2019.1.4 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

January 4, 2019

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

“Whether you believe you can, or believe you can’t, you’re usually right.”

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer.” ~ Dan Brown

“The power of working together yields great results.”

Dear Saxe Family,

Welcome to the first edition of the Saxe Weekly for the New Year! I hope your 2019 is off to a fine start. It may have been a short week, but there was lots of excitement at Saxe. This week we take a look at World Language, Physical Education, Health Education, STEM, Leadership, Braille, recess, and more…

Enjoy and have a great week!

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

1/7: Board of Education meeting

1/9: 8th to 9th Grade Transition Parent Coffee (NCHS Wagner Room); Grades 5-8 Orchestra Concert

1/10: Saxe Geography Bee

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

World Language: Latin

Myths are fun and entertaining. Here one of our 8th graders is telling the Theseus and the Minotaur myth to his classmates.

Reading for pleasure in Latin…that is our goal. Use the skills we have learned to read just like we do in LA class!

We are so grateful to the district for providing us access to laptops. Here students in Latin are using the laptops to complete some simple translations!

Physical Education

We had an exciting start to the new year in Physical Education. Students were motivated to get active, get learning, and break some class records! Congratulations to Isabelle Shen and Peyton Zaketsky for not only accomplishing the “Dangle Duo” during Project Adventure but for breaking the all-time speed record: 1 minute and 2 seconds. The power of working together yields great results. Several classes were working on peer assessments and feedback of specific skill cues when participating in a particular activity. As always, students were motivated in their dynamic warm-up to get their bodies ready for class.

Health Education

Eighth-grade Health Education classes were building their advocacy skills on the importance of being drug-free. Some of the Advocacy tips to help students build this skill are below:

Students in 5th grade are learning about the qualities of healthy relationships and building their trusted adult circles during a co-taught lesson with the school counselors.

Award Winning Project

Inspired by a visually impaired student and propelled by the far-reaching applications of their ideas, Saxe STEM students and their teacher have entered into the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest. They are now in the third round of the contest having won as one of five state finalists and then as the winner of Connecticut. To date, they have won a Samsung Galaxy Tab, $1,500 in video equipment, and $20,000 worth of Samsung products. They are now competing for the $50,000 prize and are hoping to reach the national prize of $100,000 and a trip to Samsung headquarters. The final stages of the contest require them to finish a prototype of their idea. The STEM group have promised to complete their project regardless of the outcome of the contest. Their idea will be revealed at the end of the contest. Good luck to all involved, we are proud of you!

Leaders of Today (and, tomorrow!)

Several students attended a Student Leadership experience at Sacred Heart University today. Objectives included learning new skills, challenging old ideas, and preparing students to rise to a new level of leadership at school, home, and within their community. Thank you to all involved as they represented Saxe Middle School and New Canaan extremely well! Stay tuned for more stories about these leaders in the future…

Working with Braille

5th-grade students have been learning about greetings and communicating in different languages, including Braille! Next week, they will be going through a full lesson about Braille and how it is used as an effective communication tool for the visually impaired. Thanks to Ms. Portonova and her students for taking the lead on this! Be sure to ask your 5th-grader about this exciting lesson next week…

Scenes from around Saxe

We are fortunate to have recess for our Saxe students. It is a great opportunity to get some fresh air, socialize, exercise, enjoy some unstructured time in their day, and most importantly, just be “kids”!