Category: General

March 4 is almost here! You’re invited to our swanky and swell auction gala party! And to help raise funds for Saklan students and teachers.

It’s coming up quick! So, make your list and check it twice for An Evening in Old Hollywood beyond compare:

• Receive my invitation. Check.
• Pull out my flapper dress from the back of the closet. Or my cocktail dress. Check.
• Go online to buy my tickets and sponsor a teacher. Check.
• Drop off my bottle of premier wine at school or the bus stops: Jan 30 – Feb 3. Check.
• Buy 10 Vacation Raffle Tickets for $100 and the chance to win a week at the Catamaran Resort in San Diego. Check.
• Buy a Teacher Appreciation Raffle Ticket for 3 (or more) of my favorite teachers. Check.
• Buy an Instant Wine Cellar Raffle Ticket for $100—only 52 cards will be sold. Check.
• Go online to learn more about this ritzy adults-only night in Old Hollywood. Check!

5^th Annual Vacation Raffle Drawing: One week at the Catamaran Resort, San Diego, CA

Join us for this informative talk with therapist and author, Dr. Erica Reischer. Erica will present highly useful parenting advice from her best selling book, “What Great Parents Do: 75 Simple Strategies for Raising Kids Who Thrive.”

Erica Reischer, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, speaker, and parent educator. Dr. Reischer’s writing about children and families appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The Greater Good Science Center, and The Atlantic.

Dr. Reischer earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Psychology / Human Development, and is an honors graduate of Princeton University. A former consultant with McKinsey & Company, she sits on the advisory board for Happy Healthy Kids and continues to lead popular parenting classes at schools and organizations such as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Habitot Children’s Museum, and University of California.

Wednesday, February 15

7:30 – 9:00PM

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church

RSVP

Please Make Your Annual Giving Fund Gift Today!

Thank you to current parents who have donated or pledged so generously to date. We are at 60% participation overall and are inching our way towards our goal of 100% participation by all families.

Over the next 12 days, we will be contacting you if you have not yet pledged or donated to this year’s Annual Giving Fund. When you receive that call or email, please consider making a pledge or a gift that is significant for your family.

Every gift is important because it is a gift of participation and support for our Saklan students. Let’s “Build Our Future Together” by the January 31 deadline.

Friday, January 27

9:00-11:00AM

Willow Spring Church

Join us for this informative talk with therapist and author, Dr. Erica Reischer. Erica will present highly useful parenting advice from her best selling book, “What Great Parents Do: 75 Simple Strategies for Raising Kids Who Thrive.”

Erica Reischer, Ph.D. is a psychologist, author, speaker, and parent educator. Dr. Reischer’s writing about children and families appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, The Greater Good Science Center, and The Atlantic.

Dr. Reischer earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Psychology / Human Development, and is an honors graduate of Princeton University. A former consultant with McKinsey & Company, she sits on the advisory board for Happy Healthy Kids and continues to lead popular parenting classes at schools and organizations such as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Habitot Children’s Museum, and University of California.

Wednesday, February 15

7:30 – 9:00PM

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church

RSVP

We are excited to announce that your invitations for our 2017 Annual Auction are on their way!

“An Evening in Old Hollywood”  will be a step back in time to the glamour of 1920’s Hollywood, as well as being an evening where you just might hear the silliest sayings ever!

Saturday, March 4, will be our PARENTS NIGHT OUT annual fundraiser to bring our community together for the sake of raising funds that will support our students, teachers, and programs.

We look forward to you joining us for a hotsy-totsy time!

Dear Saklan Community,

Many thanks to all the parents, Board members, faculty and staff that came to our Envisioning Round Table last Friday led by Robert Miller and I. We had a good turnout with 21 participants representing a cross section of the school community. In well over an hour of discussion and sharing of ideas, we generated a list of things which would be important to consider in looking at the future of the school over the next five to ten years. The Parent Association is planning further discussion around envisioning at the Family Night at Fuddruckers in Walnut Creek on January 22^nd, so if you couldn’t make it to the round table last Friday, you still have a chance to get involved in the discussion. The ideas from these sessions will be looked at by our Board and Community Committee and we will talk about the results at our Town Hall on January 27^th at 9:00AM.

Students in Pre-K through 5^th Grade will get a true taste of the future on Thursday, January 19^th when we will have Moving-Up Day. This involves students spending some time in the next grade level, and meeting and interacting with their future teacher. It will be a fun event and will allow students to get a small taste of what is to come and also let our faculty see what great students are on the horizon.

Our SEL theme for the month of January is perseverance. One of the best ways to develop this skill is through goal-setting. This fits in well with the start of the new year and the tradition of setting goals or resolutions for the new year. This past week our students have been working in their classrooms on setting goals and discussing on ways to track their goals. Our faculty committee that have been working on this theme, made up of Sam Prestianni, Carly Russavage and Lisa Rokas, have come up with many great materials and graphic organizers for our faculty and students to use, and will be creating the Family Group lesson which will take place on January 27^th.

When we talk about perseverance, we often also talk about grit. When students persevere for a goal with passion and over time, that is called grit. This has been a hot topic in parenting and education, and I encourage you to have a look at Angela Lee Duckworth’s outstanding TED talk titled, “Grit: the power of passion and perseverance.” Angela, who taught 7th grade math in New York City public schools, came to the realization that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. In her talk and book of the same title, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.

On February 15th, our Parent Association will be offering our community an outstanding parent talk given by Dr. Erica Reischer, author of the book, “What Great Parents Do.” This will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lafayette at 7:30PM. Make sure you get this on your calendar.

Remember that Monday is a holiday.

Have a great long weekend!

Peter

Many heartfelt thanks to our parents, grandparents, teachers, and trustees who have donated or pledged to date. Together, we have raised $76,000 (and building!)

It is important for every family to contribute regardless of financial means. Outside foundations and major donors like to see high participation rates from parents, teachers, and trustees, so they can believe that their investment in Saklan will grow with the investments made by others.

Every gift is important and needed. Please send in your pledge HERE by January 31, while planning to fulfill your commitment by April 1, 2017.

OR please donate online HERE today.  Thank you very much!