2019.11.27 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

November 27, 2019

Dear Saxe Family,

As the Thanksgiving break is upon us, I wish each of you a wonderful time with those you choose to spend it with. I believe we all have much to be grateful for and I feel blessed to be part of this special community that we call Saxe Middle School. Before dismissal today, an announcement was made wishing everyone well and relaying this message of “thanks” to each of our members. Each person at Saxe brings their own unique element to collectively make up our “Saxe Family” and we are grateful for each and every one of them.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at some of these components through 5th-Grade, Speech and Language, World Language, Health and Physical Education, “Month of Causes”, the latest Saxe News, what makes Saxe special, and more.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the break!

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Saxe Middle School wishes you a…

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

11/27: ½ Day, Happy Thanksgiving Break!

12/3: Grade 5 Parent Conferences/NCHS/Saxe 8th Grade Orchestra Festival

12/4: Grade 5 Parent Conferences/NCHS/Saxe 8th Grade Orchestra Festival (Snow Date)

12/5: Grade 5 Parent Conferences

12/6: Grade 5 Parent Conferences

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

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

Gratitude helps us to see what’s there instead of what isn’t.

There is always something to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving isn’t just a day. It’s the way we can live our lives every day.

November: A Month of Causes

Today wraps up the Saxe “Month of Causes”. This was a wonderful display of our community coming together to show support for causes that are important to our students and staff. It was really neat to see the “waves of colors” each day!

Saxe’s Ugly Beards!

The beard growing fundraiser benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societies Pennies for Patients program got ugly this week. Please consider making a donation in the name of the beard you feel needs to go! We have collected $700 online and over $250 from spare-change at lunch. You can find links to the various teacher’s donation pages here. Below is the whole hairy crew from today! It was for a great cause, but I know a few of them are looking forward to using a razor and being clean-shaven again!

Who We Are…

The following is from a parent who had a child fall ill last week and end up in the hospital. With permission, we are sharing this experience just as an example of our Community of Caring, in action!

“I cannot begin to tell you how incredible everyone at Saxe has been. You write each month in your newsletter about Saxe being a caring community who take care of each other. Well that was alive and in action big time this week! The outpouring of support for (student) by both your teachers and staff as well as the students has been overwhelming.”

“If (student) ever wondered how much people care at school— (student) could never question it again… The lessons of kindness clearly are alive and well even in our hospital room in the pediatric ward.

All of their (teachers, staff, students) efforts brought smiles to (student’s) face during a very challenging week. We are so grateful to be part of Saxe….Please share our gratitude to all…”.

We are happy to report that our student is feeling better, is back at home/school, and is expecting a full recovery! This is just a snapshot of the “good” that goes on at Saxe on a daily basis. We are truly fortunate to have such a caring community who put these words into action, and “live our values”, when it matters most.

Saxe News

Enjoy the latest Thanksgiving edition of Saxe News!

Spreading “The Good”

Ms. Dobransky’s students made a fantastic Compliment Tree. Here’s a picture of them by the tree!

Figurative Language Escape Room

This week, seventh graders engaged in the Figurative Language Escape Room in speech and language. They worked on identifying and creating figurative expressions including similes, metaphors, allusions, hyperbole, oxymoron, alliteration, personification, and onomatopoeia. They then worked to find examples in science fiction short stories related to the curriculum.

World Language

We are thankful for the children you send to us every day! We are grateful for your ongoing support every day. Here is what one 8th grader is thankful for.. How about you?

We are having fun. Playing sports in Chinese.

Latin

6th Graders practicing their Latin with each other – Salve! Quid est nomen tibi? (Hello! What is your name?)

Videos:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6cg3Hzbly34VG1BcFZ3VkNMbHZXUmdWTlRDN3ZvLXZVSDAw

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6cg3Hzbly34T1NhTkt2NFQ4R2xyOFJFRGl3a0JMZjl0bWdN

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WtshmpEr3PcsbTuCY-g4EKDD9RPpUAFH

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1icXQSTsBNTCGhczoi1GmkLHQyED3PYPJ

7th grade Latin students performing the myth of ‘Midas and the Golden Touch’ as part of their theater unit.

8th grade Latin students assembling to prepare a translation of a skit as part of a jigsaw activity.

7th graders cooked up some “Dative Turkeys” in Latin class this week (i.e. They were able to express in Latin different things for which they were thankful, like family, food, and friends.)

Students sharing what they are grateful for.

Students showed what they are grateful for by writing it IN LATIN!!

French

Mandarin

The 6th-graders recited a chant called “You are my good friend!” and worked on “How to greet people in a proper way”… Perfect for Thanksgiving!

Physical Education

Students in physical education are continuing to practice the four components of health-related fitness during the dynamic and interval warm-up each class. Students have been working to demonstrate competency with their hand/eye coordination using a paddle or racket to practice forehand, backhand, overhead clears, drop shots, smash shots and volleys. Using the correct skills and strategies will make game/tournament play that much more exciting to participate in!

Check out the teamwork and communication going on when students work together to climb the Dangle Duo!

Students are learning the qualities of a supportive teammate while developing plays to use in football.

Building connections with our grade level charter and the qualities of being a teammate applies far outside the physical education class.

Way to go to all the students at Saxe who have been working hard on building and maintaining muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and aerobic endurance outside of school and in Physical Education. Students have been working towards achieving their health related fitness goals and understanding the importance of moving every day.

Special recognition to the following students during the Fitness unit.

5th grade: Eliza DeChristopher and Jack Ryan

6th grade: Kelly Vance and Zai Ferraro

7th grade: Nikki Ferraro and Ryan Boulanger

8th grade: Lexie Tully, Patrick Zoccolillo and Dylan Azzopardi

Health Education

Students were actively engaged using Kahoot as they were introduced to the Mental/Emotional Health unit. Students had fun connecting the Mood Meter, Wellness Triangle, and other tools to their mental/emotional health.

Students are practicing their interpersonal communication skills when presented with an “I Dare You…” scenario. Students are applying effective communication such as, tone of voice, body language, eye contact, and assertiveness when presented with an unsafe situation.