Category: Specialists

Last Friday, students participated in a schoolwide Scavenger Hunt before the start of the festival. The students partnered up to find the answers in the artwork that was displayed throughout the entire campus.

Following the Scavenger Hunt, the West African drumming with Mr. Isaac kicked off the start of the Festival. Before checking out all the art, families got to peruse the Book Fair while enjoying the West African music and dance. The Parent Association put on a mighty fine Barbecue to feed all the hungry people. The overall vibe of the event was wonderful and all the hard work the students put into their artwork through the year was apparent and admired.

Thank you to all the parent, student and teacher volunteers on the day of the event. You made it extra special and it is much appreciated! The winners of the Scavenger Hunt will be announced at Friday’s Flag.

#SaklanCreative

Storytelling is a vital part of the human condition. It is how we know our history, and how we learn from that history; how we begin to connect with others, and how we start to create a world that could be. The first stories were not written, they were told and shown; chanted and sung. Theater takes us back to the very roots of our evolution as humans, and allows us to be a part of great stories that have shaped our world.

Saklan’s Middle School students have been exploring those concepts by creating a production of West Side Story-School Edition. They began with self-identification exercises, and then connected the mental portraits of themselves to the characters in the play. They auditioned and were assigned roles, and began the process of telling this beautiful story.

West Side Story is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and takes place in New York City in the 1950’s. The themes of this show tie in with the 8th grade Humanities curriculum, and involve Immigration and race relations, as well as generational gap issues; themes that are incredibly relevant in our students world.

While creating the show, we have formed a relationship with the dance studio Joy In Motion and our Middle School students have been exploring storytelling through dance firsthand. We would like to invite you into our rehearsal process by viewing the video above. And then would like to invite you to share this story by clicking this link, which will allow you to purchase tickets.

#SaklanWellRounded

Learning about the significance and lasting impression Keith Haring had in communities all around the world, the students found inspiration in his animated, whimsical, and political work. Working life size can be intimidating, so they started drawing outside using chalk. The students had no boundaries using the ground as their canvas and the energy was high and full of excitement!

Exercise two was moving the body to recreate the expressive poses Haring’s characters have. After striking many poses, the students helped trace each other to keep the drawing life size. They then stylized the hands and feet with Haring’s signature style and painted in the figure. This project will be showcased among others completed throughout the year at the Spring Arts Festival next Friday, May 3rd from 3-6PM.

#SaklanCreative

Singing is such an important part of any school. It is a way to be loud when often we are told to be quiet, to join in with our peers and elders and those who look up to us. It is a quick way to become a community, a way to be silly, to celebrate, and to just live in the moment and create something beautiful that comes from the inside.

The pitches don’t have to be perfect, and not everyone will sound the same, but when we sing we enjoy the uniqueness of every person who joins in. At Saklan, we love to sing!

#SaklanWellRounded

At the start of Trimester 3, the entire Middle School began thinking more and more like artists. The students came up with a proposal that covered what, how and why they are making their artwork. They could work in groups or individually. They could make one time consuming work of art or work with a series and create multiple works. Options in material choice was anything in the Art Room.

Over the course of the last two months, the students have developed their work, started over and came up with new ideas to complete and wrote an artist statement to represent themselves. The process of creating your own work of art from start to finish is extremely important in keeping kids creative. All of the finished work will be shown at the upcoming Spring Arts Festival next Friday, May 3rd from 3-6PM.

#SaklanCreative

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The 6th grade has been learning about climate change the last few weeks. In doing so, they not only learned how that may affect human health, coast lines, and society, but also ecosystems and some species that can not adapt quick enough.

Due to this, the students picked an organism that needs our help. These included the Snow Leopard, Polar Bear, Galapagos Penguin, Sea Turtles, Arctic Fox, and Narwhals. Students researched where they are located, why they are important in that ecosystem, and what threats there are to their species.

In order to help them, students are going to be holding an election next week. Starting on Monday, you will see decorated buckets that will be on the tables when you enter the school. We are hoping you will add your spare change to the organism you want to help the most. Each cent will count as one vote. So, one penny counts for one vote, a quarter 25 votes, a dollar a hundred votes, etc. All the money raised will go to the World Wildlife Fund which are working to help these organisms. We will symbolically adopt the organism that wins and let you know the winners! Thanks for helping out!

#SaklanCompassionate

Two weeks ago, the Japanese exchange students went to the Exploratorium in San Francisco with their 8th grade buddies.

While at the Exploratorium, the students investigated how energy is transferred throughout different experiments, experienced how forces play a part in every day activities, and how different wavelengths affect the flow of energy. Our students and the Japanese students enjoyed the museum. They also got to visit the gift shop. The students can’t wait to do this again next year!

#SaklanExperiential

The Japanese students learned a little science in the Art room.

A spectrum is a band of colors, like a rainbow, formed by a beam of light. Using string, the students created their own “beams of light” into designs. They were shown a couple different methods including radiating lines, rotating squares, and a spectrum.

The students worked fast and efficiently, creating designs completely original and complex. After completing their designs, students expressed how fun and creative the process was for them!

#SaklanCreative