Saklan Valley School - Moraga School - Saklan Monthly

I am quite commonly asked “What is different about a Saklan education?” Too often the answer comes in structural terms: smaller classes, higher standards, more enrichment, better test scores. All these things are true, and they do make a big difference. But let me share with you some additional answers about how different the actual educational experience is for our students, ranging from Pre-School all the way to Eighth Grade.

Pre-School families frequently take note of how fun, inviting, and spacious the playgrounds are, and what a wonderful natural setting they provide. When they go inside our PS and PK classrooms, they are impressed by how focused the children are on their learning tasks, and how scholastic the environment is, unlike the daycare-preschools they had visited. The specialist enrichment that is provided by the elementary French, PE, Science and Music teachers also sharply differs from what other pre-school programs offer.

When I visited third grade classrooms recently at local public schools, I observed that the student writing there was nice, neat, rote, short, and simplistic. Displayed on bulletin boards were cut out turkeys on which students had written three sentences explaining what they were thankful for; elsewhere were displayed poems about colors, each stating the color followed by four simple declarative sentences. In our Saklan third grade classroom, you see displayed book reports of one and two pages in length, carefully paragraphed and containing thoughtful supportive details. The sentences are complex and the insights are sharp.   True, on another bulletin board in our third grade classroom, you will find short writing samples, of about the same length and quality as what I saw at the neighboring schools, but this bulletin board contains our students’ writings in French!

Guests touring Saklan often remark on the creativity of the colorful art on the classroom walls and tell me they don’t see this much art displayed elsewhere. Although our specialist art program, taught by Miss Amy, is wonderful, often what the visitors are pointing to are the classroom art projects in grades 1-5: watercolors of whales, paper sculptures of Indian villages, bats hanging upside down: all of them extending and reinforcing the thematic lesson occurring that month in class.

At Saklan, in contrast to other schools, the students in each class know each other very well, and have developed such a bond, that they kindly and generously support each other. While watching our fourth grade students, Lower School Director Carolyn Bybee observed and reported to me that they are patient with each other when a child is speaking, and that when they make mistakes there is no laughing or teasing.   In the same vein, middle school students told me that when you make a mistake elsewhere, the other kids mock you mercilessly for months, whereas here they don’t and instead try to help you out and support you.

“At my previous [private] school,” a sixth grade student told me, “the classes were too big, and I was so easily distracted. There was not anybody there really demanding of me that I focus, concentrate, and master the material—it was a bit of a free for all, and nobody held me accountable. At Saklan, it is much more organized, the classroom is much more structured for learning, and the teachers really make sure you learn what you need to learn.”

A seventh grade mother told me recently that she found that at her previous private middle school, the students learned a great deal of material, but they did not learn to think for themselves. What was required was they regurgitate daily a vast quantity of information. At Saklan, what she found most impressive is that the students must learn the material and also think about it, analyze it, and form a critical or interpretive opinion about it. “They really learn to think for themselves here.”

Another student told me that “at my former [private] school, they just told you to do a report: ‘Write three pages on the Vikings.’ Instead, here at Saklan, we are really guided through the project: the teacher is right there, she gives us advice and answers our questions and really helps us.”

A sixth grader who came into Saklan from the Moraga public schools explained to me that at Saklan he has to work a lot harder, but that it is better here because before, “I wasn’t learning enough, and it wasn’t as interesting. Also, here the students really cooperate and work together, and everyone is really interested in learning, instead of complaining about how boring school is.”

A new eighth grader who came from a Danville public school explained that the education at Saklan is a lot more hands-on; for example, in science there are many more experiments than at his former school. At Saklan also, he said, there is a lot more attention given to you and the teachers are better because they are much more enthusiastic and passionate in their teaching.

An eighth grader who switched to Saklan from a public school last year explained that “this is a much more experiential education. You like learning a lot more because the teachers make it more interesting. Instead of lecturing all of the time and teaching you just what they think, there is much more discussion and they ask you a lot of questions and get you to say what you think.   You get to feel like you know the teachers much better and you get more input on things—you feel like your opinion really counts because you get to participate more.”

Jonathan Martin

Head of School

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Dear Saklan Community:

Here we are almost at the half way point for the current school year. We have all shared so many wonderful moments together during the past months. We have developed new and treasured friendships and deepened the ties to those already existing.

As I look back, it seems like only yesterday that so many of us gathered for our annual Back to School BBQ. That wonderful and fun Monday afternoon was quickly followed by the first day of school, class trips, homework, presentations, Halloween parties, International Day events and many shared photo opportunities. Through it all, it has been a true joy to watch the transformations of our children in the classrooms and beyond. Our children are growing up so quickly and this mid-year point seems the perfect opportunity to reflect on just how far we have all come as individuals, families and communities.

I wish each of you a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, love and memory making moments. I look forward to working with many of you on the next round of amazing Saklan events for the winter and beyond.

Please remember that our next Parents Association meeting will be on Tuesday, January 11^th at 8:30am . I look forward to seeing many of you there. If you are feeling settled in enough to volunteer for the upcoming auction, concert or carnival, please contact me at kate@deynet.com.

