Category: Head’s Corner

Dear Saklan Community,

This has been a week of surprises. First of all, we had Nicholas Di Sessa (5th) winning the cross country meet at the Lafayette Reservoir, beating a field of about 40 students from four independent schools. Nick was one of the youngest contestants as this was mostly a middle school event. Standing at the finish line waiting for the runners to come around the 2.7 mile circuit, my jaw literally dropped when I saw Nick flying towards me with no other runner anywhere near him. Nick was hardly sweating!

Then there was the result of the presidential election. Another jaw-dropping moment. The months that have led up to the election and the final results have shaken many and have brought into question many core values. On Wednesday morning many faculty, staff and older students came to school distraught, confused and fearful for the future of the environment, a compassionate and inclusive society, and civil discourse to name a few.  Discussions have been happening both in and out of the classrooms and this is appropriate in light of such a historic moment. We must allow our students to speak their minds and at the same time assuage fears as much as possible, and ultimately reflect on the fact that we saw democracy in action. It is also important to revisit our mission as a school and to underline the core values, in particular respect and kindness, which we have been talking about since the start of school. No matter what our political affiliation may be, we know that as educators we have an important role to play in helping to make sense of what has happened, and to uphold our values and each other.

In order to start our Thanksgiving Holiday on a positive and happy note, we will be putting on our Fall Follies next Friday starting at 10:00AM at the Willow Springs auditorium. This is one of those Saklan not-to-be missed events. Next Friday will also be the last day of the first trimester. I am always amazed by how fast the school year moves along and how much we are able to pack into such a short time frame. Report cards come out on the Friday after the holiday. Different from past years, all report cards will go out in the mail.

Have a great long weekend!

Peter

Dear Saklan Community,

The big event of this week was undoubtedly the Halloween and Harvest Festival on Monday. This is the first time that we have put on this event and it was tremendously successful by all accounts. This event was sponsored by our Student Council and our students played a big role in running many of the activities. A big thank you to Kim Parks, who is our Student Council Advisor, to Hoot Owl parent Sarah Gray, who helped organize and marshal the efforts of our parents, and to all of the faculty, staff and parent volunteers who helped in many ways. Of the many activities that were organized, the haunted house was as big a hit as ever. The costume parade and competition was fun and colorful and our students enjoyed dressing up in unique and creative costumes.

Our Lower School students had fun going to the Aegis and Moraga Royale assisted living homes and singing their Halloween songs. And finally, the middle school deck was turned into a spooky disco which attracted students of all ages and parents as well. Here is what some of our students liked about the Harvest Festival:

Milo (Grade 3) – I liked the haunted house because it was scary and I got candy.

Natalie (Hoot Owl) – I liked the Frankenstein Bat in the Cave game.

Brooke (Grade 4) – I liked the dance party because the music was loud.

Sophia (Grade 5) – I liked the Harvest Festival because it wasn’t too chaotic.

Skyler (Hoot Owl) – I liked making the cookies.

Ysa (Grade 6) – I liked the freedom to go where you wanted, and the games were fun and creative.

Ruby (Grade 2) – I liked the mummy race because they wrapped me up in streamers.

Abby (Grade 6) – I liked the costume contest.

Chloe (Grade 3) – I liked the scary bowling because I like bowling.

Meera (Grade 5) – I liked everything because it was awesome.

In two weeks we will have our Fall Follies. It will be held at the Willow Springs auditorium and will start at 10:00. In the occasion of the Fall Follies, we will also launch our new website. I look forward to a big crowd on November 18 to experience this fun showcase of Saklan talent.

Have a great weekend!

Peter

Dear Saklan Community,

Today we are launching the new version of the Friday Blog. Congratulations to our Communications Manager, Emoke V, who has been working on a number of important projects lately, one of which is creating a new look and feel for our Friday Blog. Even more exciting will be the launch of our new website on November 18^th. To celebrate the conclusion of this major project, we will officially launch our new Saklan website at the Fall Follies. This is another reason to not miss this fun event.

Starting next week, the first Friday of each month will be Spirit Day. All Saklan students can wear any of their Saklan t-shirts instead of the normal uniform top. New Saklan t-shirts were given out for the Walnut Creek parade and will be available for purchase shortly.

At this morning’s flag, which was unfortunately rained out, we had planned to present a total of 241 iKind pledges to Mr. Wendell Baker of the Moraga iKind Committee. Hopefully, we will be able to make this presentation at the next Flag. All Saklan students, staff, faculty, and some parents made a pledge earlier this year to promote and value kindness, treat all people with respect, show compassion and honesty, and demonstrate courage to be kind to each other. The Moraga iKind project was a perfect match for our own Social Emotional Learning program and we focused on Kindness as our first theme and family Group session. I was also pleased to learn that the Moraga iKind Project is offering the community a free showing of the movie “Screenagers” on Tuesday, November 1^st at 7 PM at Campolindo High School. The Saklan faculty has recently seen this movie and we highly recommend it to all parents and students in grades 5 and up. The movie addresses many issues that have a great impact on school and learning. Here is a summary of what the movie deals with:

SCREENAGERS probes into the vulnerable corners of family life to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.

Yesterday we sent out a note about our lost and found situation which is becoming critical. Following some good suggestions, and the fact that Flag was cancelled today, we will put all of the lost and found articles out on Monday in front of the school when we have the Harvest Festival. Please come and search for any lost clothing. We will also put them out at next Friday’s Flag.

Finally, I have noticed a trend lately of cars parking at the side of the drive-through lane. This is impacting the flow of traffic and also presents a safety concern. I would kindly ask that parents waiting for students park on the road or in the parking lot across the street which is available for the use of the school.

Have a great weekend!

Peter