FRIDAY BLOG

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Saklan’s 70th Anniversary Welcome Back BBQ. It was a fabulous way to kick off the 70th year of Saklan!

It was so nice to see all the smiling faces and feel the positive energy of the 320+ attendees, including students, staff, families, grandparents, alumni and friends. This was the best attended BBQ to date, and a wonderful way to kick off the new year!

A huge thank you to:

• Javier, Hector and John for getting the campus ready, moving tables, getting ice and filling ice chests.
• Amy Perkins for the beautiful sunflower and rose arrangements.
• Irina Barol for the beautiful pictures.
• Hazy BBQ for the delicious food.
• The PA for setting up the Uniform Exchange, helping attendees make name tags, and helping us build community through volunteer opportunities.
• All the families who volunteered to help with community events this year.

#SaklanCommunity

We are excited to offer Saklan spirit wear commemorating the 70th anniversary of Saklan! We are starting with t-shirts and will add other options later in the year. The order deadline for this first order is Thursday, September 12th so that we receive the shirts prior to the Moraga Parade.

We are offering two design options, which are shown below. Each design comes in youth and adult sizes.

In addition to the tie dye shirt, we are offering the shirts that the faculty and staff wore at the BBQ. This is your child’s chance to twin with the teachers! The design and color options are below. Please note, not all colors are available in youth sizing.

Saklan Spirit Fridays

Starting in October, Saklan will have Spirit Days each Friday, where 1st – 8th grade students can wear Saklan Spirit Wear instead of uniforms. Students are also free to wear these shirts on Free Dress Wednesdays.

#SaklanSpirit

A long-standing tradition of the Saklan Middle School is to start the year with a three-day, two-night field experience called the “Advance.” This field experience is intentionally designed to allow the middle school students to advance into the new school year in a positive, proactive way that helps them flourish into self-confident young adults.  

During the Advance, students engage in different activities that build relationships between students and their teachers. Navigating ropes courses, paddling canoes, determining advisory names and norms, and playing team-building games facilitate positive interactions and friendships. Students are asked to take risks together, creating bonds that will carry them through the school year. Not only does this help solidify their sense of belonging, but it also allows for better collaboration, trust, and academic focus.

Yesterday afternoon, the middle school students and teachers returned from the Advance as a slightly different group than when they left Tuesday morning. They formed new friendships, built a new community, and have a new sense of confidence. They were also very tired from all the fun and activities. But most importantly, the middle school team returned ready to thrive and grow during their middle school experience.

#SaklanConfident

Roots & Shoots Photography will be taking individual and class portraits of Saklan students on Monday, August 26th. These pictures will be used in the yearbook and are available for purchase.

Pictures will be taken outside on the play yard during the school day. Please note that 1st – 8th grade students need to be dressed in uniform for the pictures.

For students who are absent on picture day, a make up day will be held on Monday, October 21st.

Portrait Ordering Process

Portraits will be available to order online approximately 4 weeks AFTER picture day. Complimentary proofs will be provided for every student, so you can decide whether you would like to order them. If you do order, all portrait packages will be shipped directly to your home (a shipping fee will apply). There will be no school package drop off.

Questions? Please contact Roots & Shoot directly at grow@roots-shoots.com. They will be happy to assist you!

All Saklan families are invited to join us next Friday, August 30th, for our first CLAS of the year. CLAS is an all-school assembly focused on Community, Learning, Appreciation, and Sharing that occurs every other Friday on the Saklan Sports Court.

Each CLAS has student hosts, presentations of learning, a birthday celebration, and a song sung by all. CLAS is one of the opportunities that Saklan students have to build their confidence and practice public speaking skills. It is also an opportunity to showcase how supportive, creative, compassionate, and courageous our community is.