The very best always,

Kate Dey

Parent’s Association President

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Board's Corner

Dear Parents:

Parent attendance at our pre-Thanksgiving Friday Flag assembly was exceptional – we were thrilled so many of you could join us! Your enthusiasm and excitement was outstripped only by the festive spirit we saw in our children’s performances and smiles. Surely the prospect of a week’s vacation had nothing to do with the extra ‘sparkle’ in their eyes, n’est-ce pas? The joy we shared that morning was yet another reminder that we are members of a special, remarkable community. We have great teachers guiding wonderful students with the support and care of dedicated parents. “Thanksgiving” was indeed the order of the day.

You may be interested to know that most of your Board of Trustees will be making a trek to Los Angeles next month to attend the annual conference of the California Association of Independent Schools (“CAIS”). Each January, trustees from independent schools in California attend (completely at their own expense) a weekend of lectures and workshops to help them learn how to better serve their schools. It is vivid testimony to the dedication and spirit of your trustees that they spend their time and money to become better servants of our community in this way. And as Chair, I can assure you their contributions are essential to the success of our School and that their attendance at this conference helps them help serve you better.

Finally, we have made great progress in condensing the time consumed by this year’s Annual Giving Campaign without impairing its critical result. A little over half of our families have already brought us close to reaching 80% of our minimum goal, and we have a month remaining until we conclude the program at year’s end. I want to express my personal thanks to these generous contributors and to the team of Jennifer Griessel, Kate Dey and John Macauley that has given so much time to this effort. And if you have yet to pledge, please join us soon in supporting this School we care so much about. We all deserve to conclude this important annual campaign, declare victory and invest the funds raised in the programs our children enjoy so much.

Best wishes to each of you for a joyous and safe Holiday Season,

Your trustees and fellow parents

Paul Felton, Chair

Ed Rice, Vice Chair

Paul Nathan

Betsy Hill

Marcela Salem

Ruth Bailey

Bett Tokar

Annie Barendregt

Jennifer Griessel

Dan Dahlen

Kate Dey

John Macauley

Maureen Gibeson

Jonathan Martin, Head of School

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FIFTH GRADE - MARIN HEADLANDS INSTITUTE FIELD TRIP

by Sharon Reichow

On November 3, 2004 , the fifth grade students, along with Mrs. Reichow and Mr. LaBonte went to the Marin Headlands Institute for 3 days and 2 nights. The campus, located in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, is part of the Yosemite National Institute which has been offering science based environmental education programs for nearly 30 years. Saklan Valley students have been attending for the past 8 years.

The Field Science program is student-centered, and the instructors strive to maximize the connections to the daily lives and home experiences of the students. The core themes of the program are tailored to meet the individual needs and requests of the classes that attend and focus on the following three main areas:

Sense of Place: observing, mapping, questioning, building relationships with others and with a place

Interconnections: identifying and classifying, noting relationships based on ecological principles, and investigating with the circle of scientific logic

Stewardship: promoting awareness and appreciation for shared environments, thinking critically, and evaluating diverse action strategies
(from the Headlands Institute Framework)

Our emphasis this year was in two areas: Terrestrial Plants and Animals, and Earth and Physical Sciences.

After quickly settling into our dorms on Wednesday morning, we began hiking and were introduced to the variety of native and exotic plants in the area. The students observed the plants and vegetation, and took time to draw the different varieties in their journals. Discussions were held to learn the difference between the native plants (natural to the area) and exotic plants (those which have been introduced to the area from other places). We also spent time at the beach closely looking at the different kinds of rocks that make up the sandy beach. The students classified the rocks and compared them to charts that illustrated sea glass, quartz, and cornelia, to name a few. To further understand the cycle of rocks, the students participated in games and songs about metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks.

On Thursday, we hiked all day as part of our study of Raptor Migration. We were introduced to the variety of raptors that live in the Headlands, and as we hiked we kept track of the different kinds. The students observed them as they flew above and were able to look more closely through binoculars. We learned about the flight patterns, type of flight, and body structures. Again, games were used to illustrate the different types of birds native to the area.

Friday morning we spent more time at the beach studying the geology of the area. We also spent some time in the “Fishbowl”, which is the lab filled with the stuffed animal collection of birds and animals native to the Headlands. The students were able to get a close look at the different raptors they had observed from afar the previous day. We also saw a bobcat, fox, deer, and several smaller animals. Before leaving the beach on Friday morning, we all participated in some stewardship of the area by picking up trash and pulling up ice plant and throwing it in a large pile. The ice plant, which is an exotic plant, is taking over the beach area and squeezing out the native plants which are a vital part of the habitat for the life forms in the area.

Several highlights of the trip were the Night Hike on Wednesday, Ms. Bozzelli joining us on Thursday, and playing football and Flashlight Tag with Mr. LaBonte on the beach. The trip was memorable, enriching, and educational for the students, as well as Mrs. Reichow, Mr. LaBonte, and Ms. Bozzelli.

Sharon Reichow

Fifth Grade Teacher

Link to the Fifth Grade - Marin Headlands Picture Gallery

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Calendar

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