Tag: learning

Perseverance in Action

Last Friday, Saklan’s February Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) focus on perseverance came to life in a memorable way for students in third, fourth, and fifth grade.

Students gathered in mixed-grade groups of five for a silent puzzle challenge that quickly proved to be about much more than fitting shapes together. Each student began with three puzzle pieces, and together their group needed to complete five square puzzles. There was just one twist: students had to trade pieces without speaking. While they were allowed to offer a piece if they noticed someone needed it, they could not ask for one themselves.

At first, the rules prompted puzzled looks and raised eyebrows. One student even asked, “Wait… we can’t talk at all?” before the challenge began. Soon, however, the pavilion filled with intense focus, expressive gestures, and quiet determination. Without words, students leaned in, carefully studied one another’s progress, and began noticing—really noticing—what their teammates needed.

Gradually, the groups found their rhythm. Students passed pieces across the table, pointed gently to openings, and patiently waited for the right moment to help a teammate. When the final squares clicked into place, the groups celebrated in their own silent way, pumping their arms and grinning with pride.

The activity was more than a puzzle-solving exercise. It was a powerful opportunity for cross-age collaboration and social-emotional growth. Students practiced perseverance as they worked through frustration and uncertainty. They also strengthened empathy and social awareness by learning to observe others closely and respond thoughtfully.

During reflection afterward, many students shared how challenging it was to wait patiently and trust their teammates. Teachers helped connect the experience to friendship and community, encouraging students to look beyond their own needs and pay attention to those around them.

It was a meaningful reminder that perseverance often involves patience, teamwork, and the willingness to support others.

#SaklanSEL #SaklanCommunity

Head’s Corner: Whitewaters

How do we prepare children for a world we can’t fully predict?

Our students are growing up in what can best be described as a climate of whitewaters — a period of rapid change marked by social fragmentation, global uncertainty, and accelerating artificial intelligence. The world they will inherit will demand more than information. It will require judgment, empathy, adaptability, and wisdom.

Last month, at the CAIS Trustee/Heads Conference, I heard Pedro Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Education, speak directly to this challenge. He reframed what many see as societal crises as something else entirely: learning challenges. As he spoke, I found myself thinking — this is the work we are already doing at Saklan.

Preparing students for the future requires cultivating the human capacities that technology cannot replicate — imagination, empathy, ethical reasoning, and sound judgment.

It also means addressing what some describe as an “empathy gap.” Too often, we care most deeply about problems only when they affect us personally. Schools can help close that gap by teaching students how to listen across differences, collaborate meaningfully, and build authentic relationships. 

At Saklan, this belief shapes daily practice. Relationships are not separate from rigor; they make rigor possible. Curiosity is not enrichment; it is the engine of deep learning. Intrinsic motivation fuels risk-taking, persistence, and lasting confidence — the kind that grows not from ease but from learning to navigate challenges. 

Hearing Dr. Noguera did not feel like a call to change direction. It felt like an affirmation of what we do at Saklan. The work of cultivating curious, compassionate, and capable learners is not peripheral to education — it is essential.

Helping students learn how to navigate these whitewaters with wisdom, grit, and empathy may be the most important work we do.

Warmly, 

David

If you would like to view Dr. Noguera’s full speech, click here.

Fifth Grade Leads Redwood Grove Restoration Project

The culmination of fifth grade’s Redwood Grove Project Based Learning unit was a powerful example of student leadership in action. After weeks of studying forest ecosystems and soil health, students led a shared effort to show their beloved redwood grove some love, restoring natural forest-like conditions to support the trees’ long-term health.

The culmination began with a purposeful walk to Outdoor Supply Hardware, where garden staff offered just the expert advice students needed. Rather than “feeding” the trees, they learned that the grove required a return to natural conditions. Mulch would help retain moisture and encourage the healthy decomposition of fallen leaves, needles, and twigs. With this knowledge, students selected shredded redwood mulch, leaf scoops, and rakes, tools that will allow fallen leaf litter to be returned to the grove year-round.

Back on campus, students worked collaboratively and followed their team contracts to prepare for service day. They drafted a formal purchase request, created hearts and ribbons with messages of appreciation, designed and hung posters, unloaded supplies, and set up tables and chairs. Every detail was thoughtfully planned and entirely student-led.

On the morning of the restoration, they were ready. Students shared their research, explained their decisions for the grove, and confidently guided family members through the work they had prepared: loosening compacted sand, carefully spreading mulch, and protecting exposed roots in one section of the grove.

As the first section wrapped up, students received a surprise gift: Dawn Redwood seeds. If successfully grown, one may eventually stand in the new redwood playground, becoming a living learning legacy for future students.

