Category: Middle School

Details Hidden from View

Seventh-grade science is all about biology, and the students begin the year by exploring the fundamental unit of life: the cell! To help them truly grasp this concept, they discuss how cells were discovered, their various components, and the differences between plant and animal cells. One of the first hands-on experiences in biology class is using a microscope. Students familiarize themselves with the parts of the microscope, learn how to adjust the focus at different magnifications, and even create their own slides.

This year, the seventh graders have had the opportunity to observe onion cells, human cheek cells, and a variety of prepared slides. They were amazed by the intricate details they could see – details hidden from view in everyday life!

After looking at cells, the class began discussing viruses, which directly target individual cells. Students have learned about common active viruses and more persistent latent viruses, developing an understanding of the importance of protecting their health. Given the impact of COVID-19 on their lives, students have been able to make meaningful connections between what they’re learning in class and their personal experiences.

#SaklanHandsOn

We Went to Egypt

Written by Guest Blogger & Saklan Science Teacher, Vickie Obenchain

We went to Egypt!! What?! 🇪🇬

Linda and I got to go on a field experience this summer thanks to the Saklan Summer Fund, Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO), and Columbia University. We aimed to learn and explore Ancient Egyptian history, art, engineering, the Sahara Desert environment, and the Nile ecosystem firsthand. For this science teacher, I was completely blown away each day by the feats of engineering we saw, the connections I found to my curriculum, and how history came alive in a modern era. I’d love to share with you a few examples, knowing this experience will definitely find its way into many more grades and topics. First, the Sahara Desert climate is incredibly harsh, especially in July and August. Temperatures are over 100°F daily, creating hot winds, hot sand, no water, and almost no plant life, except for when your eyes play tricks on you, creating a mirage. Being out in it for more than an hour, as a human, was not comfortable.  

However, the camel’s body is equipped to deal with all my body can not. Camels have two rows of long eyelashes and bushy eyebrows, which help protect their eyes from sand. Yet, if some sand does make its way into their eye, they can dislodge it with a translucent third eyelid (very helpful since they weren’t gifted hands). Camels have slit-like nostrils that can close to keep sand out of their respiratory systems, and when they do come across a dry, thorny desert plant, they have thick, tough lips that help them eat it without hurting themselves. 

The long, shaggy fur on top of a camel’s body works as shade, as the thin fur elsewhere helps them lose heat. They have wide, flat feet with thick soles that help them walk easily across sand and spread their weight so they don’t sink (much like a snowshoe). Their long, tall legs keep their bodies off the hot sand and allow air to circulate under them.

Camels store energy-rich fat in their humps allowing them to survive for months without eating. And they can drink large amounts of water at once, sometimes up to 32 gallons, and they can retain that water in their bodies until their next big gulp.

Experiencing their height,  grace, and adaptations up close was definitely a highlight for your temperate climate loving teachers.  This first hand experience of the camel and experience in the Sahara Desert will tie in wonderfully to my 6th grade desert biome unit and adaptations of those organisms that live there.

Second, very early one morning,  Linda and I left the group tour and decided to do an extra excursion. We hot air ballooned over the west bank of Luxor. After checking wind speed and direction, to make sure we didn’t end up in the Nile (or at the airport), the hot air balloons blasted heated air into the colorful balloons all around us. Once ours was upright, we quickly jumped into the basket and took off. We floated over the many temples, tombs, farms, and the Sahara Desert in this beautiful area. Just WOW!

In my physical science course, the 8th graders create hot air balloons to help test the force of buoyancy and see both Archimedes Principle and Charles Law (aka: thermal expansion) to better understand fluid laws in their Chemistry class. Using paper, glue and tape, they engineer their own balloons that they think will create the largest lift when filled with heated air.  We were a bit nervous to take part in this, but it was so awesome to see science at work to give us such an amazing experience in such a beautiful space.

If interested in seeing more of what we saw, learned, and wanted to share, checkout the Instagram account: missopetsapenguin.

#SaklanProfessionalDevelopment

Physics of Fun

The end of the year in 8th grade physics class is full of real life science, engineering, math, and a field experience to Great America! The students put their physics knowledge to the test by riding roller coasters and other rides, determining speed, acceleration, and which forces were acting on them. Then they applied Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion to see how  physics plays a key role in the design, fun and safety of roller coasters. Students timed the rides, wore accelerometers to test the amount of g-force the ride exerted on their body and filled out a packet to show their understanding.

