FRiday Note - April-24-2009

From The Head of School

Dear Saklan Community:

Next Wednesday the faculty and staff, sans Ms. Obenchain and me, will spend the day working on the CAIS/WASC Accreditation Self-Study Report. This is the vital first step in the evaluation of our school and programs. We will be reviewing every aspect of the school from admissions to facilities, from academic programs to Extended Day; the whole nine yards. The parent survey information will be included so please complete and submit your surveys.

Next week I will be in Yosemite with the sixth grade. While I am away, the school will be in the very capable hands of Carol Schofield and her merry cast of characters (the faculty). Karen Lane has my cell number, and I will be checking for messages each evening. We will be returning Friday late afternoon; therefore, I will not be writing a message for next week’s Friday Note.

The searches for Mandarin and Spanish teachers continue. The candidates invited to teach sample lessons have been very strong. Our children have been wonderful. They are focused and intent and have picked-up numbers, colors, and greetings in the first lesson. Upon my return from Yosemite, we will be interviewing an additional Spanish and two more Mandarin candidates. We should have both processes completed by mid-May.

Have a great weekend,

David Hague
Head of School

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Calendar 2009-2010 now available

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Introducing our new school tool ...

We’re excited to announce our new school management system – RenWeb School Management Software. We have finalized the process of setting up RenWeb’s ParentsWeb – a private and secure parents’ portal that will allow parents to see academic information specific to their children, while protecting their children’s information from others.

Our new RenWeb School Management Software gives you, the busy parent, an opportunity to get more involved in your child’s academic progress and future success – all via the Internet!

You can see your child’s grades, attendance, homework and conduct, as well as other useful school information. You can also communicate with teachers and other school staff online whenever necessary. All you need is an Internet-capable computer.

This has been a major undertaking and we will start small with only a few services enabled:

• Staff and School Directory
• Attendance
• Family Demographics Update
• School Announcements

Here’s how to access RenWeb ParentsWeb:

• Open any Internet browser (there are some limitations with Safari so please use Firefox instead if you have a mac at home).
• Go to our website: saklan.org and find the link under COMMUNITY/SCHOOL DATABASE or click on this link
• Log in as follows:

Once you have logged in we would like to ask you to visit the Web Forms section (see the link on the left side) - then click on Family Demographic Form link and verify or update your information in case the information we transferred is not accurate.

Here you will have the option to decide what kind of information you would like to list in the online School Directory for the entire community to see. You could block your name, your address, your phone, your email or all of the above according to your preferences.

Please understand we are still in beta testing and we would welcome any feedback you can provide. Please email Adrian Bica at abica@saklan.org for any questions or further instructions.

We hope you will enjoy it. In time we will add more services as they become available and the staff learns how to use the system. We hope this is a great step towards a true online school community.

Thank you,

Adrian Bica

Director of Communications
and Educational Technology

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A Day of learning and adventure!

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Science day of Discovery!

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Live The Hyphen!

As some of you already know, two of our parents, Hillary Conlon and Nicole Mills, have committed to raising $1,800 (each) and walking 40 miles this summer as part of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. They are doing this in honor of our own Cynthia Crespi, who lost a long and hard fought battle with cancer in December, and to show support and love for the entire Crespi Family. "Live The Hyphen" - their team name- is how Cynthia lived her life...not with a beginning or an end in mind, but with love of life now.

To that end, they are providing a community breakfast and coffee at the Church next door for Saklan Parents on Friday, April 24, after Flag and before Spring Follies. ECE Parents who remain after Flag for the Trike-A-Thon are welcome to come over after the Trike-A-Thon ends.

Please join us in celebrating Cynthia's life, supporting Hillary and Nikki's walk through sponsorship and fundraising, and enjoy some homemade breakfast pastries and fresh coffee while you wait for the Follies to begin. All are welcome!

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Parent Association Speaker – William Damon

“The Path to Purpose”
Thursday, April 30th 7 – 9 pm
Oakwood Athletic Club – Grand Ballroom
4000 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA

William Damon is Professor of Education at Stanford University and the Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence. He is also one of the world’s leading scholars of human development. Damon has focused his work on the positive aspects of “growing up”. His current research explores how people develop character and a sense of purpose in their work, family, and community relationships.

Damon’s work has been published in the Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today and the Washington Post. He has also appeared on Oprah, Today, Primetime Live, Talk of the Nation, The Diane Rehm Show, and Morning Edition.

Damon is the author of many books and articles on education and human development, especially character development. Damon received the prestigious Parents’ Choice® award for his 1995 book, Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in Our Homes and Schools.

• Additional information on William Damon and his publications is available at:
  http://www.williamdamon.com/index.html
• Download the flyer here.
• Please RSVP here.

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