2019.9.6 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

September 6, 2019

Dear Saxe Family,

The week went quickly, but there was much to be celebrated at Saxe! This week, we take a look at Math, World Language, grade-level meetings, EI (emotional intelligence) work, our Saxe cafeteria, some safety tips from our SRO, Officer Deak, our updated website, 1-second Everyday, and more. We are also excited to offer an opportunity to be part of Saxe history by submitting your ideas for the official Saxe Mascot! It has been a great start to the 2019-20 school year and we look forward to sharing all of the exciting events to come…

Enjoy and have a great weekend,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

9/11 Grade 5 Parent Coffee

9/12 New to NC/Saxe Parent Coffee

Want to check out the “Saxe Weekly” from last week? You’re one click away, here.

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution.”

“Face your problems, don’t Facebook them.”

“By failing to prepare….you prepare to fail.”

“Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.”

Back again for this school year: The Saxe Middle School 1-Second Everyday! “Life is made of seconds.” Check out a few seconds from each day of the 2019-20 school year (so far), showcasing so much of what makes Saxe Middle School great. This will be a recurring, bi-weekly feature. At the end of the year, we will have a full version that includes every single day of the 2019-20 school year. Enjoy!

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

Saxe Mascot

The Saxe Middle School Family is PROUD, but who are “we”, really? Whether you had an East Eagle, a South Southpaw, or a Westy Whale, all of our Saxe students will end up as NCHS Rams. We are looking to our Saxe family to decide “who we are” at Saxe. This is history in the making! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas on what the official Saxe Middle School mascot should be and ultimately, who we are! To participate, please click, here, to access the Saxe Mascot google form. Please encourage your child(ren) to participate as well!

Saxe Website

If you have not visited our recently updated website, please take a moment and check it out, here. Thanks to Lisa Jarosik and George Petrakopoulos for their technical expertise and making it look great!

Math

8th-grade students worked together on an escape room activity in Math to kick off the school year. They were figuring out puzzles, collecting clues, solving problems, and then they put it all together to “escape”. This was a great way to build relationships, problem-solve together, and they did a great job!

Saxe Cafeteria

Here are some pictures of our new Salad and Sandwich station at Saxe. Ms. Santelli and her team have done an amazing job and our students are loving it!

World Language

We are thrilled to start the year, meet our new friends, and welcome all returning students! Students in our Spanish classes shared what excited them most about learning Spanish!

5th-Graders, write on your desk, please!

Thanks to a generous grant from the PTC, all 5th-grade reading/writing classes were given a few new “whiteboard” desks! Over time we hope to replace more of our traditional desks with these interactive ones. Here is Mrs. Dobransky’s class developing the 5th-grade charter!

Around Saxe

Jennifer Pacelli, has achieved the distinction of becoming an ISTE-Certified Educator! To find out more, please feel free to click, here. Congratulations, Jen and thank you for your dedication to continuous improvement!

Thanks to our dedicated custodians!

We appreciate all they do to keep our building and grounds looking great!

Safety Tips from Officer Deak

When crossing the street, even in a crosswalk it is important to look both ways and make sure that oncoming vehicles see you. It is especially important to utilize crosswalk buttons when available. In doing so, it activates flashing lights and walk signs to assist with safety.

When dropping your child off at school, please utilize designated “drop off” areas to ensure the safety of all children. When multiple vehicles are dropping children off in various places of the parking lot, it may cause confusion on the part of the motorist who does not anticipate a child running across the lot or street. Please use the already established drop off areas to keep Saxe safe!

Attendance Reminder

At Saxe, we know that attendance in school is important. Research shows that students are more likely to succeed in academics when they attend school on a regular basis. We also acknowledge and understand that children become ill from time to time and an absence is required in order to feel well. Please be aware that our district attendance policy, which is grounded in the Connecticut General Statutes, requires students who have more than nine absences in total during the school year to submit appropriate documentation (i.e., from a medical professional for student illness) in order for any additional absences to be considered excused. A district attendance letter is automatically sent to parents at the time of the ninth absence as a reminder of this policy. Please click here and visit page 23 to review our absence and attendance policy.

How the times change…

This is a great photo from the late ’60s that was spotted in Mr. Egan’s office at NCHS that shows the current high school being built. In the background, you see the “old NCHS”, which soon became Saxe Middle School. Enjoy the trip down memory lane!

Grade-level Meetings

Following up on a successful opening to the 2019-20 school year, students at Saxe met with their respective grade-level administrators this week to discuss what we value and what makes Saxe Middle School special. The focus was around our 5 Cs (Caring, Communication, Commitment, Celebrating, Community), opportunities for student voice and choice, and being kind individuals who demonstrate quality character. Please feel free to check out the full set of slides on our recently updated website, here.