Thanks to You

Thanks to the generous gifts made by Saklan families, grandparents, staff and alums to the Annual Giving Fund and Auction, Saklan has been able to make numerous facilities upgrades, expand our curricular offerings, and provide a more collaborative environment for our students. To get a better idea of what the funds from each fundraising campaign support and how you can get involved, please read below.

Annual Giving Fund

Each fall Saklan conducts an Annual Giving Fund (AGF) campaign, which supports all of the things that make Saklan the incredible school that it is, including: personal attention from dedicated teachers; an engaging, hands-on curriculum; arts, music, Spanish, STEM, and physical education at all grade levels. 

Funds raised from last year’s AGF campaign were also used to purchase a new Saklan Van, allowing for a greater number of field experiences throughout the year. Additionally, AGF funds helped fund some of the campus upgrades over the summer, including the new turf by the main entrance. Thank you to all our donors for making these items possible!

Saklan will kick-off the 23-24 AGF on Tuesday, October 24th with Orange Envelope Day. Stay tuned for more info!

Saklan’s Auction

Saklan’s auction is an adults-only, community building event that features a silent auction, games, food, drinks, a live auction, and tons of fun! Proceeds from the event are invested directly into your children’s educational experiences. Saklan parents, alumni, friends, faculty and staff are invited to come together in celebration of our wonderful school community on April 26, 2024. 

Funds raised during last year’s auction provided for:

  • New collaborative furniture in the 5th grade classroom and in the outdoor learning space behind the 1st – 4th grade classrooms
  • An all-weather library book return station
  • An indoor vertical garden in the science lab
  • Media arts literacy equipment and programming
  • A water refill station on the PS – K play yard
  • 3 Saklan teachers to attend the Broadway Teachers Workshop

Thank you to our generous donors for helping us transform our campus and provide greater opportunities for our students.

Auction Meeting

The first Auction Meeting of the year is next Friday, September 15th following CLAS. Meet us in the Pavilion to help plan this year’s event.

Want to help with the event but can’t make the meeting? Email Emily at ewilliamson@saklan.org and let her know. 

Thank you for your support of The Saklan School.

Lunch & Life Lessons

Every fourth Thursday, the middle school students and teachers participate in a much-beloved tradition here at Saklan when they venture off campus and enjoy lunch from one of the local Moraga restaurants or stores. The students love the opportunity to pick their lunch for day, parents love not having to pack a lunch, and the teachers enjoy the many social and emotional perks that the trips offer to the middle schoolers. These lunches allow students to bond with peers and teachers in ways often not seen on campus, allow them to showcase their decision making and negotiation abilities when they decide with their buddy which establishment to get food from, and give them practice in budgeting as they determine which items to purchase with the money they have.

While Off-campus Lunch is a great perk for students it also holds many life lessons. For this reason, students and teachers alike look forward to Off-campus Lunch days!

#SaklanCommunity

The Well-Balanced Student

In a high-stakes, high-pressure culture, parent and school expectations may have unintentional negative effects on students. Join us for our first parent education event of the year on Thursday, September 28th, to learn how to prioritize our kids’ well-being so that they thrive in school and beyond. In this workshop, Challenge Success will share practical strategies for families who want to raise well-balanced kids.  

RSVP today to receive the Zoom link!

This event is open to all Saklan families and the greater Bay Area community. Feel free to share the event info with your friends and family!

Pollinators & Habitats

On Monday, the second grade class went on their first field experience of the year to the Moraga Gardens Farm! Guided by farm expert and Saklan Library Coordinator Meredith, the class learned about the value of bees and how they help with the pollination process, enabling food to grow. Additionally, they looked at the habitats of the animals they found in the garden.

The students really enjoyed sampling some of the yummy products from the farm including mint, blackberries and grapes!

#SaklanFieldExperience

Inclusive SEL Focus

Each month Saklan focuses on a different Social Emotional Learning (SEL) topic, incorporating it into lessons and discussions from Preschool through eighth grade.

Saklan’s social-emotional learning emphasis for August and September is to be inclusive. During these two months, all Saklan students are discussing what it means to be inclusive and looking for ways to include others, such as by using kind words and sharing.

On Tuesday, September 26th, the first – eighth graders will meet with their family groups and take part in cross-grade level discussions and activities to gain an even greater understanding of being inclusive.

