2019.11.1 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

November 1, 2019

Dear Saxe Family,

Happy November! It may have been a rainy transition to round out October, but there was a lot of positive action around our building this week. This edition of the Saxe Weekly takes a look at Social Studies, World Language, Library, Art, Helping Hands Club, Model UN, Design and Innovation Lab, building “Community”, Halloween, upcoming events, the latest 1-second everyday, and more…

Enjoy and have a great weekend,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

11/4: BOE Meeting, 7:00 PM

11/5: Election Day (No School for students)

11/7: End of Quarter 1 (Grade 6 – 8)

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

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Good people bring out the good in other people,”

“Mistakes are meant for learning, not repeating.”

“Be what you want to be, not what others want to see.”

“You’ve got to be a beginner before you can be anything else.”

“The secret to your future is hidden in your daily routine.”

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 the 2019-20 school year (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 school year. Enjoy!

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

Grade 6 Social Studies:

Our grade 6 social scientists have concluded their research on Ancient Egypt. For the purpose of sharing their learning, each student chose an audience. Next, they chose a product that would best communicate their findings. Classes traveled to each of the four social studies classrooms to learn about each other’s research findings. Congratulations 6th graders!

Grade 8 Social Studies

As a part of the culmination of their first unit, Meeting the Needs of the People, eighth-graders considered the Bill of Rights and related issues facing our country today. Working on synthesizing their understanding, students participated in a Socratic Seminar, working on speaking and listening skills, sharing ideas in an academic conversation and deepening understanding. Thank you to Mrs. Baltz and her students for these pictures.

World Language: French

8th-graders are describing clothing and expressing opinions through interactive activities.

They are also in the process of creating Vokis. Here are some samples

https://www.voki.com/site/pickup?scid=15823073&chsm=cd1d4d441b7b7ec34a9df495d9b92764

https://www.voki.com/site/pickup?scid=15823041&chsm=498d1d20079c77ecb0fbe40a60b78c14

Sixth graders are exchanging information on phone numbers in French.

Seventh graders are practicing at what time they have different classes each day through interactive activities.

8th-grade creating VOKIS

7th-grade quizlet live vocabulary building team competition in class

6th-grade playing GRAVITY vocabulary game via Quizlet:

Spirited Fall Fun in the Library!

October highlights include record numbers of kids enjoying all the Library and Design Lab has to offer. Any student can sign up to come to the Library during lunch to study, read or participate in rotating stations of activities. These activities include: origami, games, magic tracks, creating bot mazes, collaborative madalas, Tinkercad, an online program to create 3D designs and the seasonal favorite, Halloween Bingo!

8th-grader Alexandra Gelvin helps 5th-graders create Halloween Origami Bats!

Halloween Bingo with winners taking turns calling the next game.

Art Department

Students and staff have been enjoying the interactive art displays created by Ms. Bennett’s and Mrs. Sailer’s 7th graders. Students created “visual pun” value drawings inspired by compound words.

Saxe Helping Hands

Saxe Helping Hands is connecting Saxe students by brightening their day and allowing them to enjoy the company of others, no matter their circumstances. Our mission is simply to make Saxe students feel safe, included, excited, appreciated, and respected. Our club consists of team-building group activities that often take the form of a craft, physical education activities, and simply spending time with each other. Students that are involved in the club definitely have fun- one can tell by the look on their joyful faces. The club is run by 5th-grade teacher Ms. Line and she is assisted by many of the school’s incredible professionals. We are so happy because the club’s size and diversity is increasing every week! The hope for Saxe Helping Hands is that the students that participate in the club will take the type of thinking that is instilled in them during the club, and use it throughout their lives to make the world a better place.

Model UN

There’s a zombie pandemic and countries are focusing on solutions for the global community.

Design Lab

NCPS District Technology staff had a chance to see the recently updated Design & Innovation Lab at Saxe. This space provides many opportunities for collaboration, creativity, and exploration. Stay tuned for more detail in the coming weeks!

Building Community:

Still “Celebrating Saxe”!

Thanks to our wonderful PTC for sponsoring the “grade-level raffle winner lunches” from Celebrate Saxe! It has been a nice opportunity to spend some extra time with students in an informal manner, get to know them a little better, and hear about the Saxe experience from a student perspective. No better way to build community than over a few slices of pizza!

November: A Month of Causes

In the spirit of living our “Cs”, Saxe staff are participating in a “Month of Awareness” for causes that important to members of our Saxe community. Please feel free to check out more about it, here, and stay tuned for updates as we go through No Shave/”Mo”vember.

In addition to the month-long event, we welcome you to join in recognizing November 14th as World Diabetes Day. We have several students (and some staff) who have T1D and/or Type II Diabetes, many of whom will be wearing blue to show support for each other and spread awareness about this challenging disease.

Upcoming Events

Saxe Book Fair

The Saxe Book Fair is next Tuesday-Thursday (November 19-21) 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Saxe Auxiliary Gymnasium

Click HERE for the classroom visit schedule (subject to change).

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yK2ZKOWzxb0WNi-QGFEtwhqJUO9g7dCp2Rs5TT8h0zs/edit?usp=sharing

Parents are invited to purchase book fair gift certificates for their children’s teachers by clicking HERE. Online sales will end at 5:00 pm on Sunday, November 17.

https://squareup.com/store/saxe-ptc/

The PTC needs your help! To volunteer, click HERE.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090845ada728a7fa7-saxe3

Visit the book fair and go cash-free with eWallet…click HERE for more information!

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/saxemiddleschool

Please contact Kristie Breed with any questions.

khedayati@hotmail.com

Schools Supporting Each Other

Be sure to check out the upcoming NCHS Theatre show, “Shrek the Musical Jr.”!