Week 2 of Distance Learning is a wrap. Here are some videos to brighten your day.
3rd graders sing Little Light of Mine during virtual Music class with Mrs. Chaffey.
The Kindergarten class is spreading love, hope and happiness with their virtual Beatles concert.
Carson (K) sings Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da by The Beatles during virtual Music class.
2nd grade Art Class with Miss Natalie.
#SaklanDistanceLearning
Dear Saklan Community,
We hope your family is staying healthy and you are adapting to our new normal. We understand the stress the closure of Saklan and the shelter-in-place order has made on families’ lives. We know that many of you have been juggling working at home, caring for parents, and now you are needed to increase the support given to educating your child.
We also realize that our teachers and staff are going through the same challenges. With that in mind, as the Saklan Board of Trustees, we would like to extend our most profound appreciation to all Saklan faculty and staff for the hard work each has put into making the speedy and smooth transition to distance learning. Moving from an approach of in-person teaching to distance learning has required the reworking of lesson plans and learning several new platforms in a matter of two days. We are genuinely impressed with the pivot.
As a board and as parents, we are so grateful to have such dedicated teachers and staff who bring familiarity and a sense of stability into our students’ lives despite the unprecedented events in this time of uncertainty.
We want to thank them for their unwavering dedication and commitment to our students’ education.
Please stay healthy until we reopen our campus to welcome back our students and community.
Geri Buhl and Toshie Baba
Saklan Board of Trustee 2019-2020 Co-Chairs
#SaklanCompassionate
The past three weeks, the 3rd graders made their way to the Science Lab to learn about our earth’s atmosphere, including how air reacts and moves, and how weather is created. After learning about air pressure, wind, clouds, precipitation, and types of weather, students had the challenge of trying to create a house that could withstand a weather pattern not experienced by most Saklan students.
This weather phenomena has quite an effect on the air pressure, wind, precipitation and clouds of the land masses it comes across; a hurricane. Each build had to be able to withstand wind, waves and precipitation. The goal was to make a waterproof house that would remain standing in the tray through the different elements.
Kindergartners have been enjoying reading fairy tales. Using the many skills introduced in their Reading program, the children discovered that fairy tales usually have good and bad characters, a setting, a problem and a solution, a beginning, middle and an end, as well as magic.
Fairy tale fun helps the children with the skills of sequencing and retelling a story. The enjoyment was palpable as the children acted out “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”, complete with using our classroom tables as a bridge.
#SaklanReads
Last month, the Hoot Owls learned about abstract artist, Alma Woodsey Thomas! The class talked about abstract art vs. representational art. The Hoot Owls studied a few of Thomas’s paintings and talked about how the paintings made them feel. They also took inspiration from her colorful style with two different art projects. First, the Hoot Owls used paper rectangles to create circular artwork. This was a challenge for their fine motor skills and attention spans. Many students chose to revisit the project on the second day. Revisiting difficult projects teaches perseverance.
Next, the Hoot Owls practiced painting with delicate brush strokes. They experimented with small, medium and large brushes. Most students were not used to painting this way, but they all did a fabulous job!
#SaklanCreative
In first grade Science, the students learned all about weathering by water, wind, temperature, and chemicals. They did experiments with erosion. The first graders used graham crackers (pretend dirt) and answered questions such as “What happens to rocks?”.
They have been learning so much about rocks. First, the students learned how 3 types of rocks are formed: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Then, they discussed the “properties” of their rocks and learned the difference between rocks and minerals.
#SaklanScience
Dear Saklan Community,
In my letter on Wednesday of this week I mentioned that while the closing of the campus was a remote possibility, it was less remote than the week before. I did not foresee that I would be writing this particular letter two days later, but here I am.
As of Monday, March 16th, the campus will be closed in order to keep our students safe as well as help slow the spread of Coronavirus. On Monday and Tuesday, teachers and staff will be training and working to get ready to use distance learning tools. By Wednesday we will begin to deliver our curriculum remotely. While it will look different at each grade level, we will be holding classes remotely and will be expecting students to engage and participate in classes online. We are planning on returning to campus on April 6th after Spring Break.
I realize that keeping students home during the school year is disruptive and can be difficult for families. As a community, I am hoping we can help each other. If you find yourself in a situation regarding child care or anything else, please use our PA Facebook page to reach out for help.
More information from teachers about distance learning will be sent out by Monday. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me.
Warm regards,
David
#SaklanDistanceLearning
A couple of weeks ago, the third grade class went to the Blackhawk Museum to explore the Spirit of the Old West exhibit. This exhibit is dedicated to presenting a balanced narrative of both Native Americans and American Settlers—depicting their challenges, their successes and failures, and their ways of life. Since the two main social studies units in third grade are about Native Americans and Pioneers, this was the perfect field experience to complement our studies.
The students saw many of the animals that roamed the plains and mountains, many artifacts from Native Americans and Pioneers, a life size replica of a covered wagon and a 150 foot long “miniature” diorama that tells the story of the settlement of the western plains. One of the third graders favorite activities was spinning the “wheel of death” to learn about the many ways the Native Americans or Pioneers might have died since life back then was much harder than it is today. They also got to briefly explore the other exhibits of the museum including the auto collection, the African art exhibit and the China exhibit.
#SaklanExperiential
Chilean born artist and educator, Indira Urrutia, visited the Art Room last week. Both the 4th and 5th grade have been introduced to weaving, but only using traditional materials like yarn or raffia. Miss Natalie thought it would be very interesting for the students to learn about the journey of an artist, how an artist is inspired, and how that translates to their own artwork. The process of weaving with thin wire has its form of challenges, but the Saklan artists persevered through those moments because they were so excited to weave! Lots of the students enjoyed working with a new material and process, not to mention some of the parent volunteers were just as excited! The 5th grade is to start an abstract wire sculpture project following this activity and the 4th grade will work with on a recycled weaving project.
#SaklanCreative
The 7th graders recently wrapped up their Hawaii field study with an interdisciplinary final involving five brief essays and a poster project covering a range of academic topics in Science, Humanities, and Language Arts. The writing components addressed issues related to the environmental effects of human activity on the islands, adaptations and evolutionary changes of the flora and fauna, and the impact of key historical events, like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, on the Hawaiian people and their culture.
Students also wrote about the social-emotional challenges they faced on the trip as they tried to come together as a group and build stronger relationships. All of these essays were rigorously revised, using the step-by-step revision process the kids have been practicing in Language Arts. Finally, the 7th graders designed posters to educate the public about significant issues that affect the evolution of species, the environment, the ocean, or the islands themselves.
#SaklanAcademic
FRIDAY BLOG 
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