Tag: teaching

Second Graders Become Published Authors

Saklan’s second graders recently celebrated the culmination of their Project Based Learning unit, The Secret Life of Seeds, by becoming published authors and sharing their work with younger students across campus.

Centered around the driving question, If a seed could talk, what story would it tell about how it travels?, the project invited students to combine scientific inquiry with imagination and storytelling. Throughout the unit, students explored the many ways seeds travel, survive, and grow, studying methods of seed dispersal such as wind, water, and animals. Each student selected a specific seed to research before creating an original narrative that followed the seed’s unique journey.

As students moved through the writing process, they experienced firsthand how ideas develop and strengthen over time. Early brainstorming and planning sessions helped students organize both the scientific concepts they wanted to teach and the creative elements they hoped to include in their stories. During drafting, students experimented with voice, dialogue, and storytelling techniques as they transformed seeds into characters with adventures, challenges, and destinations.

Revision became one of the most meaningful parts of the project. Students carefully reread their work to strengthen descriptions, clarify scientific explanations, and make their stories more engaging for readers. Peer feedback conversations encouraged students to think about their writing in new ways and reinforced the idea that strong writing develops through reflection, collaboration, and persistence.

The project culminated in a series of “Meet the Author” events held in the library with ECE, Kindergarten, and First Grade classes. During these special visits, second graders proudly read their published books aloud, answered questions about their stories and scientific research, and stepped into the role of confident authors and experts. Sharing their work with younger students gave second graders an authentic audience and highlighted the meaningful connections between literacy, science, and community.

The Secret Life of Seeds beautifully reflected the inquiry, creativity, and communication that are central to Saklan’s Project Based Learning approach. Most importantly, students experienced the joy and power of using their voices and ideas to teach, inspire, and connect with others.

#SaklanProjectWork

Eighth Graders Put Physics into Motion 

The end of the year in Saklan’s eighth grade physics class is filled with hands-on science, engineering, and problem-solving. As the culmination of their physics studies, students recently worked in teams to design and build their own roller coasters for marbles to ride.

Each group created an eight-foot-long coaster that incorporated the major physics concepts they studied throughout the year, including force, momentum, motion, and energy transfer. To meet the project requirements, every coaster needed to include at least one loop, a slow-down stop, and creative decorations inspired by the themed roller coasters found at amusement parks.

Throughout the project, students relied on creativity, collaboration, math skills, and the scientific method as they designed, tested, redesigned, and refined their creations. Groups analyzed what worked, identified challenges, made adjustments, and in some cases started over entirely before successfully completing their final designs.

The project challenged students to apply their understanding of the four forces studied in class while ensuring their coaster had enough momentum to complete a loop and safely guide the marble to a stop. More importantly, it gave students the opportunity to experience physics in action through experimentation, teamwork, and hands-on learning.

The final roller coasters showcased not only impressive engineering and creativity, but also the persistence and problem-solving skills students developed throughout the process.

#SaklanHandsOn

Improving Saklan’s Community Spaces

Saklan’s seventh-grade students have been exploring the role of community spaces through an engaging Humanities Project Based Learning unit centered on the driving question: How can we improve our shared public spaces to better meet the needs and reflect the values of our community?

As the culminating project for the unit, students are developing thoughtful and practical proposals for improving one of the most meaningful shared spaces in their daily lives: The Saklan School campus. Families are invited to join the seventh graders on Wednesday, May 20, at 10:15 a.m. in the Humanities Room to hear students present their ideas for enhancing our campus community.

The project began with students reflecting on the changes already made to Saklan’s campus during the current school year. Together, they identified several updates, including the addition of all-gender bathrooms in the Lower School, a new net above the sports court fence, the construction of the redwood deck, and the installation of larger middle school lockers. Working in small groups, students evaluated whether these changes improved the campus experience and considered how they might be enhanced further.

From there, students conducted a detailed assessment of the school grounds, examining buildings, outdoor areas, and the campus perimeter. Each group identified spaces that were functioning successfully, areas that could be improved, and the reasons behind their evaluations. This process encouraged students to think critically about how design impacts the way people interact with and experience shared environments.

The unit then expanded into a historical exploration of community spaces in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. Through a gallery walk featuring unlabeled images from the Maya, Aztec/Mexica, and Inka civilizations, students analyzed architecture and public spaces while considering the cultural values they reflected. Students also engaged in discussions about the legacy of Christopher Columbus, examining differing perspectives on why he remains widely recognized and whether he should continue to be celebrated.