Next, the 8th graders used the rides at Great America as inspiration for their culminating project in class: building their own roller coaster!  Each group made an 8-foot long coaster for a marble to ride. The design criteria for the coasters included: having at least one loop, a slow down stop, and be decorated – as many themed coasters tend to be.  Coasters created included the Shark Drop, Wow that ride is fire, Flap Jack, and the Kachow!

#SaklanHandsOn

Protecting an Ecosystem

As part of the sixth grade earth science curriculum, the students learned about invasive species and how they can affect an ecosystem. One species they focused on was the Crown of Thorns (COT) sea star. They learned how the sea star’s fast reproduction and limited predators on the Great Barrier Reef are creating quite a problem for that precious ecosystem. The COTs eat the algae in the coral which is causing the coral to die at rapid rates. Students then learned how scientists are using Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to learn to identify and inject vinegar into the COTs. The vinegar dissolves them from the inside out. These ROVs can work 24 hours a day in all kinds of weather conditions. 

Last year, Ms. O incorporated an ROV unit into the 6th grade earth science class after attending an ROV course where she learned to create and operate SEAMate ROVs. She was excited to bring this knowledge back to the classroom and share it with the sixth graders again this year! Ms. O had the students team up to create their own ROVs in order to simulate the work of the scientists out on the reef. The students had to wire their electrical control box (which took multiple days), wire the motors and assemble the propellers, design a frame, and decorate their ROV.

With the ROVs completed, the students were given the challenge of collecting COTs from the local MCC Augusta Pool. Students had to figure out how to maneuver their ROV and remove the imitation COTs from the pool.

Through this process, the sixth graders learned a lot about electricity, engineering, design, scientific research and careers in both robotics and ecology. Many expressed how much they enjoyed taking part in and learning about robotics!

The purchasing of the Seamate ROV’s and other necessary materials necessary for this project were made possible by a grant from the National Marine Science Foundation.

#SaklanHandsOn

The Anatomy of Common Organisms

As part of the 7th grade biology unit on animals, the students looked at different phylum found within a particular kingdom. The class talked about the characteristics and important adaptations each have for survival. In doing so the students took part in multiple dissections in order to learn and compare the anatomy of common organisms. In their study of invertebrates, the seventh grade dissected a squid (part of the mollusk phylum) and a worm (the annelid phylum). Each organism has a different circulatory system, number of hearts, different sequence of body parts and the class learned that some invertebrates have no brain at all. 


In the vertebrate group, students started out with a dissection of a bony fish, a perch and then a dogshark, which is a cartilaginous fish. Students were able to feel a back bone in a fish and the flexibility of a the shark. The seventh graders were able to feel the difference in the outer dermis and see the different reproductive parts of each animal. Students also noticed that more of the structures in the vertebrate group looked like that of humans.


Lastly, after a visit from Ms. Meredith’s chicken, Lightening, the seventh graders dissected a chicken egg . This allowed the students to see how the egg is formed and how all parts of the egg are necessary for the growth of a chicken.

#SaklanHandsOn

Final Days of the School Year

As we count down to the end of the 2023-2024 school, there are a few reminders we would like to share with you.

Uniform Exchange

We are collecting gently used uniform shirts, jumpers, sweaters, sweatshirts and jackets (items with the Saklan logo on them) to be used in the Uniform Exchange. Next week there will be a plastic container in front of the school, please feel free to place any unwanted uniforms in it.

Lost and Found

We have many sweatshirts, jackets and water bottles currently sitting in the lost and found. These items will be placed out in the front of the school next week. Please look through them and take what is yours. All items left over after the school year ends will either be added to the uniform exchange or given to charity.

Graduation

All Saklan families and friends are invited to attend this year’s graduation on Thursday, June 6th at 10:00 a.m. The event is being held outdoors on the Sports Court, so if you are joining us, please prepare for potential sun (hats/sunscreen/glasses/water bottle) or for breezier cool weather (sweaters/jackets). We kindly ask all attendees to RSVP.

Your are Cordially Invited to Attend

We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2024 with you!

Class of 2024 Graduation

Your are Cordially Invited to Attend

Thursday, June 6, 2024

10:00 AM on the Saklan Sports Court

We are excited to invite you to a graduation ceremony celebrating the Saklan Class of 2024! This year’s ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 6th at 10:00 a.m. on the Saklan Sports Court. RSVP is requested for those who will be joining us.

