Category: Middle School

The sixth-grade students joined together during their Language Arts and Humanities classes on Friday, February 9th, to learn, share, and celebrate the Lunar New Year. 2024 is the year of the wood dragon, which happens every 60 years.

Saklan students and teachers brought in elements of their own Lunar New Year family traditions from Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam. These students shared and explained the symbolism behind red envelopes, special food, celebratory dress, and unique New Year customs. The sixth-grade class read about ancient Chinese oracle bones and the origins of the Chinese language. Then, using the students’ experiences from their fourth-grade calligraphy art instruction, they brushed the character for “good luck” before joining to have a potluck lunch. Students brought special New Year foods, and everyone enjoyed a few dishes from China Moon.

 After lunch, Christina led a combined group of sixth and eighth grade students through various meanings behind New Year traditions. Students learned how colors and gestures symbolize different ideas in Asian cultures. Christina shared a Vietnamese tradition that happens on Tet, or the first day of the New Year. This tradition honors your ancestors or loved ones by having family members create a beautiful altar and share offerings. With this knowledge, students made fruit offerings and wrote the names of deceased people they wanted to honor. The “five-fruit tray” on the ancestral altar during the Tet Holidays symbolizes the admiration and gratitude of the Vietnamese to Heaven and Earth and their ancestors.

Overall, the Lunar New Year was a special day for all who participated and learned about or shared their culture with their classmates. Activities like this help increase a sense of belonging in our community as students learn more about one another and gain understanding, allowing them to be more empathetic to one another. Thank you to all the sixth-grade students willing to be courageous and share about their own culture and family.

#SaklanCommunity

Last week the 7th graders went to Oahu, Hawaii to spend the week learning about evolution: the evolution of species and the evolution of culture on the Hawaiian islands.

Students spent part of the week learning about different native animals and specific adaptations they have for their survival there on the island and with the impact of human actions, such as invasive species, farming, war and now plastic trash. To do this, they walked through the tropical forest of Waimea Falls, learned about the Dole Plantation and the pressure of having a reliable brand, snorkeled in Hanauma Bay to observe fish adaptations, and cleaned up a beach with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii.

The second part of the week was spent looking at the impact of westerners on the island and on the Polynesian culture. Students discovered art, daily life and music of different Polynesian islands at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Then they learned about the monarchy of the Hawaiian people and the overthrow of their government while visiting the Iolani Palace. Lastly, they saw the effect of war, as they visited the resting place of the USS Arizona.

And while so much learning was going on, there was also tons of fun! From beach walks and swims to snow cones and shopping, the 7th graders were all smiles!

#SaklanFieldExperience

In Science, the sixth graders have been studying ecology, a branch of biology that looks at relationships among living organisms and their physical environment, and focusing on specific forms of species interactions. Working with a partner, the students were asked to portray the relationship of two species found in nature. Each group of students was tasked with taking pictures of their organisms portrayal, and then using the pictures to make a comic strip. The sixth graders used their laptops to create the fascinating comics below! 

In January, 8th grader Astro led an LBD (Learning By Doing) 3-session course for middle school students, on DIY stenciling. Astro is heavily inspired by 80’s punk graffiti, which popularized the use of stencils in street art and clothing, and has been honing his craft of stenciling on clothing and canvas for the past 2 years. 

In his course, Astro demonstrated how to make a paintable stencil, by first tracing an image onto a piece of paper, covering it in packing tape, then carefully cutting out the “positive space” with a craft knife. In the final session, each student used the stencil that they made to paint an image onto a t-shirt or canvas. 

Although the process sounds simple, students quickly learned the challenges of cutting small details, and evenly dabbing paint onto fabric. Astro’s quick response to students in need of support demonstrated his patience, experience, and deep understanding of the art form. 

As students worked, they listened to Astro’s carefully curated playlist of 80’s and 90’s grunge and punk music. Astro did an excellent job of planning and teaching his lessons, and students were really excited to take home their new, wearable art. 

#SaklanCreative #SaklanLeadershipOpportunities

In their first semester of Humanities, the 7th grade students engaged in a project based learning unit called Community Spaces. Their project work centered around the driving question, “How can we create public spaces based on the values and needs of our community?” For this project, the 7th graders examined and evaluated both contemporary community spaces and those designed and built by the three pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations: the Mexica/Aztecs, the Incas, and the Maya. As part of their project work, the students engaged in three field experiences to Moraga Commons and Moraga Shopping Center, Temple Hill in Oakland, and the Student Wellness Center at Los Perales School in Moraga.

They also met with two guest experts, an urban planner and a designer/builder. For their culminating project product, each student designed their own community space or re-designed an existing space by incorporating elements of architecture, urban design, and infrastructure from the one or more of the three civilizations they studied and from present-day community spaces to meet the needs and reflect the values of a community near where they live.

All Saklan community members are invited to view the community spaces the 7th graders designed on Friday, January 26th after CLAS. The designs will be on display in the Humanities Room, and the students will be standing by to share their designs and answer questions.

#SaklanPBL

What are kids reading these days? Lots of great books!

In the Bookworms Learning by Doing (LBD) class, middle school students talked about the books they were reading and then enjoyed extended quiet time to read on the beanbags in the Humanities Room. The students then each wrote a recommendation about one book they enjoyed reading.

The book recommendations are on display in the Middle School Library. You are invited to stop by and read them–and to check out a book or two from the growing middle school library.

Thank you to our great librarians, Joy and Meredith, for displaying the middle school recommendations.

Read On!