Snowman Science Experiment

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In addition to their winter theme, the Hoot Owls began to learn about scientists. They learned that scientists ask questions, do experiments, measure, count, draw, write, learn from their senses, sort, test predictions and have fun! Their first winter experiment was building a snowman out of ice. First, balloons full of water were frozen in the freezer. Many friends were surprised to touch the balloons and find them not only hard but cold, too. The Hoot Owls helped cut the balloons open and pealed them off the ice. Next, they used salt to stack the ice balls together. Many Hoot Owls asked, “Why does the salt make them stick?” One of the first things they learned from this experiment was that four balls of ice were too tall, as the fourth ball of ice tumbled down and shattered on the floor!

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After the snowman was completed, they sat down and observed him. They did an observational drawing of what he looked like now. Then they made predictions by doing a drawing of what they thought he would look like later.

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The Hoot Owls’ drawings were all different but they all had the idea that later he would melt and he did! The snowman took a tumble right before lunch. By the end of the day there were only small pieces of ice left. By the next morning he was salty water! #SaklanHandsOn

Saklan Buddies

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Last week, the Owlet and 6th grade buddies collaborated their creative skills by creating Valentines for our neighbors at Aegis of Moraga. This activity tied into our January Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) theme of inclusion, as we are extending our Saklan Valentine celebration to others in our community. The buddy program at Saklan allows for students from various grade levels to build relationships, practice communication skills, and teaches the older buddies essential leadership skills. It is a well-loved tradition! #SaklanConnected #SaklanCompassionate #SaklanCreative

Washington D.C. Cultural Adventures, Part II

Exploring the world-class art museums in our nation’s capital is often one of the most challenging, mind-bending activities for many 8th graders during our DC field study. Many kids go into these places with severely limited, preconceived notions about what art is. Of course, one of the project’s goals is to vanquish (or at least diminish) such prejudices. It’s always fun to see how far students stretch their minds throughout the course of their cultural investigations. While in Washington and after we return to school, the kids process what they learned in many different ways. The extraordinary multimedia presentations below on the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn exemplify the value of our experiential learning activities and Saklan’s commitment to providing students with rich opportunities to flex their creativity.

Kyle Yasumura on the National Gallery:

His final takeaway: “I will rethink what I see as art because until now I just thought that anything could be art as long as you thought of it that way, but now I’ve realized that sometimes art is about the craftsmanship and not whether you just call it art.”

Juliet Pecher on the Hirshhorn:

“I now have a broader perspective of what art is and will apply it to my own work.”

Indeed! #SaklanExperiental

Second Graders Take On Fairy Tales

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Second graders have now finished their Fairy Tale Unit with class presentations and a Friday Flag presentation.

 

 

The students showed how they worked on the writing process and what that involves. All their hard work has paid off and their amazing stories have now been published. The students enjoyed reading them to their friends in school. #SaklanCreative

Moving Up Day!

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Wednesday was a special day for our elementary campus. All of our PS – 5th grade students got to “move up” to next year’s grade for a portion of the morning. This has been an annual tradition so that the students get a snapshot of what next year could be like. The teachers planned special activities that highlighted their grade and enjoyed getting to know their rising students a little better. If your child “moved up” on Wednesday, please ask them all about it. I’m sure they will have something enthusiastic to share! #SaklanConnected

Pop Art and Mexican Paper Mache Fruits and Vegetables

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I asked the 1st and 2nd grade, What is POP Art??? We talked about what is popular in today’s American culture and why. During our discussion, I showed them the work of Sculptor Claes Oldenburg, who sculpts large scale everyday objects. To guide the project in a direction based on healthy eating instead of popular junk food sculptures, the students chose their favorite fruit or vegetable to make. Their inspiration was the Mexican Folk Artists who create paper mache fruits and vegetables that are widely collected as works of art today. They could make their fruit or vegetable to scale or they could exaggerate the size like Pop Artist Claes Oldenburg did.

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Having some of the fruits and vegetables to view while sculpting helped the students understand shape and form more clearly. After creating the form using newspaper and tape, the students had fun doing the paper mache. Once hardened, they painted their work with attention to detail. Learning that each fruit and vegetable has unique qualities to paint. We are in the process of making the large fruit bowl and will segway into learning about still life painting . Once we are all done with the making, we will play a fun game to learn the Spanish word for each fruit and vegetable made. The students are loving their fruits and veggies! #SaklanWellRounded

West African Music and Dance

Saklan’s West African Music and Dance program is taking off thanks to last year’s fund-a-need which allowed us to purchase a set of drums from Ghana. The 4th and 5th grades are learning a social dance called “Agahu” which involves a complex call and response choreography between the Lead Drummer and the Dancers. The after school drumming class is a great way for students to get more practice and instruction on the drumming techniques used for Agahu. The ensemble is starting to sound great! They will be ready to play drums for the dancers at the Annual Spring Concert in March. #SaklanHandsOn

Alumni Corner

Earlier this month, 2010 Saklan graduate Nick Barendregt stopped by to visit some of his former teachers. During his visit he connected with Miss Obenchain, Miss Kim and Mr. P, all teachers who could share great stories of how Nick’s curiosity, creativity and courage set him up for success in life. Nick, who started at Saklan as a preschooler in 1999, graduated from Saklan to go on to The College Preparatory School in Oakland. He then went on to complete  his undergraduate work in Applied Mathematics from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. Nick has now started his full scholarship doctoral program in Applied Mathematics at the University of Colorado.

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Nick’s current research at the University of Colorado revolves around creating mathematical models to explain how the brain accumulates and weighs evidence when making decisions. Nick “happened” upon this course of study in a typical Saklan student way. He was driven by curiosity and encouragement from his teachers to further explore questions and wonderings he had about how math might apply to the brain.

Nick’s visit is not only a testament to the power of  the Saklan approach to learning, but also highlights that strong relationships and passion are key to creating lifelong learners. We look forward to hearing more from Nick in the not too distant future. #SaklanConnected #SaklanConfident

California Missions

Last week, the 4th graders braved the rain and went to their first field trip of the year: Mission Dolores in San Francisco. History comes alive when students are able to see in person items learned from books. This was such an excellent learning experience and students are even more motivated to return to the classroom and build their individual missions. #SaklanExperiential

Head’s Corner

Trying New Things

One of those things that I appreciate about the Saklan community is its openness to try new things. This attitude demonstrates a willingness to take a risk, make yourself vulnerable and learn from mistakes. One such example is our Lower School teachers and their Learning Exhibition set for January 31st from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.

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Over the past couple months, Liz Peters (our Lower School Dean) has been discussing with teachers how we can share, in a real way, what amazing things we do with kids. The teachers decided that an exhibition of learning where all parents can tour all classrooms and meet teachers and students from across the grade levels would be fun. Fun yes, extra work yes, slightly scary.. maybe.

Doing something new that is also public can be scary, but is good for us. It focuses our minds on what is important, creates opportunities for collaboration and learning while simultaneously  providing us with valuable feedback from a real world audience. Most importantly though, by putting ourselves out there, we are modeling for students what real learners do.

At Saklan, we talk about the importance of hands-on real world experiences – we just don’t talk the talk, we walk the walk. I hope you will be able to join us on the 31st for this “New Thing” and be an integral part of our learning.

Warm regards,

David