The work didn’t stop there. During recess, fifth graders invited younger students to help restore the next section of the grove, modeling leadership and stewardship. Even steady rain at lunchtime could not dampen their momentum. Paths were raked, clear “go” and “no-go” zones were established, and by the end of the day, the transformation of the grove was visible.

This project was more than a lesson in ecology. It was a lesson in agency. When students are trusted to lead meaningful work, motivation and engagement flourish.

#SaklanPBL

Fractions Come to Life in Third Grade

What do sunflower drawings, pattern blocks, rulers, and a classroom clothesline have in common? In third grade, they have all been bringing fractions to life.

Over the past several weeks in both Number Corner and their Bridges unit, third graders have been developing a meaningful understanding of fractions as numbers: not just pieces of shapes, but values that can be measured, compared, and located on a number line.

The learning began with a scenario challenge: How could an art club fairly share wall space for a mural? As students explored dividing the same whole among two, three, four, six, and even eight artists, they discovered the important role of the denominator and noticed how the size of each share changes as the whole is partitioned into more equal parts.

This foundational idea — that fractions represent equal parts of the same whole — helped students understand why fractions must refer to the same whole to be meaningfully compared.

Hands-on exploration anchored the learning. Students folded paper into equal parts, modeled fractions with pattern blocks, and represented their thinking symbolically using numerators and denominators. Using a clothesline number line, students hung fractions in the correct location and justified their reasoning.

Through this visual and interactive experience, students discovered equivalent fractions and explored numbers greater than one, strengthening their understanding that fractions are numbers with precise locations and relationships.

Fractions and measurement intersected when student pairs created detailed sunflower drawings and measured leaf lengths to the nearest ½ and ¼ inch. Workplace games like Fraction Tic-Tac-Toe and Hexagon Spin & Fill encouraged strategy, collaboration, and joyful practice.

These rich, hands-on experiences are building far more than fraction skills; they are strengthening mathematical confidence, perseverance, and flexible thinking.

#SaklanHandsOn

Celebrating 100 Days of Learning

On Thursday, February 5th, Saklan students joyfully celebrated the 100th day of school, a milestone that highlights just how much growth can happen in 100 small, meaningful steps. The day was filled with math, movement, creativity, and laughter across every grade level.

The Owlets marked the occasion with a classroom-wide search for 100 hidden emojis. Many students arrived dressed as 100-year-olds, fully embracing their roles and staying in character throughout the day, adding an extra layer of fun to the celebration.

The Hoot Owls dove into hands-on activities centered around the number 100. They carefully counted out 100 Cheerios to create necklaces, participated in a 100-star scavenger hunt, and explored different ways to represent 100 using classroom materials. The celebration culminated in a special lunch party complete with photos and festive crowns.

Kindergartners explored the concept of 100 in playful and delicious ways. They created their own 100th-day snack by combining 10 different treats, 10 pieces of each, bringing math to life in a tangible (and tasty) way. Students designed colorful hundred grids, crafted crowns, and proudly wore 100-Fruit-Loop necklaces. Movement was also part of the fun, as students danced for 100 seconds and completed 100 jumping jacks.

Throughout the day, students from grades 1 through 8 joined the kindergartners in celebration, fostering a strong sense of cross-grade connection and belonging. These shared experiences foster confidence, joy, and a sense of community, reminding students that they are part of something larger.

First graders also embraced the milestone with engaging math and writing activities focused on the number 100. They counted, created, reflected, and celebrated how much they have learned and grown over the past 100 days.

The 100th day of school at Saklan was more than just a number; it was a celebration of perseverance, progress, and the vibrant community that supports every student’s journey.

#SaklanCommunity

Self-Disciplined Family Groups

On Wednesday, Saklan Kindergarten through 8th-grade students engaged in a thoughtful and interactive Family Group lesson focused on developing self-discipline, an essential skill that supports learning, emotional regulation, and personal growth.

The lesson began by inviting students to reflect on what self-discipline means to them. Through discussion, students identified self-discipline as recognizing when support is needed to achieve a goal and having the ability to bring themselves back on track. Together, they created a web of ideas on the board, placing “Self-Discipline” at the center and surrounding it with their own thoughts and experiences.

From there, students explored the many moments at school when self-discipline is needed. They shared examples such as staying focused, managing fidgety feelings, handling stress or big emotions, listening actively, raising a hand instead of calling out, and navigating moments of silliness or frustration. This conversation helped normalize the challenges students face and reinforced that self-discipline is a skill everyone practices and strengthens over time.