#SaklanSEL

The Biggest Bubble

In preparation for a full year of fun and exciting science, middle school students have been reviewing and practicing the scientific method. The sixth grade students were given the question: “Which bubble gum creates the biggest bubbles: Double Bubble or Hubba Bubba?”

Students created their hypothesis, were given the same amount of each gum for consistency, and decided on a bubble gum blower for the experiment to keep the ability consistent. After measuring 5 bubbles and averaging their findings, most groups found Hubba Bubba to be better at consistently blowing large bubbles. Students noted that Hubba Bubba was the softer of the two gums. This and other flavor preferences played into their guess as to why Hubba Bubba was better. From this fun experiment, the scientific questions and hypotheses started flowing!

#SaklanHandsOn

Hot Lunch Starts Tuesday

Saklan is partnering with Grand Bellevue Cafe & Catering to offer a variety of delicious and healthy options for delivered lunches this year. Hot Lunch service begins on Tuesday, September 5th. Families interested in ordering lunches need to order online by 7:00 a.m. on the day prior to the lunch service date.

To order lunches:

1. Go to https://grandbellevuecatering.boonli.com
2. Click “Create an Account.” Password is: Sak1
3. Add account and profile(s) information
4. Sign in with your username & password
5. To begin ordering, navigate to the month, click on the menu, click a date.

Additional information on purchasing lunches can be found on Saklan’s Hot Lunch webpage.

Join Us for Saklan’s Fall Festival

The Saklan School’s Parent Association is hosting a Fall Festival on Sunday, October 1st from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., and all Saklan families are invited!

There will be food trucks, lawn games, a whipped cream pie challenge, and a Fall Food Showcase. Join for face painting, photo booth, and fall crafts. Can’t wait to see you there!

Fall Food Showcase

If your kiddos like to cook and create, we would love for them to participate in the Fall Food Showcase! Bring a fall-inspired homemade treat or snack to the Fall Festival; savory, sweet, and creative dishes are all welcome and will be put out to share. Each participant gets a raffle ticket to a prize!

Please remember No Nuts! Please no temperature controlled dishes, as there will not be electricity at the table.

Please sign up ahead of time using the button below. 

Fall food showcase sign up

#SaklanFallFestival

Connected, Confident Middle School

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 create an opportunity for 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, completing blindfolded trust walks, 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 renewed sense of confidence. They were also a bit 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.

#SaklanConnected #SaklanConfident

Our Deepest Gratitude

Anyone who’s dabbled in home improvement knows that initial visions—whether about aesthetics or budget—can dramatically transform by the time the last nail is in place. Often, the journey between inception and completion reveals surprises, challenges, and, ultimately, growth.

Our summer facilities work was no different. Where our vision started and what we had in the end were vastly different. Some of the work was typical deferred maintenance work (think roof repairs or drainage), but much of it was centered around the concept of creating spaces that let brains “breathe” and encourage collaborative work.  

To illustrate:

When we encountered root damage from the trees out front and town regulations around juniper bushes, it prompted us to reimagine what students experience as they walk into Saklan. As they enter the school, they pass by drought-resistant plants, through a skylit breezeway, and the first thing they see is a tree-shaded conversation and collaboration area. 

One of last year’s Fund-A-Need projects was to purchase collaborative furniture for the 5th grade classroom. As we evaluated the space and how the new furniture would work in the room, it was clear that we needed new LED lighting that could be adjusted depending on the activity and flooring that allowed the student work spaces to be reconfigured easily. We liked the outcome so much that we replicated the work in the Kindergarten classroom. 

Lastly, our work on the Pavilion and the lower school outdoor learning spaces are almost completed. The Pavilion now boasts improved lighting, heating, and flooring, while new communal lunch tables, designed to encourage bonding and dialogue, will arrive in early September. Behind the Lower School classrooms the outdoor learning space is now graced with a redwood fence and new sunshades. Furniture designed for group work is soon to be delivered. 

This transformation would have remained a dream without two things: the hard work of Javier Yacarini and his leadership of a team of individuals who worked diligently to make all these visions a reality, and the incredible support of our parent community. A substantial portion of the funding for these improvements was generously provided through Auction Fund-A-Need contributions and our successful Annual Giving Campaign. We extend our deepest gratitude. As Saklan continues to innovate in the realm of education, it’s only fitting that our facilities evolve in tandem.

With gratitude,

David

#SaklanHeadsCorner #SaklanGratitude