2019.3.29 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

March 29, 2019

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Don’t just wish for it, work for it!”

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

“It doesn’t matter how slow you’re going, as long as you don’t stop.”

Dear Saxe Family,

As the final days of March wane, we gear up for one of the most exciting parts of the school year. “Life” (plants, grass, birds, animals) will soon be returning to the outside world as the temperatures gradually increase and the days slowly get longer. We have an action-packed calendar from April through June and we look forward to the experiences that these all bring to our entire Saxe community. This week, we take a look at Science, World Language, Geography Bee, new staff members, recycling, upcoming events, and more. We also have the latest Saxe News broadcast and the most up to date 1-Second Everyday.

Enjoy and have a great week!

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

3/29 – TONIGHT! Be sure to check out the RamJam! More info below (&, here).

4/1 Board of Education meeting

4/5 High School Musical; Quarter 3 ends

4/6 High School Musical

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

Back again for this week – the latest, updated Saxe Middle School 1-Second Everyday! “Life is made of seconds.” Check out a few seconds from each day of 2019 (so far), showcasing so much of what makes Saxe Middle School great. This is a recurring, bi-weekly feature. At the end of the year, we will have a full version that includes every single day of the 2018-19 school year. Enjoy!

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

Science

The 8th grade Green and Blue teams completed the Cars and Ramps lab to kick off the physical science unit. Students tested how the height (angle) of the ramp and how the mass of the car affects the car’s acceleration and force. Students used motion sensors and Vernier software to graph and calculate the acceleration of the car. After each group collected their own data, the classes compiled all of the data onto large graphs to identify and visualize the pattern. Students will refer back to this lab throughout the physical science unit as they continue to investigate the results and gain a better understanding of forces and Newton’s Laws of motion.

5th-grade Science students measuring shadows which they compare over the course of the year. Great to see teachers take the learning outside the “classroom”! For today’s student, the world is our classroom…

World Language

Connecticut State Latin Day 2019

Friday, April 26th

Holiday Hill, Cheshire, CT

We have received our invitations for Latin Day! Connecticut State Latin Day (CSLD) is a day for reliving life in ancient Rome. There are numerous activities and contests to take part in. Examples of these include: Certamen team (college bowl type questions), pen and pencil academic contests, athletics, creative workshops (sock puppets, laurel wreaths, beadwork, frescoes, mosaics, toga teddies, weaving, singing), banner display, watch demonstrations, learn about ancient coins and inscriptions, costume contest, and Declamation Contests.

This is a daylong academic school trip that allows our students to showcase what they have learned about the Latin language and culture!

•The cost is $60.00, which covers the activities for the whole day, as well as breakfast, lunch and snacks, and the bus to and from Holiday Hill. The preferred payment method is through School Cash (https://newcanaan.schoolcashonline.com/) but we will also accept checks made out to “Saxe Activity Fund” (no cash please) which should be returned to your Latin Teacher. Latin teachers have extra copies if needed.

•We leave promptly at 7:00 AM and return by 3:30, depending on traffic. If you are on a spring sports team or have other important activities on Fridays, please keep in mind the announced times. Parents may not pick up or drop off students at Holiday Hill. All students MUST take the bus and be picked up by parents at Saxe.

•You must dress in Roman togas and/or tunicas for the entire day and compete in all events in costume.

We look forward to once again bringing home many awards! The deadline to apply is April 4th. Please contact your child’s Latin teacher if you have any questions!

Mr. Hearty (kevin.hearty@ncps-k12.org)

Ms. MacQuarrie (jaclyn.macquarrie@ncps-k12.org)

Ms. Mykytenko (jenny.mykytenko@ncps-k12.org)

Saxe News

Check out the latest Saxe News which includes a quick spot on the Bread of Life Drive next week, and the newly expanded Saxe Cafe & Lounge. Thanks to Mr. Petrakopoulos and his Saxe News crew for the ongoing series of episodes that keep us in the loop with the “goings-on” around Saxe. Enjoy!

Geography Bee

On Friday, Fifth Grader, Rowan Richey Elliott, represented Saxe Middle School at the Connecticut National Geography Bee Championships held at Central Connecticut State University. Rowan was one of the top 100 ranked students in the state of Connecticut. Here he is waiting for the first round of prelims! Although he just missed qualifying for the finals, we are so proud of Rowan. Thank you to Ms. Fulco for advising and supporting Rowan on this great run!

