Concert Preparations

In collaboration with the music department, the students worked together to paint the backdrop for the Annual Concert.

The 4th and 6th grade started with spray painting the preliminary drawing while learning about graffiti culture. Here the 8th grade do the finishing touches of outlining records and other focal points of the backdrop, while listening to the songs they are singing in the concert.

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Come to the Annual Concert next Thursday, March 16th to see the three panels of work the students created!

Annual Concert “Rise Up”

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Motown, Funk and Soul Music

Thursday, March 16, 2017

4:30PM

Lesher Center for the Arts

Rehearsal Schedule

Tuesday, March 14th, 2017 (uniform)

  • Dress rehearsal at Saklan from 9:00AM-12:00PM

Wednesday, March 15th, 2017 (uniform)

  • Dress Rehearsal at Saklan from 9:00AM-12:00PM

Thursday, March 16, 2017 (uniform)

  • Dress Rehearsal at Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek from 9:00AM-12:00PM

Thursday, March 16, 2017 (concert dress)

  • Performance at Dean Lesher Center in Walnut Creek from 4:30PM-6:00PM

The dress rehearsal takes place at the Lesher Center. We will meet at the backstage entrance on Locust Street, and we are asking that parents drop their children off directly at the theater. If this is impossible, contact your room parent to arrange a carpool. If you cannot find a ride, let your classroom teacher know.

Students should arrive according to the following timetable:

  • Middle School – 9:00AM
  • 3-5 Grade – 9:10AM
  • K-2 – 9:20AM
  • Hoot Owls and Owlets – 9:30AM

If you have more than one student, you may arrive at the later time indicated. Students should be picked up at the same door at 12:00PM. Extended care is available at Saklan only until 3:00PM, and if you need to reserve a space on the van for your child back to school in between the rehearsal and the concert, contact the office ASAP. We will not be transporting students to the concert.

For the concert, students must arrive by 4:00PM. The ushers are very strict about on time arrival. Students should find their teachers in the lobby and go into the theater with their class. Parents and friends need to get tickets from the box office (they are free!) and give them to the ushers as they enter the theater.

Moraga Gardens Farm

As we are in the process of starting a long-term collaboration with our neighbor, Moraga Gardens Farm, please support them in the coming weekends during their annual Plant Starts Sale!

The annual Plant Sale will start Saturday, March 25 (rain or shine) and will continue both Saturdays and Sundays through the following three weekends, ending Saturday April 15th. The hours will be 10AM-3PM. The farm is located at 1290 Moraga Way in Moraga near the Safeway, and just adjacent to the Fire Station.

They will be offering a variety of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, herbs, peppers and eggplants. All plants are grown locally from seed at the farm by the Moraga Gardens Farm volunteers.

Feel free to forward this to your fellow gardeners, friends, family and co-workers.

Head’s Corner

Dear Saklan Parents,

Today, we had our fourth Family Group session of the year. This past month the theme has been Honesty and our students spent some time thinking, discussing, and reflecting on how this is an important topic. Many of you must have seen the cartoon where the student blames the family dog for not doing their homework. In one of the activities called “Oh! What A Tangled Web We Weave,” we used this classic age-old excuse to show what happens when you lie. In a role-play activity, a student gave false answers to a series of questions starting with “Why didn’t you get your homework done for today?” This was answered with a lie, such as “The dog ate my homework.” A follow-up question, such as “How did the dog get your homework?” took the lie to a deeper level. As the questions and lies continued, the idea of a tangled web of dishonesty emerged.

The Family Groups also watched a video on Honesty, and as a bi-product of the discussions, created a poster on reasons why one should always be honest. This will be on display in the notice board in the school entrance.

Tomorrow, March 4 is our Annual Auction and I hope that you will be there to celebrate an outstanding year, have fun, and support our students. STEM, which stands for the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, is the focus of our fund-a-need.  The project includes a redesign and upgrade of the entire Science classroom to foster greater collaboration, exploration, and allow for STEM related activities. The project also calls for the purchase of new technology and equipment, such as a digital microscope, 3D printer, robotics and coding resources, and tablets to name a few. This is a project that will impact all the students at Saklan and we hope for your support in achieving our goals.

Have a great weekend,

Peter

What Can You Hear?

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The second graders are busy exploring the properties of sound and learning about the parts of the ear. They have done many experiments to see how sound waves travel. They held a clock at the end of a yardstick and listened to see if the sound traveled through the wood. They struck a tuning fork to see what happened if you held a ping pong ball on a string and let the tuning fork touch it or if you put the tip of the tuning fork in a bowl of water. They discovered that sound travels through solids, liquids, and gasses and without vibrations there is no sound. The children also brought in sounds for us to guess and even learned to sign their names using the manual alphabet.

News From the Sports Court

The Saklan Suns rise again! Last night, the Suns played The Berkeley School in basketball.  Two games were played; varsity and junior varsity. The Berkeley School won the first game 48 to 34, and the Suns turned it around the second game with a 22 to 12 victory. Overall, the experience was positive and fun.

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The basketball season has consisted of eight games against three schools and will conclude next Thursday, March 9 after school with two games against the East Bay Waldorf School here at Saklan.

So show up and help the Suns finish strong.

Let’s go Saklan!

Frank Stella Class Project

Based on Frank Stella’s Shoubeegi 3D painting (at SFMOMA), the 2nd grade started with cutting out organic shapes and painting in layers on cardboard.

Here they are gluing together their final compositions.

Save the Date!

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Annual Concert

Motown, Funk and Soul Music

Thursday, March 16, 2017

4:30PM

Lesher Center for the Arts

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

is coming up on Friday, March 31 from 10:00AM – 12:00PM.

Grandparents whose addresses we have on file will be receiving an invitation in the mail next week. Look for an extra copy of the invitation in your child’s backpack today.

Head’s Corner

Dear Saklan Parents,

At Flag this morning, our eighth graders presented their Legacy Baskets, which will be auctioned off next Saturday night. I was very impressed by the amount of effort, thought and creativity that went into each basket. It was also interesting to see how each basket reflected the character and interests of each graduate. Our eighth grade students have been a remarkable group this year and have been outstanding role models to our younger students. One can truly see what a group of dynamic individuals we will soon be sending on to a variety of high schools in the upcoming school year.

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The qualities, attitudes and leadership skills that our eighth graders show embody our school mission, and the ultimate goals of our Middle School program. The Middle School is a unique time of change, and at Saklan, we recognize that each student has their own learning style which is why we focus on each student’s individual needs. Our teachers use creative approaches in teaching so that each student discovers how to learn effectively. Through our small classes, distinctive teacher-student relationships, and genuine concern for each student, we emphasize social emotional growth, academic excellence through critical thinking, and commitment to community through leadership and extra-curricular opportunities.

Ultimately, Middle School is a time for personal discovery and learning how to become a positive member of the community. Our students are provided with opportunities to learn who they are, what makes them stand out, and most importantly, who they want to become. Each day is purposely blended with academic challenges and personal growth encounters to keep the teachers motivated, and the students focused on reaching their personal best. All of this is supported by our small class size which, like in our Lower School, allows teachers to go above and beyond academic excellence, and foster the confidence and habits of mind that will assure success in later studies.

Next Saturday, March 4 is our annual Auction and I hope that you will be there to celebrate an outstanding year, have fun and support our students. STEM is the focus of our fund-a-need and I will write more about that next week. I would also like to recommend an outstanding STEM event being offered at St. Mary’s College for our Middle School girls on March 18th.

Have a great weekend,

Peter