Category: Middle School

Communications Best Practices: Accountability & Self-Advocacy

Mr. P and Ms. Natalie combined both 8th grade Advisories for a couple weeks to give the students the opportunity to have some fun while flexing their communications skills and learning personal accountability and self-advocacy.

The central idea in middle school and in the activity booklet (linked below) is student empowerment. As you can see in the diagrams in the booklet, when the student is in the driver’s seat on the communications highway of students, parents, and teachers, well… that’s where the money is!

During this exercise, small student groups brainstormed then acted out scenarios for various common types of communications that happen in middle school. For example, taking responsibility in class or self-advocating in interactions with teachers at school or with parents at home. We then recorded the student roleplays, and we’re now watching and reflecting on them as an 8th grade community while celebrating the kids’ creativity, compassion, and courage in making these videos — first thing in the morning, no less.

Evy, Elena and Isabel

The video presented here is one of a number of very sweet snapshots illustrating respectful, responsible student-to-student communications in social situations. We’re super proud of our 8th graders and their enthusiastic embrace of these essential life skills.

Activity BookletDownload

#SaklanAdvisory

Saklan Happy

In an effort to do a little something fun with our Friday Flag, we asked families to create their own version of Happy by Pharrell Williams. This video certainly made everyone smile and happy this morning!

Special thanks to Noah M. (8th grade) for putting the video together!

#SaklanHappy

Cha-Cha Slide

According to the interweb, the “Cha-Cha Slide” was developed as a fitness routine in the Chicago area in 1996. David Wilson was looking for a new routine for his aerobics class. He went to his uncle Willie Perry Jr., better known as DJ Casper, or Mr. C The Slide Man. The rest is history.  

The “Cha-Cha Slide” is part of a collection of line dances known as slides, including “The Electric Slide” and “The Cupid Shuffle.” Last spring when the school went home for quarantine we were presented with a challenge. How do you participate in physical education at a distance? All the students were shown the moves and it became part of the online learning routine. Mr. Crabtree’s hope was for all of us to come together physically in the future and dance. He was delighted to see everyone dancing during the middle school campus visit!

Let’s go Saklan!

#SaklanWellRounded

Building Roller Coasters

The 8th graders culminating physics project was to design and create a roller coaster for a marble that utilized the forces we learned about in class, had enough momentum to fulfill a loop, and had a slow down stop. Each 8th grader used their creativity, math skills and the scientific method to design, redesign, start over, and eventually create their coasters. 

Students also got inspiration for their coasters by watching a few video clips, where they learned the need for gravitational pull to power the coasters, centripetal force and air resistance to provide thrills, and of course friction to stop safely!

We are extremely impressed with their efforts in this project – especially having to create these at home, and present and work virtually this year throughout this project. They are a great class, and we are glad to see they are ready for high school!

#SaklanAcademics

Re-Creating Art Masterpieces 

With art museums closed, institutions such as the Los Angeles Getty Museum made their collection accessible online. The museum challenged their viewers to choose their favorite artwork and re-create the painting. What does that look like?

Well, branching off of performance art, the 4th-8th grade took on the challenge. Using household items, costumes, pets, plants and beyond, they re-created the artwork of their liking. Each piece is nothing short of creative! The question is, who did it better?

#SaklanCreative

Thank You!

The Saklan Student Council, along with our partner Pledge to Humanity, would like to thank the Saklan Community for making our food drive a huge success.  We collected 1,415 pounds of food for the Monument Crisis Center. Together we made a difference for struggling families in our county.

#SaklanCompession

Adopt An Arthropod

The 7th grade has been learning about all the different kingdoms of life this spring. Currently, the 7th grade is in the middle of learning about animals, in particular invertebrates. Students were asked to look at the Arthropod (jointed foot) Phyla, find an organism they found interesting, and create a Bitmoji Adoption Ad for the arthropod of their choice.

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Students created themselves in Bitmoji form, so you could tell whose is whose, and shared why their invertebrate would be a great pet for your household! Maybe you have been looking for a bird-eating spider to get rid of that pesty morning wake up call, or a blue scorpion to be the glamorous fashion pet of your dreams. No? Maybe a man eating praying mantis for when your husband drives your crazy… Just kidding, they only eat their own husbands! But you might even find a huge crab you may want to use to scare your children! Find the arthropod of your dreams at the 7th Grade Arthropod Adoption event!

#SaklanAcademics

Our Art Fair Goes Online!

SPRING ARTS FESTIVAL-page-0

 

When the Art Fair was cancelled, Miss Natalie wanted to figure out a way to still share the amazing artwork created by all our artists. A lot of thoughtfulness, patience, hard work, and creativity went into these amazing works of art. Just too good to not share with our Saklan community and beyond!

Artsonia is the world’s largest online collection of student art portfolios. Schools all around the world use this platform. It does need your consent as a parent because of the online public presence your child’s artwork will now have. This week an email was sent from Artsonia and once you give permission to display your child’s artwork online, you are able to view all other artwork that is public as well. The online art gallery will officially launch next Friday, May 22, 2020.

#SaklanCreative

Le Tour de Quarantine

Hats off (or helmets should we say) to Mac and his family for taking the live storytime to a new level. Mac, Melanie and Ben read The Cycling Wangdoos by Kelly Puller in their Le Tour de Quarantine. If you want a good laugh, take a few minutes to enjoy their live reading.

If you would like to do a live reading, please contact David at doconnell@saklan.org.  Live readings are done through Zoom every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 pm.

#SaklanCreative

Protective Paper Towel Masks

MScollage

Grades 6th-8th made somewhat of a fashion statement making a simple protective face mask using a paper towel, two rubber bands, a stapler, and some markers. They were asked to use one word or phrase to describe how they have felt through this experience of shelter in place. They could also respond with one word or phrase of what they are learning in this moment in time. Students drew other parts to the mask like speech bubbles and an expressive mouth while making the mask colorful.

In the process of making, students talked about why they chose that word or phrase. We talked about what they do to change negative thoughts into positive, and how art and other things can help with those bored, anxious, or stressed out times. They were asked to then take a picture of themselves wearing the mask. As they say, a lot is said within looking someone in the eyes. Looking closer, you can see a lot of emotion in the students’ eyes in relationship to their chosen word or phrase.

#SaklanCreative