“Top Ten List - 2005-06

1. Library Improvements and Our New Librarian

Last summer we appointed our new Librarian, the terrific Mrs. Kim Moebius, and she completely revamped the library over summer, brought the entire card catalogue into a 21st century automated online catalogue, staged two book fairs, raised nearly $10,000 from grandparents for new improvements, and has added more than a thousand books to the collection!  
 
2. Science Instruction and Science Lab

We know that our students will have to be scientifically savvy for success in their 21st century careers, no matter what their chosen field. We have significantly expanded the elementary science curriculum this year, and will do so further in the coming year.  Plus, our parents’ amazing generosity at this year’s auction raised nearly $15K for science lab improvements, to be implemented over the summer and finished before next year.

3. New Middle School Building and Deck & New Pavilion

When we purchased our campus three years ago, we assured those families helping us to do so with their generous donations that one big advantage to ownership would be our ability to invest in campus improvements.   Certainly this year we have made great progress in fulfilling that promise. The school’s classroom space was expanded by nearly 20% (and the middle school’s space increased by 100%), by the installation of the new modular building, and the middle school was provided a true central “quad” for lunch and socializing by the construction of the central deck.  Meanwhile, the elementary school has benefitted greatly from the fabulous construction of what we call the “Pavilion,” a rain and shade covered, heated, outdoor space for lunchtime eating and outdoor learning opportunities.  The new Extended Day entrance hallway has also been a huge improvement in the attractiveness and functionality of that space. Special thanks go to parents Marcela Salem, Pam Yares, and Dan Fahrner for their leadership on these projects.

4. Mrs. Schofield’s Award

In October it was announced that one of this year’s three Eukel Trust award winners for excellence in teaching in Contra Costa County was our very own Second Grade Teacher, Mrs. Carol Schofield!  This prize carries with it a $10,000 grant, one of the largest teaching excellence prizes in the entire country.  In the award’s 15 year history, Mrs. Schofield is only the fifth Lamorinda teacher to be so recognized, and the VERY FIRST private school K-8 teacher to be awarded, (and hence Saklan is the first and only Contra Costa K-8 private and/or independent school to have a teacher win this distinction.)  At the awards ceremony, Mrs. Schofield gave an emotional and inspiring speech in front of an audience of more than 300.  

“ I consider myself one of the lucky ones. My chosen profession is my interest, it is my hobby, it is my passion. I look forward to greeting my students everyday. I love viewing the world through the eyes of a seven year old. There is always something new to learn, something amazing to discover and a day filled with laughter and hugs.”  

5. School Enrollment Growth and the Great New Families

The school’s exciting growth has continued apace, marked especially by our surpassing the 160 student mark for the first time in Saklan’s history!   The new students and families have been great additions too, wonderful warm people with great values who have made great contributions in all kinds of ways.  We are SO glad to have you here!
 

6. Excellent Parent Education Workshops

The Parent Association leadership, including Pam Yares, Darcy Cole, and Liz Schloemer, delivered fabulously on their promise to raise the bar on Parent Education programs.  Deborah Stipek, Stanford’s Education Dean, delivered an inspiring speech on motivating our children to an audience of more than 150; other great programs included Dr. Josh Coleman’s speech on strengthening marraiges, Dr. Katie Farhner on children’s emotional lives, and Dr. Patty Francis on ‘Speaking about Sex to your Children.’   
 
7. Phenomonal Auction and Annual Giving Support

Once again, we grew our fundraising effectiveness to dizzying new heights; our Annual Auction, chaired by the indefatigable Stephanie Brandt, cleared the $100,000 mark for the first time, and our Annual Giving Campaign, chaired by the gracious and focussed Jennifer Griessel, cleared $180,000!   These are huge numbers, and hugely signficant to the school’s ability to meet our obligations to our fine teachers and to continue to invest in our program’s excellence.
 
8. Student Success in Test Scores & High School Placement

We are so proud of our students, and just love to show you their excellent schoolwork-- chief of all their amazing writing and their inspired imaginative art. But you know, they also demonstrate awesome academic achievement in their standardized test scores as well.  Their reading and writing skills are quite fine, averaging in the high eighties on a nationalized percentile scale, but in math they truly soar, averaging at the 94th percentile-- in fact, more than a quarter of our students (26%), scored at the 99th percentile in math last year!  Again this year our graduating students did terrifically well in securing admission to selective academic high schools, with all being admitted to a desired school, five of those eight being admitted to their first choice school.
 
