2018.12.21 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

December 21, 2018

*Quote(s) that resonated with us this week:

“Those who are happiest are those that do the most for others.”

“You have 3 choices in life: Give up, Give in, or Give it all you’ve got.”

“Don’t think of what could go wrong. Think of what could go right.”

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving a new one.”

“Don’t think of what could go wrong. Think of what could go right.”

“Smile more than you cry, Give more than you take, and Love more than you hate.”

“If you feel like you are having trouble making yourself happy, try to make someone else happy.” ~ Tim Ferriss

Dear Saxe Family,

Thank you for a great finish to 2018! I wish you all well as we enter the holiday break and hope that you are able to relax and enjoy some time with family, friends, and loved ones. I look forward to 2019 and the great things that are in store for Saxe Middle School. I am proud to be part of this wonderful community and thank each of you for the role that you play in making it so special.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, & Best Wishes!

Be well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

12/25 Merry Christmas!

1/1 Happy New Year!

1/2 Welcome Back!

Want to check out the weekly from last week? Click, here.

One Second Everyday:

Don’t miss the action, catch the last clip from 2018! Saxe Middle School 1-Second Everyday highlights how “Life is made of seconds.” Check out the latest (all new, ever-expanding!) from each day of the 2018-19 school year, showcasing so much of what makes Saxe Middle School great. This is a recurring, bi-weekly feature. Enjoy!

Pro tip: want to enjoy it more? Set your youtube playback setting to play at .75 speed

Saxe News

Check out the latest “Saxe News”, the holiday edition! Get into the spirit of the season with some insight on student and staff holiday traditions, favorite foods, and more. Thanks to Mr. Petrakopoulos and his talented team of A/V students. Enjoy!

Saxe Visual and Performing Arts

The Saxe 8th grade band performed Tuesday night at New Canaan High School. They began the night by performing “An American March” by John Edmondson and ended the program by performing “Let it Snow” with the New Canaan High School Band. It was a great show!

Wednesday evening brought the annual Winter Chorus Concert. This year we were treated to not only our own Saxe students, but a great collaboration with NCHS students! Truly amazing…

The 8th-grade flutes did a wonderful job performing at Waveny Care yesterday! The folks there were SO appreciative and already asked if we could return in the spring! It was obviously valuable for the children to go there on a number of levels…

Grade 5 Social Studies

Following research on many of the thirteen colonies, fifth graders found creative ways of sharing their new found learning and understanding. All presentations needed to clearly state why their colony was successful and the reasons why. Students chose a wide-range of modes from commercial to brochure to engage their audience.

Grade 7 Social Studies
Congratulations to seventh-grade students! As a part of their Afghanistan unit, students prepared well for their fishbowl discussion. Over the course of the unit, they have honed skills in how to analyze a document, practiced the etiquette of academic conversation. learned the role of different types of questions in a conversation and wrote many of the questions that guided their discussion.

Saxe Chess Team

Members of the Saxe Chess Team competed in the National Scholastic Chess Championships in Orlando. Around 2,000 students participated for three days and representatives from the Saxe team posted impressive results:

In the Fifth Grade section, Lia Lavin was ranked 4th in Connecticut and 73rd nationwide;
In the Seventh Grade section, Daryl Lavin was ranked top in Connecticut and 47th nationwide; and
In the Eighth Grade section, Nate Moor was ranked 2nd in Connecticut and 41st nationwide

Congrats to all!

Geography Club

This past week there were 25 participants taking our third annual Saxe National Geographic Geography Bee Preliminary test, where they were challenged with state, national, and worldwide geography questions. Congratulations to all who took the test! The top 10 who will participate in the Live Saxe Geography Bee are: 8th graders Chris Michelini and Avery Morawa, 7th graders Kole Bavoso, Drew Bench, Gigi Caldero, Will Langford, and Adrian McMahon, 6th graders Jake Donohue and Rhea Jha, and 5th grader Rowan Richie-Elliott. We look forward to seeing the top 10, friends and family at the Live Saxe National Geographic Geography Bee on January 10th at 7pm!

Around Saxe

‘Tis the season! Enjoy some of the fun sights from around Saxe this week…