Working in expert groups, students studied one of the three civilizations in greater depth, learning about the geography, climate, and major achievements that shaped each society. Individually, students then selected a pre-Columbian structure or community space to investigate more closely. They explored why the space was created, how it was used, what needs it fulfilled, the materials used in its construction, and the factors that influenced its design.

As students continued refining their understanding of successful community spaces, they also examined examples from the modern world, including a visit to a contemporary temple. Throughout the process, students connected lessons from the past and present to their own campus community, using their research and observations to inform their final proposals.

The project has encouraged seventh graders to think deeply about the relationship between physical spaces and community values, while empowering them to imagine how thoughtful design can improve everyday experiences for others.

#SaklanProjectWork #SaklanCommunity

Once Upon a Time in Kindergarten

Kindergarten students at Saklan have been immersed in a magical world of storytelling as their Project work has focused on fairy tale writing. The classroom has been filled with excitement as students bring imaginative characters and adventures to life. Dragons, evil magicians, brave princesses, talking animals, and mysterious villains have all found their way into their original stories.

While the final stories are full of creativity and humor, students are also learning an important lesson about the writing process: strong writing begins long before the final draft. Weeks earlier, students engaged in a carefully scaffolded planning process designed to build an understanding of story structure and organization.

Using a color-coded system, students mapped out their ideas across six parts of a narrative: introducing the main character, beginning the adventure, presenting the problem and villain, building to the “uh oh” moment, resolving the conflict, and concluding with a happily ever after. By focusing on just a few sections at a time, students were able to thoughtfully develop their stories and gain confidence in structuring their ideas.

Once their plans were complete, students eagerly began the writing process. Over the following weeks, the classroom buzzed with focused energy as young authors transformed their plans into full fairy tales. To support their work, students used a growing class word bank, along with table-specific word lists, to help with spelling and vocabulary. They also leaned on one another, asking questions, offering suggestions, and celebrating each other’s ideas along the way.

This collaborative and supportive environment helped students not only strengthen their writing skills but also develop confidence and independence. The process was both challenging and rewarding, resulting in stories that are as unique as the students themselves.

You are invited to experience these original fairy tales firsthand during the Kindergarten culmination on Friday, May 15, at 9:00 a.m. It promises to be a joyful celebration of creativity, growth, and storytelling!

#SaklanProjectWork

Cross-Divisional Project Collaboration

Beyond reading buddies, Saklan projects are intentionally designed for meaningful student collaboration that authentically supports academic growth. This spring, middle school is using their music production skills for kindergarten’s fairy tale recordings, 6th grade helped 1st graders organize their expository writing, and 4th graders helped our Pre-K Hoot Owls refine their Venn diagram skills! 

Kindergarten and Middle School Music Production

How can we write and share our own fairy tales to spread magic and joy? Through answering this driving question, Kindergarten students have learned the elements of fairy tales and deepened their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to write and record their own original fairy tale stories. 

In preparation for their readers-theater style culmination on May 15th, students recorded their stories, and middle school students are creating original backing tracks to support the narrative elements of the fairy tale. Sound mixing the Kindergarten stories gives our middle schoolers an authentic application of their digital music production skills.

6th Grade and 1st Grade Expository Writing

All year 6th graders have worked on expository writing in Humanities. Recently, while preparing to write artifact labels for their PBL unit culmination, the Museum of the Future, sixth graders reviewed structure and organization in expository writing. To practice this work, sixth graders analyzed 1st grade report writing drafts on extreme weather. They completed individual writing conferences to support improving the structure and organization of the first-grade reports. Not only did the first graders get to work with the big kids in a middle school classroom, but the sixth graders had the opportunity to grapple with the deeper cognitive task of teaching and explaining elements of writing to a younger child. This work improved the content of the first-grade reports and solidified the sixth grader’s understanding of writing structures and organization, while building community across divisions.

Hoot Owl and 4th Grade Venn Diagrams

Venn diagrams are a useful tool for many grade levels to demonstrate understanding of academic content. This spring, our Pre-K class has been learning all about oceans while their 4th-grade reading buddies have been working on a PBL unit about the California Gold Rush. Both classes planned to use Venn diagrams as a learning tool, and teachers needed an opportunity for some one-on-one teaching and practice. It was natural for these classes to connect and engage in some cross-divisional content learning! 

