FRiday Note - March-05-2010

Head's Corner

Dear Saklan Community:

I apologize in advance for my rather lengthy correspondence; there is a great deal to cover.

CAIS/WASC Visit:

We had a great visit.  Many thanks to Annie Barendregt, Lisa Rokas, and Eliza Kirkpatrick arranging the accommodations, reception, food, snacks, and hospitality.  The Team was very complementary about how we “spoiled them.” 

The Visiting Team had many positive comments and accolades to share with us.  Each member of the team was an experienced, professional educator; they were very complimentary about the school, its children, teachers, and program.  They continuously commented about the exceptional quality of students and faculty.

The remaining process is as follows: the Visiting Team will submit their report to their respective organizations.  Each organization will then forward it to their Accreditation and Standards Committees which will determine: (1) Will Saklan be re-accredited?  (2) If yes, then how long?  We will have the opportunity to reply in writing should we not agree with their decisions.  We will also be developing a plan to meet each of the recommendations.  The final report and accreditation decision will arrive in 4-6 weeks.  In the meantime, below please find a synopsis of the Major Recommendations and Commendations that the Visiting Team shared with us on Tuesday afternoon.

MAJOR COMMENDATIONS

 MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Annual Concert

The Annual Concert is on Tuesday, March 16th.  Students will need to be at school on time as we will be leaving for the Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek at 8:30 AM, right after drop-off.  If you wish to drop your child off at the Lesher, please be sure to tell the teacher and Room Parents as we do not want to be waiting for you to arrive at Saklan.  Security at the Lesher is tight; if you arrive late, you may not be allowed to enter.  Please be there no later than 8:55 AM.

Students who come to Saklan will be transported to the Theater via parent volunteer drivers; coordinated by Room Parents.  Morning rehearsal runs until 12:00.  Students can be picked-up at the Theater by parents or returned to school for Extended Day.  Please let the teacher know if you want us to transport your child back to Saklan for Extended Day.  Extended Day will be open until 3:00 as all student need to dressed and at the Theater at 4:00.  Should questions arise, please contact your Room Parent or Annie Barendregt.

Grandparents’ Day

Grandparent’s Day is Wednesday, March 17th.  We have already sent the invitations.  Please RSVP to Emoke in the Front Office by March 10th. If you need additional invitations or have any questions, please contact dparish@saklan.org.

Parent Conferences

Parent Conferences are next week; Thursday (3/11) and Friday (3/12).  If you have not already done so, please contact the classroom teacher (ECE-5th grade) or sign-up in the Front Office to see your child’ teachers.

Auction

The Auction is right around the corner.  It is a great party and wonderful to have fun and support the school.  Information is included in this Friday Note on the website.

Please allow me to close with a heartfelt thank you to the gentlemen who worked on Saturday and Sunday to build the stage platform for the music program.  On behalf of the students, thank you to Paul Barendregt, Dan Fahrner, Mark Dey, John Lawicki, and Paul Griessel.

Have a great weekend; hopefully the weather will hold.

David A. Hague
Head of School

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Concert Update

Hello Saklan Families! 

It’s that time of year again! This letter is to help you prepare for the Annual Spring Concert on March 16th at 4:30 PM. There are a few things that I am sure you would like to know and I have tried to address them in the following letter.  Happy reading! 

Concert Dress

Students should wear nice, clean all black clothes. Pants, skirts, dresses and nice shirts are all appropriate. I would like for all boys to have a collar on their shirt. Students should also find one accessory that has the colors of the rainbow. Examples of appropriate accessories are: ties, earrings, shoes, headbands, scarves, tights or socks, belts, or necklaces. You can be creative here. If you feel something is questionable, feel free to bring it to school to show me.

Hair can be individual and does not need to follow a certain pattern. The idea is to let your child’s personality really shine through.

Items that should NOT be worn are:

• Ripped, worn, dirty, or faded clothing
• T-shirts with any kind of emblem or design
• Skirts or dresses that fall more than 2 inches above the knee
• Heels higher than 1 inch (the kids are all dancing at one point or another, and walking up and down stairs. This is a safety precaution.) This goes for Middle School as well! 
  

Please use appropriate discretion in choosing clothes, and remember that your child will be on stage in front of almost 450 people. 

On Time Arrival to Rehearsals and Concert

We will be having concert dress rehearsals with the whole school on the following dates

• Thursday, March 11 @ Saklan

• Monday, March 15 @Saklan

• Tuesday, March 16-9:00-12:00 @Lesher 

It is very important that your child attend school on these days so that they are 100% aware of the many things that are happening in the concert. Unless, of course, your child is sick, please make every effort to be to school on time on these days.

On the evening of the concert, students must arrive by 4:00 PM.
The ushers are very strict about on time arrival. 

Whew!

I apologize for the length of this letter, but trust that you would rather have all the information in one fell swoop. If there are any questions I have not addressed, or if you have concerns about anything, please let me know.

Thank you very much.
I look forward to seeing you all on March 16th!

Grace Chaffey 

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Extended Day closes at 3p.m. on March 16th!

Extended Day will close at 3:00 p.m. on the day of the concert, March 16th. This allows our Saklan families to attend the concert at Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek. For children in grades K-8 that need to use our Extended Day services from 12:00-3:00 p.m., please email Kim Parks at kparks@saklan.org. We will transport Extended Day children back on the school vans.

Thank you!

Kim Parks

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Second Grade Bake Sale

Thank you to everyone for contributing to the success of the Second Grade Bake Sale.  I also want to take this opportunity to gave a special thank you to Sarah Barnard who organized this event and to all the second grade parent bakers.  We raised $410.00 for Guide Dogs For the Blind.  On March 25 our class will be going to the campus in San Rafael to present our donation to this worthy cause.  We will tour the facility and meet some of the puppies that are working hard to become guide dogs.  Thank you again for all your support.

Carol Schofield

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Auction Update

Be sure to visit the website this week end for important updates on the upcoming Auction and party…

We have news regarding important deadlines (RSVP’s, donations, write-ups); information on upcoming Teacher and Auction raffles

And a bit of detail on what to expect when we see you at the Claremont on March 27th…

Carol & Kate, your Auction Chairs...
We believe in the dream...come dream with us!

Auction blog at http://saklan.org/auction/

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The 2009-2010 Annual Giving Fund

We Are All In This Together: Goal: $130,000 Our Annual Giving fund is our top annual fundraising priority because it helps close the gap between tuition and the increasing cost of school operations. It provides essential flexibility and maximum benefit in directing resources to the areas of greatest need, such as teacher salaries. With your generous support, we are able to retain talented faculty, support language, art and music programs and fund needed facility improvements as well as our financial aid program. We invite you to help sustain our wonderful school through your generous support of our Annual Giving Fund each year. All gifts, large and small, directly benefit current students. You donation is put to immediate use on campus for your child today! Thank you for your support of Saklan. Kate Dey Annual Giving Fund Chair

We are ALL in this Together!

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Parent's Corner

Saklan’s Dine Around Town

Fundraiser

Tuesday, March 16^th

Following the Annual Concert

Dine at one of these Participating Restaurants

and they will donate a percentage of the net proceeds

to Saklan as a donation 
  

Please Call in Advance for Reservations

Katy’s Kreek (925) 946-0949

*

Massimo Ristorante (925) 932-1474

*

Skipolini’s  Pizza (925) 280-1100

Call to Place a Pizza Order “To-Go”

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Movies Archive

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