2021.10.22 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

October 22, 2021

Dear Saxe Family,

Celebrate Saxe ended last week, but the celebration continues! Thank you to everyone who planned, volunteered, contributed, donated, participated, or just simply had FUN! Together, the fundraising goal was met and our students will benefit from this amazing collaboration. A special thank you goes out to Celebrate Saxe co-chairs, Julie Passios and Beth Rosen and PTC co-presidents Jenny Volanakis and Elizabeth DeMuth. Congratulations on a job well done!

The latter portion of October has felt more like mid-September, but we are enjoying this mild weather for as long as possible. This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at our students and staff taking advantage of this awesome weather, the return of Saxe News, our focus on “Caring”, success stories, celebrations, Health Education, awareness, rowing club, photo club, Saxe spirit, creative learning with dominoes, executive functioning, NCHS bouquet buddies, some friendly reminders, Halloween news, a special congrats, the full moon, 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:

“You cannot keep determined people from success. If you place stumbling blocks in their way, they will use them for stepping-stones and climb to new heights.” – Mary Kay Ash

“The only person you should strive to be better than, is the person you were yesterday.” – Matty Mullins

“Don’t be pushed by your problems, be led by your dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A beautiful day begins with a beautiful mindset” – John Geiger

“You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.” – Andrew Murphy

Welcome Back, Saxe News!

Saxe News was one of the great parts of Saxe Middle School that got put on hold during the covid-impacted last year+. We are proud to announce that the team is back and better than ever! Thank you to Mr. Petrakopoulos and his Saxe News team for sharing so much of what makes our school community a special one. In this episode, you can here from classmates on returning to school and from our new Lower Division Dean of Students, Mr. Adams. Enjoy!

Saxe Cares

Here is just one reason why we love working at Saxe. We are a caring community! Last week during Celebrate Saxe, our “Caught Caring” initiative kicked off. This aligns nicely with our Saxe “5 Cs” and our focus this year on “Caring”. So far, we have had dozens of students and staff who have been “caught” and we will be continuing this throughout the school year.

We had some more students get “caught caring” today! #SaxeCares

Making a Difference

Recently, our STEM teacher Ms. Birdsall shared a nice email that she received from a parent of one of her students. This is a wonderful example of planting the seeds of learning that continue to grow for many years to come! “(Student) is getting his student pilot’s license! He is still really interested in aviation. All thanks to you and your program! Just giving you a little shout out of gratitude!! Hope you are well.” Congrats, Ms. Birdsall, thank you for sharing, and good luck to this former student on reaching his goal(s)!

Health Education

6th graders learned about healthy habits to build your immune system. They took what they learned, then created info-graphics to help advocate to others on how we can boost our immune systems. Impressive work done!

Awareness

October is Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Awareness Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month & ADHD Awareness Month! Here’s a quick article about how to implement AAC at home.

For strategies to support your child with dyslexia at home, this article is helpful from the International Dyslexia Association.

Here’s a resource for parents: a Peek “Inside Your Teen’s ADHD Mind”

Tweet Street

A double special birthday photo at arrival this week! Hope it was a great day!

Caught this full moon rising over Saxe. Such a pretty view…

Amazing turnout for the Saxe Rowing Club this afternoon! It was a beautiful day for some outside activity too!

Great turnout for the Photo Club! Look forward to seeing some of their forced perspective shots!

After exploring forces & energy transfers with dominoes, Grade 6 Red Team students completed a design challenge to show school spirit. This design challenge continues this Fall.

To me, this is the ultimate to see at Saxe. After completing a lab, students had an opportunity to create something to show school spirit in dominoes. Nice work, Gavin! Here it is in Action!

Executive Functioning in Action in Grade 5!

More classes taking advantage of the outdoor learning spaces!

8Red is adding to the spirit in their part of the building!

NCHS Bouquet Buddies

Mr. Bedard got a visit from one of our former students as the recipient of an NCHS Bouquet Buddies delivery! Such a cool moment, thanks to all involved!

Friendly Reminders

Please keep track of your computer! Lately DTS has seen an uptick in lost chromebooks. Typically, they will turn up within a day or so (or be found at home), but the numbers seem to be higher than they were last year for this type of issue. Please remind (your child / your student) of the importance of keeping track of their chromebooks and chargers at all times.

Lunch Cards

Halloween, 2021

Halloween is a fun time of year for our middle school students. While we do not plan anything formal as a school, many students choose to “get in the spirit” by dressing up. For those choosing to wear a costume to school on Friday (10/29), please be sure to follow the guidelines found here.

Congrats to Mrs. Granite!

Congratulations to Assistant Principal, Ms. Obuchowski! She will be getting married on Saturday, October 23rd and will be proudly returning to school on Monday as Mrs. Granite! Best wishes for a wonderful day with your family!

Celebrating our Learning Community

Saxe Middle School was recognized in a recent US News list on schools. Thank you to everyone who helps make Saxe Middle School special and a great place to learn, explore, and grow! You can read the article and see the full list, here.

Dogs of Saxe

Double Dogs!!