2021.5.14 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

May 14, 2021

Dear Saxe Family,

It was a beautiful week and the weather for our semi-annual “Walk to School Day” could not have been any nicer. It was so nice to see such a positive turnout and the smiles on all of the faces as people walked, ran, skipped, rode, or scooted to school. Hopefully, this will encourage more walkers and riders to school for the last month or so. There is no better way to start your day!

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at Social Studies, Science, Mandarin, the Book Fair, our Saxe Charter, the Grade 6 Parent Orientation, Saxe Rocks, the greenhouse “sprouting”, Annie, the Recycling Club, our Saxe Hawk(s), and more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

5/19: 1/2 Day for students, Professional Learning for staff

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” – Gerard Way

“Learn to value yourself, which means: fight for your happiness.”-Ayn Rand

“If you want to be happy, be.” -Leo Tolstoy

“Be Happy, Be Bright, Be You.” -Kate Spade

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Walk/Ride to School Day!

It was an amazing morning for walking and riding to school today! Big thanks to our “partners” South Elementary and the New Canaan Parks Department!

Our Saxe Hawk made everyone feel happy and welcome!

Lots of staff joined in the full, too!

Social Studies

6th grade Social Studies students have been exploring the cultural hearths of the ancient world in order to identify the legacy of that culture. Students created a project of their choosing to share out their new learning. Ms Nelson’s class’ shared their projects with the entire green team by creating scannable QR codes that linked to their final project. Students celebrated their peer’s work by sharing positive notes on post-it notes.

Science

Saxe students observing and recording changes that have taken place in their “hula circles” outside as ecosystems are studied in science class. The aquatic ecosystems are coming along nicely as well!

And students are predicting predator & prey interactions after studying biotic & abiotic factors in ecosystems. Neat real-world connections and discussions!

Mandarin

All grades students took advantage of the nice weather this week! They practiced their oral speaking skills and chatted about the weather, hobbies, summer vacations, etc. 7th graders started to prepare a food unit presentation to brainstorm ideas about the cafeteria menu at Saxe.

Saxe Book Fair

Saxe Book Fair at Elm Street Books Starts Monday!

The Future Looks BRIGHT! Let’s spring into summer with some great books. We are thrilled to announce that the Saxe Book Fair this year will be held at our favorite local bookstore. Shop at Elm Street Books in New Canaan from May 17-23 and 10% of all book sales will be donated to Saxe. Stop by the store on Wednesday, May 19 after school for a giveaway from a special guest! Enter the in-store raffle for your chance to win a gift basket.

Saxe Charter

Continuing our Saxe bi-weekly charter word focus, we keep the focus on being “happy” and the impact that has on us individually and collectively!

Grade 6 Parent Orientation

If you happened to miss the Saxe Grade 6 Parent Orientation last evening, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Feel free to check out the recorded version, here:

Thanks to all who came out and joined us live!

Around Saxe

The below rocks that were created by Ms. Bennett’s 7th and 8th grade Wednesday Wellness blocks. Students were asked to think about a positive message that they could send out to other students in the school community. Some chose inspirational quotes, others focused on our school community charter words. Each rock was individually painted and drawn to create the beginning stage of our “Positivity Garden”. Amazing!

Saxe Greenhouse

The Saxe Greenhouse is starting to show signs of life! After much planning and support, we are excited to see this idea sprout to life!

Annie Dress Rehearsal

It was great to see our Saxe students conduct a dress rehearsal of the spring production, Annie, last evening in our auditorium! Many moving parts had to come together for this to happen, we are grateful for them all, & so happy for our students! “Break a leg” with all of your shows this weekend!