With fourth graders guiding the learning, the buddies made Venn diagrams all about each other! They chatted and recorded what they had in common and what was different about each other. As they got to know each other better by completing the diagram, both classes also deepened their understanding of how to use a Venn diagram. When each class returned to their own project work, they employed the same learning tool at different developmental levels with different content.  

If you want to see final products and culminating events, stay tuned for the next week at Saklan emails for updates on ways to come see and celebrate our students’ spring project work!

#SaklanProjectWork

Safe at Home

First graders at Saklan are deepening their understanding of homes and safety through meaningful, real-world connections as part of their Homes Project Based Learning unit.

One area of interest for the students has been wildfires: how they start, how they impact homes, and what people can do to stay safe. To bring this learning to life, students welcomed guest expert (and Saklan parent) Firefighter Mason, who shared valuable safety tips and prevention strategies. He explained how firefighters work to protect the community and what families can do to reduce risk at home. This visit helped students better understand the critical role firefighters play and made the learning both relevant and memorable.

A highlight of the visit was Mason’s demonstration of his firefighter gear. Students watched with awe as he suited up, describing each piece, from his heavy boots to his helmet and fire-resistant clothing. They were especially surprised to learn how much the gear weighs and how it helps keep firefighters safe while they do their important work.

The learning continued with another special guest, Saklan’s Science Teacher, Ms. O. As part of the unit, students explored how to protect themselves and their homes during extreme weather conditions. Before her visit, students generated thoughtful questions, which Ms. O answered in engaging and accessible ways.

Through videos and images, students were introduced to a range of natural events, including tornadoes, earthquakes, strong winds, and hurricanes. These visuals helped bring complex concepts to life and sparked meaningful discussions about how such events can affect homes and communities.

Ms. O also guided students in thinking about how to prepare for different weather conditions, whether staying cool during extreme heat, keeping warm in cold temperatures, or making safe choices during emergencies. These lessons helped students see how science connects directly to their everyday lives.

Through these expert visits, first graders are not only learning about homes, but they are also developing the knowledge and awareness needed to stay safe and care for their communities.

#SaklanProjectWork

Head’s Corner: 24 Acceptances, 1 Waitlist, and a Class Ready for What Comes Next

There are some years when the numbers tell a strong story on their own. This is one of those years. Saklan’s 8th-grade class submitted 25 applications to local independent high schools and earned 24 acceptances, along with 1 waitlist.

That is an outstanding result, and one we are proud to celebrate.

Our students received offers from an excellent group of schools, including Athenian, College Prep, Head-Royce, Bentley, Carondelet, De La Salle, and St. Mary’s. But as strong as those outcomes are, what matters most to me is what they reflect.

They reflect years of growth—students who are deeply known by their teachers and supported along the way. They reflect young people who have learned to think critically, speak with confidence, navigate challenges, and contribute meaningfully to a community. Most importantly, they reflect students who are not only academically prepared but ready to step into their next chapter with confidence, character, and curiosity.

At Saklan, we work hard to do both: challenge students and know them deeply. We want them to leave here with strong skills, certainly, but also with the confidence that comes from being seen, supported, and stretched over time.

Saklan alum Levi Kim, now at Brown, spoke at our auction about the impact Saklan had on him. He talked about the adaptability, critical thinking, empathy, and creativity he developed here — and how those qualities have mattered well beyond middle school. That is what we hope for our students. Yes, a Saklan education helps open doors. But more importantly, it helps students walk through those doors ready to thrive.

That is what makes these admissions results so meaningful.

I am proud of this class and of the way they represented themselves throughout the process. They showed who they are, and these results reflect that. We are excited to see where their journeys lead next.

Warmly,

David

Family Groups Focus on Accountability

On Tuesday, Saklan students gathered in their Family Groups to explore an important character trait: accountability. The session began with a fun and engaging warm-up, as students shared their favorite superheroes/real-life heroes and discussed what makes them admirable. This conversation helped set the stage for thinking about the qualities that make someone responsible and trustworthy.

Students were then introduced to the concept of accountability and what it looks like in everyday life. Together, they discussed examples such as doing their part in group work, making good choices, and taking care of themselves, others, and their belongings.

To bring the concept to life, students watched a short video about the “Accountable Ninja.” Afterward, they reflected on how the character initially avoided responsibility and what changes he made to become more accountable. These conversations encouraged students to think critically about their own actions and choices.