Welcome to the Saxe Family!

Please join in welcoming Sara Paine as our new full-time Upper Division Nurse. We are happy to have you join the Saxe Family, Sara!

Vanessa Visners named Special Education Administrator for Saxe Middle School

We are excited to welcome Vanessa Visners to our Saxe Family! Vanessa brings a wealth of experience and she will be a great addition to our team starting in July. Feel free to check out the full press release, here.

Thank You for Your Service

The Saxe Family would like to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to Mary Ann Becraft for her 13 years of service as an assistant in the Saxe Library. She joyfully served many cohorts of students as they have spent time at Saxe. Thank you and we wish you the best, Mary Ann!

Thinking Globally and Acting Locally!

Check out the positive message from Ms. Bennett and Ms. Rovinelli who coordinated a great effort to recycle used/old markers. Thanks for leading by example and making a difference for all of us…

“Thank you, everyone, who has helped recycle markers this year. We just mailed in our second package of 479 markers to recycle, bringing our total up to 988 for the year.”

Eagle Scout Action at Saxe

Next week Cole Schubert, a Boy Scout in Troop 70, will be coming in to speak with the fifth and sixth grades during their lunch on Thursday and Friday. He will present his Eagle Project, which is a grassroots effort centered around raising awareness on the harms of plastic bags. He will be placing plastic bag collection bins in the lobbies of Saxe, which you will see starting Monday, April 1st, and he will be making sure any plastic bags placed in the bins are safely recycled or disposed of. Please start clearing out your closet by bringing in any plastic bags you have!

Upcoming

NCHS Ram Jam

TONIGHT! The first annual NCHS RAM JAM is scheduled for March 29th @ 7:00 pm in the NCHS auditorium. Join us in supporting the NCHS senior class Lip Sync, perform live music and strut the catwalk. All proceeds will go to help fund Post Prom – it will be an evening that we will not forget! If you are interested in attending, please click here to purchase tickets.

High School Musical

Saxe Middle School is slowly but surely transforming into East High School… Be sure to check out the 7th/8th-grade musical next week!

Learn More about EI

Dr. Susan Bliss, Ph.D., NCPS Student Support Coordinator, will be presenting to Saxe parents on April 10, from 9:30-10:30 at the Saxe Middle School Auditorium. The title of her presentation is “Raising the Emotional Intelligence of Your Children.”

The talk will cover:

The importance of Emotional Intelligence in our children’s lives
The Emotional Intelligence initiative at Saxe Middle School- Charter and Mood Meter
Helping your child to build self-awareness and awareness of others (empathy)
Helping your child to increase their ability to manage emotions
Helping your child to build resilience and learn to solve their own problems

Community Event

LiveGirl is partnering with New Canaan CARES and the New Canaan Community Foundation to bring in Boston-based experts MediaGirls and host a parent/daughter workshop next Thursday (4/4) at New Canaan HS. Register and learn more here.

Saxe in the News

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Below is an email that was received this week recognizing one of our students, Lucas Liu, for his personal essay/memoir submission. We are proud of you, Lucas!

Mar 26, 2019, 7:47 PM (2 days ago)

In case you don’t already know, a student from Saxe Middle School earned recognition for one work of writing at the 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards—the nation’s longest-running, largest, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers.

• Lucas Liu, 8th grade, Regional Silver Key for “The Black Hole” (Personal Essay/Memoir)

For nearly 100 years the list of young writers recognized by The Awards has included Joyce Carol Oates, Truman Capote, John Updike, Sylvia Plath, and Stephen King. Across the nation, tens of thousands of teen submissions are judged each year. For 2019, teen writers submitted more than 2,100 works from nine counties north of New York City (Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Ulster, Dutchess in New York, and Fairfield, Litchfield, and New Haven in Connecticut). Of those, 120 Gold Key Medals, 194 Silver Key Medals, and 345 Honorable Mentions have been awarded.

Awards recipients were celebrated with a regional ceremony on March 3rd at Manhattanville College. The full list of local teen writers receiving recognition can be viewed online.

Here is the drawing that inspired Lucas’ writing. I think we have all experienced the “black hole”, between our car seats, that swallows our phones and other important belongings. Impressive work!