to share what they were struggling with when it comes to distance learning. And while there were many positives that came out of the conversation, reading the struggles brought a weird sense of comfort. We are not in this alone.
Here are a few of the more common things our families are grappling with:
I am not sure if sharing this list solves any of the issues, but I do hope that it makes us feel maybe just a touch closer to those we used to see so often.
Warm regards,
David
#SaklanDistanceLearning
Fusion Academy
Invites You to Attend Our Virtual Event
Short on time and energy, but still need parenting support techniques?
The 20 Minute Timeout speaker series is the perfect solution!
Join us as we virtually host Beth Samuelson for 20 minutes of tips on how to support your child’s executive functioning and focus during the age of distance learning. She will show you how to implement new routines while putting old ones on hold and overcome the anxiety that comes with it. So parents, take a break and put yourself on timeout so that you can take the time out to learn how to make your life a little easier at home!
What To Expect:
20 Minute Presentation
10 Minute Q&A
Join Us
Tuesday April 14th
2:30 pm PST
Via Zoom
RSVP Below!
Click Here to let us know you’ll be joining us.
Attendees will receive the zoom link the day before this virtual event!
About Our Speaker, Beth Samuelson
Beth Samuelson’s work in educating and supporting teens, young adults, and parents spans more than 25 years, including the development of the unique SOS4Students model of one-to-one student coaching as well as workshops, advocacy, teacher training, parent workshops, and on-site school programs.
Beth is the founder and director of SOS4Students, and works primarily with teens. Students with ADD, learning disabilities, and executive functioning challenges are amongst those who have found academic success utilizing Beth’s techniques.
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Please join FCD Prevention Works for an upcoming two-part webinar series Healthy Adults for Healthy Kids: Self-Care and Modeling in the Time of COVID-19 |
| As a prevention organization, FCD Prevention Works understands the power of global COVID-19 prevention efforts. We also recognize that, in the face of drastically altered schedules and daily routines, this can be a difficult time to maintain healthy habits, for adults and especially for teens.
Join FCD Prevention Works’ Prevention Specialists as they discuss how your healthy adult behavior can continue to be a protective factor against risky teen choices in this upcoming webinar series. Webinar One: Adult Self-Care for Healthy Kids Topics will include: · What is self-care? · Self-care and substance use: myths and realities · Adaptable self-care for the “new normal” · Teaching age-appropriate self-care to kids that protects them from substance use · How to start healthy habits now that will apply to healthy teens later Webinar Two: Healthy Adult Role Modeling for Healthy Kids Topics will include: · How to model and encourage daily protective factors against teen substance use · Resiliency tips that teens can apply now and later · Making stress management a routine · Teachable prevention moments within a family’s “new normal” · The power of authenticity and effective parent-child communication We invite school adults to share this invitation with any parents or caretakers they think may benefit from these sessions. |
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#SaklanDistanceLearning
Dear Saklan Community,
As you may be aware, seven Bay Area counties, including Contra Costa County, announced on March 25th that they have made a unified decision to extend school closures through May 1st, 2020 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible.
The Saklan School will also follow this recommended timeline with the hope that we may be able to return to campus on Monday, May 4th. While we were prepared for this extension, it is still hard to realize we will be off-campus for a longer period of time. Our decision to reopen campus to in-person teaching will be made after carefully considering information provided by county and state officials. Until then, we are prepared to find new and creative ways to stay connected to one another and learn together.
We will be in touch in the coming weeks with more updates. Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding as we navigate this challenging situation. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Stay Well,
David
#SaklanDistanceLearning
Dear Saklan Community,
We hope your family is staying healthy and you are adapting to our new normal. We understand the stress the closure of Saklan and the shelter-in-place order has made on families’ lives. We know that many of you have been juggling working at home, caring for parents, and now you are needed to increase the support given to educating your child.
We also realize that our teachers and staff are going through the same challenges. With that in mind, as the Saklan Board of Trustees, we would like to extend our most profound appreciation to all Saklan faculty and staff for the hard work each has put into making the speedy and smooth transition to distance learning. Moving from an approach of in-person teaching to distance learning has required the reworking of lesson plans and learning several new platforms in a matter of two days. We are genuinely impressed with the pivot.
As a board and as parents, we are so grateful to have such dedicated teachers and staff who bring familiarity and a sense of stability into our students’ lives despite the unprecedented events in this time of uncertainty.
We want to thank them for their unwavering dedication and commitment to our students’ education.
Please stay healthy until we reopen our campus to welcome back our students and community.
Geri Buhl and Toshie Baba
Saklan Board of Trustee 2019-2020 Co-Chairs
#SaklanCompassionate
Dear Saklan Community,
In my letter on Wednesday of this week I mentioned that while the closing of the campus was a remote possibility, it was less remote than the week before. I did not foresee that I would be writing this particular letter two days later, but here I am.
As of Monday, March 16th, the campus will be closed in order to keep our students safe as well as help slow the spread of Coronavirus. On Monday and Tuesday, teachers and staff will be training and working to get ready to use distance learning tools. By Wednesday we will begin to deliver our curriculum remotely. While it will look different at each grade level, we will be holding classes remotely and will be expecting students to engage and participate in classes online. We are planning on returning to campus on April 6th after Spring Break.
I realize that keeping students home during the school year is disruptive and can be difficult for families. As a community, I am hoping we can help each other. If you find yourself in a situation regarding child care or anything else, please use our PA Facebook page to reach out for help.
More information from teachers about distance learning will be sent out by Monday. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.
Warm regards,
David
#SaklanDistanceLearning
Saklan is proud to announce that Hoot Owl Teacher, Traci McMillan, has been appointed as our Early Childhood Director. She fills some pretty big shoes as Mrs. C has stepped aside after 11 years of exceptional leadership.
Traci became interested in teaching while working with three Bay Area art based non-profits. MOCHA (Museum of Children’s Art), San Francisco Children’s Art Center and Precita Eyes Muralists. She enjoyed how free and uninhibited children became when creating art and was inspired by their creativity, fearlessness, and originality. It was working with those nonprofits that she began to view art as a means for children to learn self-expression and build community.
Traci is not only inspired by children, but by two educational giants, Aristotle and Maria Montessori. Aristotle’s famous quote, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” This is Traci’s guiding principle of the importance of balancing the social-emotional with the academic. From Montessori, Traci takes to heart the fact that when students have a hand in directing their own learning they become independent and collaborative.
Saklan is lucky to have found in Traci an educational leader that is both talented and inspiring. We look forward to many years of her guidance and inspiration.
#SaklanEarlyChildhood
FRIDAY BLOG 
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