Seating: Will begin at 9:45 a.m.

What to Bring: The event is being held outdoors and weather can vary this time of year. Please prepare for potential sun (hats/sunscreen/glasses/water bottle) or for breezier cool weather (sweaters/jackets).

RSVP: Please RSVP by May 31st, 2024.

RSVP for Graduation Here!

We look forward to celebrating the Class of 2024 with you!

#SaklanGraduation #Classof2024

Final Call for Sneakers

As we shared at the beginning of the year, the sixth grade partnered with GotSneakers, an organization that helps keep sneakers out of landfills by recycling and reusing them. Each pair of shoes donated earned their class money, which they will be donating to the World Wildlife Federation to symbolically adopt a species being affected by climate change. 

As of May 1st the 6th graders have:

  • Recycled over 8 large bags of sneakers with over 138 pairs in them.
  • Saved over 4,140 pounds of CO2 from our atmosphere
  • Saved over 311,466 gallons of water

Thank you to everyone who helped support this initiative. Your donations have really helped the environment. 

It isn’t too late to donate sneakers! The 6th graders will be collecting shoes through Friday, May 31st. Thank you all for donating your old and unused sneakers, they not only were kept out of landfills but were also helping to protect species. 

2024 Middle School Musical

The Saklan Middle School students have been rehearsing for their culminating project for music class, a performance of Into The Woods. Every student in the Middle School is participating in the production, whether it is acting in a main role, taking care of props, helping with costumes, or being a stage hand. It is a true collaborative effort to produce an amazing final product. 

On Friday, May 17th the students will perform at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette. The entire community is invited to the show. Tickets are required for attendance and can be purchased by clicking on the button below.

MIddle School Musical Tickets

We hope you can join us for what is sure to be a wonderful show!

#SaklanMusicals #SaklanCreative

Shared Power

Fostering a sense of belonging is one of the most important things we can do in our classrooms. When students feel seen, known, and valued, they become free to take on new academic risks and challenges. 

At Saklan we extend the importance of belonging beyond SEL curriculum, morning meeting, or advisory. In Project Based Learning students bring their authentic wonders and ideas to the academic day, peer feedback, and collaborative work. 

Through showing the value of what they have to offer to the learning experience, students are reminded that we all have ways we can help support our community, ways our community can help us, and, most importantly, none of us alone is smarter than all of us together!  

Shared power is a core equity lever of projects at Saklan. By sharing power the class takes ownership over their growing knowledge which deepens the students’ sense of belonging and purpose in the classroom. 

Authentically incorporating students’ unique interests and talents, providing them options and agency in making decisions within the project, and creating a sense of interdependence among the teacher and students are all ways shared power show up in high quality project learning. 

Here are a few examples of how students are bringing their own unique identities, ideas, and questions to support academic learning in our projects. 

Owlets: Voice and Choice in Rainforest Representations 

Choice is provided for even our youngest learners. In their rainforest project unit, Owlets have had the freedom to respond to their growing knowledge in a variety of ways. After a visit from a reptile expert, students created models to represent what they learned. They chose an element of the experience that was exciting to them and selected which materials they would use to create the representation of what they learned. 

Owlets see the importance of their voice by developing their own wonders. The teachers reinforce student voice by making space to respond directly to these authentic student inquiries. One Owlet wondered how much rainfall there is in the rainforest each year. After some research the class discovered there is an average annual rainfall of 7 feet in the rainforest. They collaboratively made this chart to show 7 feet of rain! They even measured themselves (and their teachers) against all this rainfall!

We hope you can join the Owlets for their rainforest culmination celebration where you can see all they have learned about rainforests on May 31st after CLAS!

6th grade: Interdependence Through Critique, Revision, and Co-Creation of Rubrics

This PBL unit requires students to create a final product based on their own unique interpretation of the driving question, “How are we still connected to Ancient Greek culture, language, and mythology today?” 

While building knowledge and pursuing individual research paths, students also develop a deep sense of belonging and shared power in the classroom through interdependence. One major aspect of this was co-writing their grading rubric for the project through generating, sorting, and refining criteria and rubric language together. 

Throughout the project they receive feedback and support from peers and teachers through small group work and feedback protocols like Big Paper and a modified version of the Charrette Protocol. 

This critique and revision cycle is designed specifically to show students that their ideas matter. These practices intentionally lift up student voices, ideas, and opinions within the guardrails of our content standards and teacher learning goals. 

#SaklanPBL