Next, students put their learning into action by creating “superhero bursts,” each one highlighting a personal goal to be more accountable. Whether it was completing homework on time, helping others, or owning up to mistakes, each student contributed a thoughtful commitment to their shared group poster.

The lesson continued with a lively group challenge: keeping two balloons in the air without letting them touch the ground, all while following specific rules. The activity required teamwork, communication, and individual responsibility. As students worked together toward a common goal, they experienced firsthand how accountability plays a role in group success.

#SaklanSEL

Making Sense of Fractions

Fractions have taken center stage in the fifth-grade classroom, with the students focusing on understanding why fraction operations work. Rather than jumping straight to procedures, students have used visual models, discussion, and hands-on exploration to build a strong conceptual foundation—one that allows them to reason through problems, explain their thinking, and apply their learning in new situations.

One particularly memorable example came from the class’s daily fruit demonstrations. When students worked through fraction problems using numbers alone, answers sometimes varied. But when fruit appeared on the cutting board, and students could see fractional pieces in relation to a whole, their thinking quickly aligned. Concepts that once felt abstract suddenly became clear, and earlier mistakes turned into meaningful learning moments.

Students also tackled a real-world-inspired challenge from Mateo of BRAD Co., who needed help organizing 24 quests across game levels. Through modeling and discussion, students discovered that the expression 24 ÷ 2 can represent two valid interpretations: 12 quests in each of two levels, or 12 levels with two quests each. By the end, students demonstrated that both solutions were correct, supporting their reasoning through clear and thoughtful representations.

In another activity, students evaluated mathematical claims, determining whether statements were always true, sometimes true, or never true. They backed up their conclusions with examples, diagrams, and models, strengthening their ability to generalize relationships between factors and products when working with fractions.

This kind of reasoning: making claims, defending them with evidence, and revising thinking through discussion, builds the mathematical communication and problem-solving skills that prepare students well for middle school mathematics and beyond.

Head’s Corner: Investing in the Human Qualities That Matter Most

At this year’s auction, our Fund-a-Need is about something that feels especially important right now.

The world our children are growing up in is changing quickly. A lot of attention is paid to what students need to know to keep up. That matters, of course. But I would argue that more importantly is who they are becoming.

Are they learning to work with others?
Can they solve problems?
Can they listen across differences?
Can they stick with something hard?
Can they stay grounded in themselves while also growing in empathy for people whose lives may look very different from their own?

Those are not nice to haves in the work of education. They are central to it.

At Saklan, we believe those qualities are built through experience. They grow when children are well-known by their teachers. They grow when students are given meaningful opportunities to collaborate, create, persist, and solve real problems together. They grow when a school makes space for belonging, challenge, reflection, and joy.

At Saklan, that kind of growth starts early and deepens over time.

It looks like our youngest students noticing that some trees on the playground have already dropped their leaves while others are still holding on, and turning that simple observation into a real investigation—sorting leaves, sketching them in observation notebooks, learning their parts, and filling a Wonder Wall with questions.

It looks like kindergartners exploring the stories behind their names—interviewing their families, learning about one another. In the process, they begin to navigate friendship, identity, and belonging while practicing the problem-solving skills that help communities thrive.

And it looks like 8th graders in Puerto Rico, working side by side to help rebuild, listening to the stories of people whose lives were changed by Hurricane Maria, and coming to understand that service, resilience, and empathy are not just ideas we talk about at school—they are things you live.

These are very different experiences, but they are connected by the same purpose. In each case, students are learning habits that matter deeply: how to notice, how to wonder, how to solve problems, how to connect, and how to contribute.

That kind of learning takes intention, skill, and care. It takes talented teachers. It takes intentional programs. It takes time, trust, and experiences that invite students to lean in fully.

That is why this year’s Fund-a-Need matters.

Your support helps make possible the relationships that allow children to feel known and valued. It creates the kinds of projects and experiences that spark curiosity, challenge students to think deeply, and give them meaningful opportunities to solve problems together. And it strengthens the environments where students build confidence, empathy, and resilience over time.

Join me in supporting this work.

By making a Fund-a-Need donation, you are investing in more than a single program. You are investing in the daily work of helping children become thoughtful, capable, compassionate people who can contribute meaningfully to the world around them.

That is work worth supporting, and I am deeply grateful to be part of a community that understands its value.

Warmly,
David