2019.1.18 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

January 18, 2019

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

“You are your only limit.”

“Action expresses priorities.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Let your dreams be bigger than your fears.”

“The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you’ve come.”

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~ John Muir

“Life’s most persistent & urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Saxe Family,

This week we take a look at World Language (Latin), Braille, VPA, STEM, PE, and more… Thanks for taking a moment to check out a snapshot of some of the great “goings on” at Saxe.

Good luck and have fun with the snow this weekend!

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

1/21 No School – Dr. Martin Luther King

1/22 Board of Education meeting

1/23 “LIKE” screening at Saxe, 7:00 p.m. (explores the impact of social media on our lives)

1/25 End of Quarter 2

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

World Language: Latin

A change in routine is always nice. Last week, when 8th-grade Latin students arrived in class, they found their desks had been moved away from the center of the room! Instead, like a workshop, students gathered together to “chat” in Latin and share their thoughts and ideas about the winter months!

Without desks in the way, students were eager to join together to write a story in Latin. Being able to sit closely with each other encouraged them to be much more engaged…

Saxe VPA

The most recent Saxe VPA production was the grade 5 and 6 Winter Choral Concert, and they did not disappoint! It is worth noting that we are so fortunate to have such a beautiful venue to watch all of our VPA productions at Saxe… Congratulations to all involved in making this such a terrific concert.

Grade 5 Monday Meeting

Communication is the key to success! Here at Saxe, we have many ways in which students communicate. This week during Monday Meeting, 5th-graders learned about the history of Braille and the Braille alphabet from 5th-grader, Sophia. Students were then able to apply their new learning of this form of communication to create a tactile card using sequins in order to write their name. All of the cards are hanging on a bulletin board outside the cafeteria. This was truly an inspirational experience. Come by and check it out!

Please feel free to check out the video that Sophia and Ms. Portanova created for the Monday Meeting lesson. We could not be more proud of our tremendous Saxe students and staff!

Our proud “teacher”, Sophia, in front of the Braille wall with the names of all of her peers in 5th-grade!

STEM

As the Connecticut representative in the nationwide “Samsung Solve for Tomorrow “ contest (yes, that is a big deal!), several of Ms. Birdsall’s students got to meet with a representative from Samsung on Friday. Students shared who they are, what their interests are, how they came up with the plan that has gotten them to this point in the contest, and next steps in the process. As one of 50 teams left, they are trying to advance to the top-10 with their geo-mapping navigation plan. The aforementioned Sophia is the inspiration behind this project. This is an amazing bunch of students who represent Saxe very well. More news will be released next week through an official press release. Until then, enjoy a few pictures!