Category: Specialists

Music Enrichment Classes

We are excited to offer music enrichment classes this fall! The classes, listed below, will begin on Thursday, September 30th and run through December 16th.

  • Music & Movement for Preschool & Pre-K on Thursdays from 2:30 – 2:50 p.m. Students will experience music through play, movement and singing games. Students will work towards development of perceiving and performing the steady beat in music, identifying and understanding musical form, and recognizing musical opposites such as fast and slow, loud and soft and high and low. In addition, the classes will emphasize the development of proper vocal technique and health. Students in this class will receive complimentary Extended Day care from 2:00 – 2:30 p.m. on days the class meets.

  • Beginning Choral Habits for K – 2nd Grade on Thursdays from 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. The K-2 after school music course will be an opportunity for students to develop beginning choral habits and structure. Students will learn proper body alignment, breathing and vocal techniques and will work on developing beautiful blend with several unison choral arrangements. Later on in the year, students may work towards arrangements in canon and two-part harmony. Singing games will also be incorporated to allow for musical enjoyment and allow the students to engage the music with movement, imagination and creativity.

To sign your child up for one of the above classes, please click on the class name.

#SaklanWellRounded

Parachute Play

During P.E. classes with Mr. Crabtree, Saklan students have recently enjoyed parachute play. While the parachute is fun, it is also a great way for students of all ages to strengthen their muscles and to work on their social and emotional skills. Here are a few of the ways working together to use the parachute benefits our students:

  • Works the muscles in the arms, shoulders, and hands.
  • Allows for practice of basic loco-motor skills, such as running, leaping, skipping, and galloping.
  • Helps students learn to listen carefully and follow directions.
  • Encourages teamwork and cooperation.
  • Promotes communication.
  • Introduces physical activity as fun.

Students of all ages love playing with the parachute!

#SaklanWellRounded

Ending the Year on a High Note…Literally

The return of school musicals to end the year has all of Saklan ready to break out in song! After so many months of uncertainty, Ms. Chaffey went above and beyond to make sure that musicals could happen in some form this year, and we’re so grateful for her creative thinking.

To start off, today the fourth and fifth grade classes performed Seussical KIDS, leaving all their hard work on the outdoor stage. Students, teachers, and the performers’ parents were treated to a spectacular display of singing and dancing, featuring favorite characters such as Horton, the Cat in the Hat, and the Sour Kangaroos.

Next week, the seventh and eighth grade students will have their chance to put their talents on display! Their film version of Into the Woods will be screened on campus for the rest of Saklan to enjoy. Stayed turned for more details on how the rest of the Saklan community can view this film as well.

Congratulations to all of our Saklan performers, and another huge round of applause for Ms. Chaffey for making this happen and to the entire Saklan faculty and staff for their support.

The show really must go on!

#SaklanMusicals

Saklan’s Annual Art Gallery

Saklan students have been working hard all year with Ms. Natalie, learning about different art mediums and styles and ways to express themselves through art.

The culmination of all that hard work is Saklan’s Online Art Gallery, which launches today. Like last year, the students’ artwork will be displayed on Artsonia, which all Saklan families can access. In addition to viewing art works, you can also comment on different pieces, or purchase commemorative items featuring your child’s artist masterpiece.

Students were able to select for themselves which pieces they wanted to feature in the gallery, continuing the focus on self-expression. We hope you’ll enjoy a taste of these pieces below, but please be sure to browse the full gallery on Artsonia.

A huge thank you to Ms. Natalie for making this happen, and to Kim Anderson and Daisy Coby for helping to photograph all of the student work. We’re so proud of what all of our Saklan artists have accomplished this year!

#SaklanCreative

Eighth Grade Goes for a Ride

Last Friday, the eighth grade class headed out for a field experience to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, where they put their physics knowledge to the test by riding roller coasters and other amusement rides.

While they were there to have fun, they were also there to determine speed, acceleration, and which forces were acting on them throughout the different rides.

Students applied Newton’s Three Laws of Motion to see how physics plays a key role in the design, fun, and safety of roller roasters. They timed the rides, wore accelerometers to test the amount of g-force the ride exerted on their body, and filled out a packet to record all of their physics observations.

It was a fun day for everyone, and a special final field experience for the eighth grade class.

#SaklanFieldExperience

Piñata Fun

As the academic demands of a challenging year begin to wind down, there is an opportunity to invite additional fun into classroom learning. For some lucky Saklan students, that meant exploring piñatas in Spanish class with Maestra Padilla!

Middle School students spent time making piñatas as part of their hands-on learning about Spanish culture. They used colorful crepe paper to cover piñatas made to represent familiar shapes and characters.

The fourth and fifth graders also got hands-on piñata fun! To end the day on Thursday, each student took a turn hitting the piñata in an attempt to get it to break and spill its treasures–snacks, beaded necklaces, and more–onto the turf.

While each student gave it a valiant effort–even breaking off the top completely– in the end, Mr. Crabtree had to step in to really break the piñata open!

#SaklanHandsOn

Ending the Year with Roller Coasters

It has certainly been a roller coaster of a year, so it only makes sense that the eighth grader’s final physics project would be to build roller coasters of their own.

Students were tasked with designing and creating a roller coaster for a marble that: utilized the forces learned about in class, had enough momentum to fulfill a loop, and had a slow down stop. The groups of students had to use their creativity, math skills, and the scientific method in order to design, evaluate, start over, redesign, and eventually finalize their coasters.

Before getting started, students found inspiration for their designs from informational 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!

This project has its challenges, including aligning creatively with your design partners, troubleshooting problems with limited time, and getting the proper speed for the coaster to work.

We are extremely impressed the effort and enthusiasm the eighth graders put into this project, and are excited to see them using the skills they’ve learned at Saklan, which will serve them well as they head off to highschool!

#SaklanAcademic