To introduce practical strategies, students watched a short, engaging video featuring Cookie Monster learning tools to resist his love of cookies. Together, the group reviewed the strategies Cookie Monster used (counting, singing, and imagining something calming) and discussed why these tools might work for him, as well as why different strategies may be more helpful in a school setting.

Students then applied their thinking to real-life scenarios. Through role-play and group discussion, they explored situations such as being cut in line, feeling nervous before a test, forgetting lunch, struggling to stop giggling, or feeling upset when a classmate takes something without asking. For each scenario, students worked collaboratively to identify healthy, self-disciplined responses and the tools that could help them regain control and focus.

To bring the learning together, students created a visual poster highlighting different situations and the tools that support self-discipline.

This lesson emphasized that self-discipline isn’t about being perfect; it’s about noticing when something feels hard and having strategies to help oneself move forward. Through discussion, creativity, and collaboration, students strengthened their understanding of self-discipline as a skill they can practice every day, building confidence and resilience along the way.

#SaklanSEL

When Students Lead the Learning

Sometimes the most meaningful learning moments are the ones that unfold organically, and last week, Saklan’s third graders experienced one of those magical surprises.

What began as a simple vocabulary exercise quickly evolved into a joyful, student-led experience filled with creativity, collaboration, and enthusiasm for learning. As part of the lesson, students were invited to bring new vocabulary words to life by creating short skits. Almost immediately, the classroom buzzed with excitement. Laughter, brainstorming, and endless “What if we…?” moments filled the air as students worked together to imagine scenes and assign roles.

The excitement didn’t end when the lesson was over. Students proudly shared that they continued inventing skits during recess, eager to keep the momentum going.

By Friday, the class had fully taken ownership of the experience. During recess, they collaboratively planned one large skit as a whole group, listening carefully to one another’s ideas and working through challenges together. Later, during quiet time, students independently chose to design and build props, thoughtfully negotiating materials and responsibilities.

This was authentic, student-driven learning at its best: hands-on, deeply engaging, and shaped entirely by student curiosity and agency.

The experience became even more meaningful when the third graders invited their first-grade buddies to be the audience. Watching the students perform with confidence and pride—and seeing every child shine—was a powerful snapshot of teamwork, leadership, and social-emotional growth in action. One student summed it up perfectly, exclaiming, “We should do this every day!”

Moments like these are a joyful reminder of what’s possible when students lead the way.

#SaklanStudentAgency #SaklanHandsOn

Head’s Corner: Gratitude for a Community That Shows Up

As we come to the end of the first semester, I have been reflecting on how Saklan comes alive because people show up — not just physically, but thoughtfully and generously.

We’ve seen it in our middle school students stepping outside the classroom to serve at the Alameda County Community Food Bank, working side by side to bag thousands of pounds of produce while learning what it means to contribute to something larger than themselves. We’ve seen it in our 8th graders traveling to Puerto Rico, engaging deeply with culture, history, and service, and learning firsthand how resilience, empathy, and hard work intersect in the real world.

We’ve also felt it right here on campus. Families gathering on a weekend to paint, build, problem-solve, and laugh together as they work to bring SpongeBob alive. Grandfriends sitting next to students in classrooms, sharing curiosity, pride, and connection. Parents, caregivers, teachers, and staff creating moments that remind students their learning matters — and that they are supported by a community that cares.

This kind of learning doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens because teachers design meaningful experiences, students lean into challenge, and families trust, support, and partner with us. It happens when people give their time, energy, creativity, and resources — whether that’s volunteering at an event, contributing to the Annual Giving Fund, or simply being present and engaged.

I’m deeply grateful for the Saklan community and for the many ways you help make this a place where students learn with purpose, feel a sense of belonging, and develop compassion for the world around them. What your children experience here is the result of a shared commitment, and it is something we don’t take for granted.

Thank you for showing up — for our students, for one another, and for Saklan.

Warmly,
David

Authenticity and Student Inquiry

Doing a project is not the same as Project Based Learning. The differences may seem minor at first glance, but the impact on student learning and engagement is tremendous. Two vital components that differentiate “doing a project” from Project Based Learning are authenticity and student-driven inquiry. 

High-level Project Based Learning has an authentic context. It involves tasks, questions, or ideas that connect to the world outside of the school walls: students’ personal experiences, concerns, interests, or identity. Student-driven inquiry means students are engaged in an iterative process of asking questions, gathering and interpreting data, and developing solutions or deeper questions to investigate. 

Two fantastic examples of these elements in high-level Project Based Learning at Saklan are the Kindergarten Names unit and the Owlet Leaf unit. 