CLAS will be held at 8:30 a.m. on the following Fridays:

• August 30 – Coffee & Tea Provided!
• September 13
• September 27
• October 4
• October 25
• November 8
• November 22
• December 13
• January 17
• January 31
• February 21
• March 7
• March 28
• April 18
• May 2
• May 16
• May 23

We hope you can join us!

#SaklanCommunity

The Saklan School is partnering with The Fourth Bore, to offer a variety of delicious and healthy hot lunch options this year. The program, which begins on Monday, August 26th, utilizes the BOONLI online ordering platform. Click on the button below for ordering instructions.

Each day of the week features a different menu, with vegetarian and gluten-free options daily. Check out the menus for the first three weeks below.

Please note that orders need to be placed by 2:00 p.m. two days before the delivery date.

If you have questions about the food, including menu offerings, please contact The Fourth Bore at info@thefourthbore.com.

If you have any questions or encounter any issues with ordering, please contact Boonli support directly at support@boonli.com 8am-5pm PT, Monday-Friday.

Saklan is participating in Moraga’s 50th Anniversary Parade on Saturday, September 28th, and all Saklan families are invited to join us! Participants need to arrive at Saklan at 8:00 a.m.; the parade will begin at 10:00 and conclude by 11:00 a.m. The parade route will start and end in front of Saklan. All participants need to sign a hard copy waiver of liability, which will be available by the front gate during drop-off and pick-up next week. If you signed the waiver at the BBQ, you are all set! The deadline for signing the waiver is September 4th.

If you have questions about the parade, or won’t be on campus to sign the waiver, please reach out to Emily at ewilliamson@saklan.org. Emily will be happy to answer any questions or get you a waiver to sign.

#SaklanCommunity

On Thursday morning, we honored and celebrated The Saklan School’s Graduating Class of 2024. It was a heartfelt ceremony in which the middle school teachers introduced the graduates and the graduates shared short speeches with their parents, teachers and fellow students.

A highlight of the ceremony was a speech by Saklan Alumni, Jacob Martin. Jacob graduated from Saklan in 2014 and has since completed high school, graduated from college and started his first “real job” as a paralegal. The wisdom that Jacob shared with the graduates was inspiring! Equally heart warming was Grace Chaffey leading the audience in singing “In My Life” by The Beatles.

There are several people that made the graduation events possible this year. We would like to extend a special thank you to Emily Williamson, Anny Khalil and Jenny Choi for organizing the graduation dinner and gifts. It takes a lot of planning and coordination, but the dinner was beautifully orchestrated. Thank you to Christina Nguyen, Jennifer Lettieri, Kim Parks, and Vickie Obenchain for helping the students express themselves so eloquently in their graduation speeches. Additionally, a special shout-out goes to Grace Chaffey, Shay Sager, Mel Zippin, Kim Parks, and Javier Yacarini for all their behind-the-scenes work handling the logistics of the graduation dinner and ceremony.

SaklanClassof2024 #SaklanCourageous

As we reflect on the 2023-2024 school year, we are reminded of the impact that every Saklan family had in making the year such a joyful experience. Parents, we truly appreciate your partnership and support throughout the year.

Thank you to all the family members that volunteered their time and talents. Your help was instrumental to making the following activities successful:

• Back-to-School BBQ
• Uniform Exchange
• Annual Giving Fund
• Parent Coffees
• Grandfriends’ Day
• Lower School Musical
• All-School Concert
• Peace, Love, Saklan Auction
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• Middle School Musical
• Yearbook
• Field Experiences
• Class Celebrations
• Open Houses
• Fall Festival
• Movie Night
• Spring Service Social
• Graduation Dinner

Additionally, thank you to everyone who cheered on and showed support for our students during the following events:

• CLAS
• Halloween Costume Parade
• Fall Follies
• Frozen Kids
• Basketball Games
• All-School Concert
• Into the Woods
• Volleyball Matches
• Art Show
• Presentations of Learning
• Graduation

It was a wonderful year. Thank you, Saklan families, for your help and partnership in making the 23-24 year a success!