2020.5.29- Saxe Weekly

May 29, 2020

Dear Saxe Family,

The days are long, but the weeks fly by… Next week will be June, (wow!). We have all been through quite a bit and learned so much throughout the past few months but still have much to be grateful for. Through thick and thin, our learning community has stuck together and I could not be more proud of everyone who is associated with Saxe Middle School. Time may be speeding, but we still have much to celebrate as we work towards the finish line.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at “student heroes”, Latin, grade 4 to grade 5 transition, “kudos to colleagues”, the release of the Saxe salmon, Student Leadership Team, spiritwear, a newborn baby, an amazing trickshot, and more…

Please remember, Monday is a “distance learning day off”. So, enjoy this edition of the Saxe Weekly and have a great long weekend!

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

6.1 Distance Learning day off – enjoy!

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

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“We can’t always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it.” – Helen Barry

“In the rush to get back to normal, use this time to decide which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” – Dave Hollis

“Go easy on yourself. Whatever you do today, let it be enough.” – Unknown

“Your mind will always believe everything you tell it. Feed it faith. Feed it truth. Feed it with love.” – Billy Graham

Back again for this week – the latest, updated Saxe Middle School 1-Second Everyday! “Life is made of seconds.” At the end of the year, we will have a full version that includes every single day of the 2019-20 school year. Enjoy!

Our Students. Our Heroes…

While we have saluted everyone who has sacrificed for others during these unprecedented times, our students/children should certainly be included in the realm of “heroes”. We are proud of our Saxe students and the adaptability they have shown throughout this experience. They are the pulse that keeps our building alive, whether it be physically or virtually! Below is a blurb that was shared by school psychologist, Mr. Dykes, from a recent article. It nicely captures, and keeps in perspective, much of what our children are going through.

“Everyone is applauding everyone but our children. These little heroes have stayed indoors more than they’ve ever known in their lives. Their whole worlds have literally been turned upside down and they don’t know why. All these rules they’ve never known. Not being able to see family or give hugs. Vacations, sports and activities, play dates and school canceled. Adults talking about others becoming unwell, news reporting death after death. Our poor children’s minds must be racing. Every day their resilient little bodies get up and carry on despite all that’s going on. So here’s to our little heroes: today, tomorrow, and forever.”

Latin

Our ZOOM calls are getting lively! We played Latin Pictionary to help study our vocabulary! Students had a blast drawing and guessing IN LATIN!

Cervus = Deer

Puella = girl

Ambulat = walks

Argentarius = banker

Canis est in mensa = the dog is on the table.

Appropinquat = approaches

Regina = queen

Gladiator = Gladiator

Impluvium = rainwater pool

Transition-to-Saxe “Virtual” Events!

Do you remember what you were most concerned about when you were transitioning to Saxe? Chances are you were worried about getting lost, opening your locker, and finding your friends. We can say that because those are the top questions asked by 4th-graders every year, and this year is no exception. This week featured two reimagined transition-to-Saxe events to help address those concerns and welcome our newest students and families. In years past we featured three important activities to help prepare 4th-graders and their families for the transition to middle school. Those events included the 4th-grade student assemblies at each school, the 4th-grade parent presentation, and the Saxe Mentor night (pizza, ice-cream, and student-led tours). While Dr. Clapp has not figured out how to provide virtual ice-cream to incoming families, he and his team of student ambassadors, teacher volunteers, and parent panelists, provided the best virtual version of these events over the past week. On 5/22, Dr. Clapp and student ambassadors gave a virtual assembly to the fourth-grade classes. On Wednesday night, nearly two-hundred 4th-grade parents attended an informative webinar featuring parent and student panels. This was followed by student-led Zoom tours of the 5th-grade parts of the building (pictures below). If you are interested in seeing any of the recordings from these events (including a very funny video made by our current 8th-graders when they were in 5th-grade), visit the Transition-to-Saxe website, (here).

One our virtual tour crews, ready to go!

Continuing Education…

Congratulations to 6th-grade Math teacher, Dr. Kristina Paradise, who successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on 5/28! Her dissertation is titled “Examining Undergraduate Urban Preservice Teacher Residency: Perceptions of Classroom Environment.” In the past few years, some teacher preparation programs have started using a “residency model” for future teachers which is based on the residency model used in hospitals. Dr. Paradise analyzed how prepared preservice resident teachers felt they would be to create a positive environment in their own classroom when they became teachers. She also studied the challenges residents, mentors, and university supervisors faced in the residency program. She shared that a lot was learned! “Especially interesting was how residents and mentors reflected on their growth and learning in behavior management, restorative practices, and their ability to create a culture of learning.”

Congratulations, Dr. Paradise!

Salmon Release

This was the first year for Saxe students to raise salmon in the classroom and we are excited to announce our success! Two hundred eggs were delivered by the CT River Salmon Association on January 7th this year. For several months, the salmon eggs have been slowly developing in a covered tank with 3*C water and rocks from their home habitat. The Saxe Fish Club met on Tuesdays to help monitor and maintain the tank while we were still at Saxe. Daily, their growth was charted in a spreadsheet (based on tank temperature) to determine their rate development by Sophie Adamczyk (Sixth Grade Student). Since then, they were growing and developing into fry on their own because they never needed to be fed (only needed an occasional filter change). Mrs. Poidomani was tracking their temperature with the help of Robert Tonuci (Saxe Custodian). We raised the salmon until they were big enough to survive on their own and hungry. On Tuesday, May 26, they were very hungry! The salmon fry were released into the Salmon River (East Hampton/Colchester CT). Michael & Matthew Poidomani helped Matt Schart (CT River Salmon Assoc) release the salmon into the river. The students and staff at Saxe are truly grateful to the Saxe PTC for funding this exciting project. We look forward to raising Salmon in the future!

Stay tuned for the Trout release next Tuesday, June 7th!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15lkuJiN9wVjrUWgc_70LBm12zKtdiNcZ/view? usp=sharing

Grade 8 Student Leadership Team

Mr. Lepisto invited Mr. Bedard and Mr. Gusitsch to the Student Leadership Team meeting this afternoon. It was great to see the group together and nice to be able to thank them for the contributions they have made at Saxe! They are true leaders who care about and are committed to our learning community – thank you!

Saxe Spiritwear for Sale!

We may not be able to be in the classroom these days, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have school spirit! Stock up on your Saxe spiritwear for the summer. Click HERE to check out our online store for these and other items. The store will be open through June 1. Items will be available for contactless pickup on June 4 and 5. The pickup address will be emailed prior to those dates, Please contact Emily.cannon@gmail.com with any questions.

Reminder: NCPS Data Verification

Please remember to check your email and complete the data verification for your child(ren). This information is essential as we continue planning for next year as it relates to enrollment, transportation, scheduling, and more. Please have your child complete the AUP, where appropriate, as well. Thanks in advance for your attention to this important request.

New Addition

Congrats to 7th-Grade Science teacher, Dan Torv (&, his wife), on the arrival of their son, Evan!

Morning Announcements

Henry and his dog checking out what the day has in store!

Amazing…

This is not one of our students, but I can’t help but think that our students are equally as creative, talented, and could design something similar. If this happens to be an inspiration and something amazing is created from it, please share! If not, sit back for a little over 3 minutes and enjoy!

“This outdoor Rube Goldberg Machine goes around my entire yard, and swishes a basketball shot after 70 steps. This video was filmed in one take, meaning there are absolutely no hidden cuts or edits. The machine took a month to build and another month to successfully work, so please share this with anyone who needs some entertainment during these strange times!”