Our Kindergarten names unit brings students’ family stories and cultures to the forefront of learning. The students investigate how to become better friends by learning about each other’s names. Closer bonds and deeper friendships are developed by bringing students’ rich family lives and stories into the classroom. They interview their families and each other about their names, learn to read and write each other’s names, explore ways to represent the meaning of their names together, and study how people share their names through picture books.

Our youngest learners, the Owlets, have been engaging in a deep exploration of leaves. For our ECE students, part of an authentic unit means pursuing a topic that they experience in their daily lives. During this time of year, when the trees are changing colors and leaves are falling to the ground all around us, student questions about leaves are abundant. They first began their study by sharing their own knowledge about leaves before generating questions. Next, the class engaged in experiences that helped them answer their questions, and then made physical representations of their growing knowledge of leaves. 

For both of these units, students engaged in multiple rounds of inquiry and had the rich opportunity to explore a topic with personal meaning while also tackling academic, social, and emotional learning goals. You are invited to join us on December 11th at 8:40 a.m. to celebrate the culmination of both of these project units. We hope you join us! 

  • One element of the Names unit included inspiration from artist Cindy Sherman.
  • Students designed costumes for portraits that communicated the meaning of their names.
  • See this work and more on Dec 11th!

#SaklanProjectBasedLearning

Spotlight on Riva: Guiding Kindergartners With Joy & Purpose

If you’ve ever stepped into Saklan’s Kindergarten classroom, you’ve likely felt it: the spark, the laughter, the hum of curiosity and care. It’s a space where little moments become big milestones, and where joy seems to live in every corner. That joy is no accident. It’s fueled, every day, by a teacher who brings heart, intention, and deep respect for childhood into everything she does.

Recently, we sat down with Riva, Saklan’s Kindergarten teacher, to learn more about what inspires her, what she loves most about working with our youngest learners, and why Saklan’s approach to Project Based Learning feels so special.

You bring so much joy to the Saklan campus- what fuels your joy and excitement the most when it comes to your teaching day? 

“My joy comes from the relationships I get to build with my students and their families. Kindergarteners arrive each morning with such openness and enthusiasm, and I love being part of a community that celebrates their strengths, quirks, and emerging identities. Saklan is a place where students are truly known, and getting to guide them through their first steps in school — emotionally, socially, and academically — is a privilege that motivates me every day.”

What do you love the most about working with Kindergarten?

“What I love most about working with kindergarteners is the unique magic of this developmental stage. Everything is new, everything is possible, and their sense of wonder is contagious. I get to watch them discover their own abilities, whether they’re decoding a word for the first time, writing a brave sentence, or learning how to take a deep breath and reset. Kindergarteners grow in such joyful, visible ways, and being part of those early milestones feels incredibly meaningful.”

She also shared a favorite program that brings this magic to life: Kinder Korner.

“One of my favorite parts of teaching kindergarten at Saklan is our Kinder Korner program. Our students become “big buddies” to the Hoot Owls, teaching them what life in kindergarten is like. It’s beautiful to see my students step into leadership roles with such care and pride. They show empathy, patience, and confidence as they guide their younger buddies through activities, routines, and little moments of discovery. Watching them light up when they realize they are the ‘experts’ is truly heartwarming. Those cross-grade connections deepen our community and remind me how capable and kind young children can be when given the chance to lead.”

You have had a lot of experience with projects at previous schools- what makes Saklan’s approach to PBL special?

“What I love about Saklan’s approach to Project Based Learning is the way it connects our standards to work that feels genuinely meaningful for young children. Our projects grow from what students are naturally curious about, and that makes the learning feel joyful and authentic for all of us.”

She highlighted The Names Project as a powerful example.

“The Names Project is one of my favorites for exactly that reason. Kindergarteners are already captivated by their own names, so it becomes a perfect entry point into letters, sounds, phonics, and even math as we compare and graph the number of letters in each name. But what makes this project so special to me is the sense of community it builds. As students learn to read each other’s names, discover the stories behind them, and create portraits inspired by their name meanings, they also learn about one another in a really meaningful way. The academic growth is wonderful, but the connections they build are the true heart of the project for me.”

You can see this joyful learning in action by joining the Kindergartners for their Names Project culmination on Thursday, December 11th, at 8:40 a.m.

From the joyful morning greetings to the thoughtful projects that build community and confidence, it’s clear that Kindergarten at Saklan is filled with intention, wonder, and deep care. And at the center of it all are teachers like Riva, who make learning feel magical—one moment, one question, and one joyful discovery at a time.

#SaklanStaff