FRIDAY BLOG

Dear Saklan Community,

For the past two days, Saklan faculty and parents have come together for our second set of parent-teacher conferences. The close connection between teachers, parents and students is a hallmark of Saklan. These meetings which focus on celebrating student growth and setting goals for improvement are critical in forging the bond of collaboration, which will provide each student with an outstanding educational experience. If you have not been able to schedule a parent-teacher conference in these past two days, just ask your homeroom teacher or advisor to schedule a meeting at another time. It is important to us that we have a chance to meet and discuss your child’s growth at Saklan.

For the past few years our middle school students have been doing student-led conferences. This is a process whereby students play an active role in the conference and discuss and reflect upon their own progress and goals. This is a powerful way of having students engage in and show ownership over their own learning. Here are some student thoughts on doing these conferences:

• Victoria (Grade 8) – A student led conference is a great way to check in on how you are doing and to figure out how to do better.
• Tyler (Grade 6) – Student led conferences help us to know what we have to work on and take action.
• Claire (Grade 8) – Student led conferences let you and your parents bring up and share your issues and it’s a nice way to check in with your teachers.
• Olivia (Grade 7) – Student led conferences allow you to share your perspective on things and if you are in trouble you can create your own action plan.
• Dhilan (Grade 8) – Student led conferences allow you to be comfortable in talking about your successes and issues in class.

Next week, our middle school students will be taking the National Spanish Exam offered by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish. The National Spanish Examinations are online, standardized assessment tools for Grades 6 -12, given voluntarily by about 4000 teachers throughout the United States to measure performance (interpretive communication) and achievement of students who are studying Spanish as a second language. The National Spanish Examinations are the most widely used tests of Spanish in the United States and are administered online. In 2016, a total of 169,697 students registered for the National Spanish Examinations. The purpose of the National Spanish Examination is to:

• recognize achievement in the study of the Spanish language
• promote proficiency in interpretive communication in the Spanish language
• assess the national standards as they pertain to learning Spanish
• stimulate further interest in the teaching and learning of Spanish

The results of the exam come out about a month after they are taken and students can receive a Bronze, Silver or Gold award based on their results.

Next Friday, March 31st we will hold our annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day.  This will start at 10:00AM with grandparents and special friends being greeted by and sharing refreshments with their grandchildren during morning recess. This will be followed by visits to the classroom where grandparents and special friends can see where our students work and participate in a fun collaborative activity. We will end the morning with a flag to celebrate a great day of fun, family and community. Our students are excited and looking forward to spending a fun morning with some of their favorite people. Please RSVP today so that we can be prepared for your visit.

Have a great weekend!

Peter