2020.12.11 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

December 11, 2020

Dear Saxe Family,

Another week is in the books and I could not be more proud of our students, and staff. Everyone in our learning community deserves credit for their flexibility, adaptability, patience, and commitment to staying true to our goals of providing a safe, enriching learning environment while remaining connected to one another. Whether it is in person, or through the remote learning medium, our students continue to collaborate, explore, create, support, and learn together while making the best of a challenging situation.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at Emotional Intelligence work, theatre, a grade 5 author visit, Latin, Saxe Spirit, educational technology, Saxe Clubs, community service, a note from our Nurses, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. – William James

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill

“Every day the clock resets. Your wins don’t matter. Your failures don’t matter. Don’t stress on what was, fight for what could be.“ -Sean Higgins

“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” – Paulo Coelho

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Will Durant

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

12/16 – 1/2 Day – Professional Learning for staff

Emotional Intelligence in Action

6th-graders continue work on our 2020-21 theme of “Community” while working on creating representations of our school charter. After receiving almost 1,000 votes, Saxe students have shared that they want to feel Comfortable, Happy, Included, Respected, and Safe in school. Great words to live by!

Theater News

Congratulations to all of the Cast and Crew Students involved in this year’s 5th & 6th Grade Musical, Willy Wonka JR – Here is the end of Act I for your viewing pleasure and some pictures of the process! (Disclaimer: all safety mitigation strategies were followed for this creative, unique, enrichment opportunity. It is a time like no other, and our cast and crew rose to the occasion – bravo!)…

Stay tuned for an announcement in January about the 7th & 8th Grade Musical!

Grade 5 Author Visit!

Fifth-graders on the Berry and Hamman team had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with award-winning author, Katherine Paterson. Mrs. Paterson read a few chapters of her well-known book, Bridge to Terabithia, and spoke with the students about her experiences as an author. She offered words of wisdom to our young readers and writers that the meaning of a book is personal to each individual reader, the importance of perseverance, and to always keep reading! A big thank you to Katherine Paterson for donating her time to us.

*Pictured above is student Aiden Kane, talking with his grandmother. What a special moment for all!

Latin

Latin students have the option to use a hardcopy notebook for class or an electronic version. Everyone’s notebook is unique to the individual. This student created a Roman inspired cover page for his online notebook!

6th-grade Latin students in the midst of planning and designing their own Ancient Roman City:

8th-grade Latin students showing their SAXE PRIDE! ACCIPITRES in Latin means HAWKS!

Thanks to Ms. Mykytenko for providing and sharing these experiences

Tech

We continue to maximize the use of our technology and have begun to swap out some devices across grade-levels now that pandemic delayed supplies have begun to arrive. Thanks to all who have helped make this happen for our students!

Students have become adept at navigating between physical and virtual mediums as they interact with peers who are in their classroom or participating remotely.

Here is a quick look at how our staff meetings have evolved. Staff members collaborate with each other virtually from their respective classrooms during our most recent Wednesday professional learning session.

Community Service

Sock it!

The Saxe art department is currently collecting men’s winter socks for their 20th annual holiday drive. All donations will be distributed to local homeless shelters in student designed gift bags. Collection boxes are at the upper and lower division entrances. Thank you in advance for helping to keep the holiday spirit alive.

Food Drive

Ms. Line and Ms. Devines homerooms teamed up to collect non-perishable food items for the New Canaan Food Pantry. Saxe alumnus (and former Ms. Line student), Zachery LaPolice picked up and delivered the donations. Thank you to all who donated their goods and time!

Saxe Clubs

The Garden Club worked on some popcorn and cranberry strings to help decorate the school!

Meanwhile, in another courtyard, the Crew Club was practicing their rowing and keeping warm!

Is hand washing drying your skin?

We all know that frequent handwashing is critical in preventing the spread of coronavirus. However, this often leads to skin that is dry, cracked and sometimes even bleeding.

Dermatologists recommend the following tips to help keep your hands healthy;

Use lukewarm water to wash your hands. Cooler water is just as effective at killing germs and is less irritating to the skin (It’s also more environmentally friendly!)
Pat your hands dry, then whenever possible immediately apply moisturizer
Choose moisturizes that are fragrance free, and those that are in a tube as opposed to a pump bottle. These are less irritating to the skin and more effective
Moisturize! Moisturize! Moisturize!

Dogs of Saxe

Cute factor = >10

Saxe Spirit

A little music and some great outfits are a great way to start each day! Whether students enter through the parent drop off or up front in the bus loop, they are greeted with some spirited music to set the tone as they arrive. Wow, do our students respond and “bring it” with the spirit!