9. Amazing Trips--Yosemite, Quebec, Washington DC and Stupendous student service

It is hard to capture succinctly the extraordinary experiences our students have in their tremendous travel programs-- the best I can do is to suggest you ask them how great it was to explore DC, Quebec, Yosemite, Marin Headlands, and Coloma.   Our students never are tourists on these trips-- they are truly travellers immersing themselves in the experience of their new environment.  Included in our middle school student experiences, perhaps most importantly, are trips to East Oakland where they have formed quite a bond with a group of second grade students, and provided really high impact reading and math tutoring.  We envy your travels, and salute your service, students!   
 
10. Outstanding Comprehensive Parent Survey Results

For the first time, last May, we used an expert consulting firm to conduct a truly comprehensive parent satisfaction survey, (and intend to do so again in the coming year). We did so to elicit important feedback for our planning: you told us to improve and elevate our performance in music, library, science, and most of all in campus facilities: all four areas received significant attention and I think achieved some good improvement this year. The survey also affirmed so much of waht we do: ninetyfive percent of parents stated they had overall satisfaction with the school’s program; 100% of our middle school parents reported satisfaction with the academic program, something the consultants had never seen elsewhere, and more than 90% of our tuition paying Kindergarten through Eighth grade families reported that school provided value worth the tuition we charged. The consultants also told us that when considering isolated academic subject areas, parents at other schools always report some skewed satisfaction: they were more satisfied about math than about language arts and reading, or vice versa. Only at Saklan did BOTH areas achieve satisfaction ratings in the mid-nineties!

Jonathan E. Martin
Head of School

Dear Saklan Families,
I would like to introduce myself. My name is Lisa Rokas and I am going to be your parent association president for the upcoming school year. I have two children here at Saklan; James (a soon to be 3rd grader) and Emily (a soon to be 1st grader) and this has been our second year here at the school.

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to Pam Yares on behalf of the entire school for her tremendous job as parent association president this past year. I had the privilege of working with Pam on the board this year, and I have developed a profound respect for her leadership and organizational skills. Pam implemented many new programs this year and worked hard to bring interesting speakers with meaningful content to our parent association meetings. She approached her job with endless enthusiasm and was always thinking of new ideas to help improve our school. Thank you Pam! Saklan has truly benefited under your leadership this past year!

I am extremely honored to be taking on this new role as parent association president and delighted to be working with the outstanding group of parents who have also volunteered to join the board for the coming year. They are as follows:

Kim Trinkus, PA Vice-President
Laurey Macauley, Secretary
Gina Baker, Treasurer
Darcy Cole, Parent Education Coordinator
Eva Stevenson, Parent Education Coordinator and Outreach Coordinator
Stephanie Brandt, Room Parent Coordinator
Angela Barattalo, Hospitality/Social Coordinator
Angela Eckstein, Communications Liaison
Hillary Conlon, Back to School BBQ Coordinator
Scott Beisner, Audio/Visual/Website Coordinator

You may have noticed in the last two Friday notes we have had volunteer sign-up forms available. There are many areas where help is needed for the coming year and I would strongly encourage all parents to find an area of interest to them and VOLUNTEER! Not only does it help the school, but also it is a great way to meet new people and feel more connected. Please look for the sign-up sheet again in the summer packet or you can access it anytime online at www.saklan.org. I would like to thank the parents who have already volunteered to help next year:

Annie Barendregt
Angela Eckstein
Kellie Beaubelle
Diane Faddis
Sonya Schroeder
Lara Saft
Gail Binder
Kathy Franklin
Jayne Skwarecki
Eva Stevenson
Stephanie Brandt
Martha Goodbar
Hillary Conlon
Nicole Mills
Gayle Johnson
Michelle Thimesch
Elaine Deane
John Lawicki
Kate Dey

Again next year, the parent association meetings will be held on the second Thursday of each month in the morning right after drop-off. We also plan to have two evening meetings, in October and February, featuring speakers of interest. The board will be busy this summer planning many fun parent association events, the first of which being the Back to School BBQ! It will be held once again at school on Monday, August 21st. Look for more information on this in your summer packets.

Well, it is hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end. I hope that you all have a wonderful and relaxing summer with your families!

Fondly,
Lisa Rokas
Incoming Parent Association President