March 11, 2022
Dear Saxe Family,
What a meaningful, spirit-filled week! For the first time, possibly ever, we joined forces with Middlesex Middle School for a collaborative “Kindness Week”. The spirit was off the charts and each day included a sincere act of kindness that helped our school community celebrate what makes Saxe special – the people!
This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at some important date reminders, the latest 1-Second Everyday, a “fresh off the mic” Hawks Talk episode, paying it forward, a special championship win, an opportunity to hear from a holocaust survivor, Science, STEM, Latin, Saxe Theatre, welcoming a new staff member, TONS of spirit & kindness, lots of outdoor class activity, snowy scenes around Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
Monday is Pi Day!
It is a day to celebrate the mathematical constant pi (π) (and, to eat lots of pie?). Pi Day celebrates the mathematical constant π (3.14). It is celebrated in countries that follow the month/day (m/dd) date format, because the digits in the date, March 14 or 3/14, are the first three digits of π (3.14).
Saxe Meet & Greet
We look forward to opening our doors to invite our parent community back into Saxe! On the evenings of March 22nd (Lower Division) and March 23rd (Upper Division), we will hold our first March “Saxe Meet & Greet” for parents to come in, see our classrooms, and meet your child’s teachers, in person. The schedule will run between 5:45 – 7:45 p.m. A detailed schedule will be shared next week and we will be working with our students to help prepare parents to navigate the building with confidence. 🙂
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
-Alice Walker
“I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
“If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself.” – Mindy Kaling
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
“I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.” – Tracee Ellis Ross
One Second Everyday
Back again for this week – the latest Saxe Middle School 1-Second Everyday! “Life is made of seconds.” Showcasing so much of what makes Saxe Middle School great! This will be a recurring, bi-weekly feature. At the end of the year, we will have a full version that includes every single day of the 2021-22 school year. Enjoy! (pro tip: to enjoy the video at a slower pace, change your viewing option to .75 speed).
Hawks Talk Podcast: Episode 1.3: Kindness Week
(Click the link above to listen)
On this episode of the Hawks Talk podcast we had the pleasure of interviewing four of our 6th grade Red team students, Nora Nussbaum, Chandler Wagner, Olivia Finnerty, and Elena Dillon. This conversation is a culmination of the spirit filled week, as we celebrated Kindness Week and partnered with our neighboring school, Middlesex Middle School, across the border in Darien (that’s right…). We discussed the impact this week had on our Charter and the different perspectives the week brought, some future projects and ideas, as well as, their favorite day.
Paying it Forward
We know we have amazing students at Saxe Middle School. Sometimes, personal stories show just how special our school community is. Please check out Lila’s story, her act of kindness to help those in need, and how you can get involved to help. Nice job and good luck, Lila!
“Hi, my name is Lila Wolfson. Last month I got diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had to have brain surgery to take it out and spent a week in the pediatric neurosurgery unit of the hospital. A day or two before my surgery a child life specialist brought me games and toys to play with to distract me from what was about to happen. I found this super helpful. I decided to do a charity project for other kids about to have brain surgery, to comfort the kids and take their minds off it. Therefore I will be collecting new toys and donating them to the kids at Yale New Haven Hospital. If you would like to support my efforts, I have placed toy collection boxes at Groove New Canaan, the New Canaan Toy Store, the New Canaan Toy Chest, and Combine X Fitness. There will also be boxes located at Saxe in the lower, upper, and main offices. The toy drive will go on until March 31st 2022. Please donate before this time. These donations will be so helpful to get the kids through a difficult time and support them. Thanks so much for your help!”
Congratulations Coach Bulan!!!
A Big Shout Out to NCHS Girls Hockey Coach, Richard Bulan on a triple overtime(!) State Championship win against Darien! Under Coach Bulan the NCHS Team has won 8 Championships and 9 FCIAC Championships, with Bulan earning win number 542 this season. We are proud to have Coach Bulan in our Saxe Family. Congratulations to Coach, and the entire NCHS Girls Hockey program!
Grade 8 Social Studies
The 8th grade team welcomed Mrs. Ruth Weiner to Saxe yesterday morning. Ruth is a Holocaust survivor, life-long educator and consultant. Ruth shared her experiences of living in Vienna during the War as the Germans occupied her country as well as her escape to England and finally the United States. This is the 4th year that Saxe has hosted a Survivor and we thank the Hero Center/Voices of Hope for helping us connect with living witnesses to history. On their website they state, “ We cannot change the past, we can only hope these stories and life lessons will positively affect the future.” In Ruth’s parting words she encouraged us all to break the darkness and be the flashlights in the world. Powerful words indeed.
We thank our student interviewers: Thomas Shullman, Larkin Celiberti, and Lyla Cody for asking some of the many questions 8th graders had about the Holocaust and Mrs. Weiner’s experiences.
Grade 6 Science
Grade 6 Red & Blue Team students had been trying to figure out the agents of erosion involved in the Cape Cod Car event over the last week. They had to design 3D models to explore how forces and energy played a role in causing a car to fall into a V-shaped ditch with a meandering path. With collaboration, creativity, and perseverance they were able to figure out how a flash flood and the surroundings caused the phenomenon
Grade 8 Science
8 Red students conducted experiments in order to collect data on their walk, jog, and run speeds. Students used their data to graph their position vs time throughout the different motions and calculate changes in their velocity. And, it was great to see classes outside again!
Science STEM Workshop
8 Red Science Workshop welcomed Mr. Petrakopoulos in to discuss the design-build process. Students then utilized this process to plan and construct towers using the materials they were limited to (straws, pipe cleaners, and paper clips). Their goal was to build a tower that would support a golf-ball being placed at the top for at least 2 minutes. Students showed off their creativity and came up with some pretty awesome design-builds!
Latin
The 8th Grade Latin students have been working all week on their Pen Pal letters to a class in Lyon, France. These letters were carefully constructed and all in Latin. Each letter describes the author in a variety of ways and a picture of the class accompanies the letters. Their French Pen Pals are to pick the picture based upon the letter. We look forward to their Pen Pal letters arriving next week.
Saxe Theatre
Come see the Revolting 7th/8th grade students of Saxe Middle School in their upcoming performance of Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical. We are excited to be opening our doors again to a full capacity live audience. Performances are Friday, April 1st 7pm and Saturday, April 2nd 11am and 3pm. Please visit Saxe Middle School Theatre Events | Eventbrite to purchase your tickets today. It’s going to be Revolting, Naughty and nothing short of a Miracle!
Welcome to the Saxe Library
Heather Anders grew up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on her family’s cattle and sheep farm. In college, she fell in love with art history and had her first jobs in museums and archives. Throughout her career, she has worked in both libraries and archives, where she worked with students as they learned to use primary sources for research. Two years ago, she moved to the area with her husband and four boys after having lived in both Philadelphia and Dallas. In her spare time, she enjoys running, visiting art museums, spending time with her family at their camp in Maine and, of course, reading. Welcome, Heather!
Tweet Street
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe middle school Twitter page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
Thanks to our Dean of Students, Jonathan Adams for this great graphic as Saxe & Middlesex celebrate “Spirit & Kindness Week”, together! Let’s go!
Quick reminder, we will be “joining forces for kindness” with Middlesex as we enjoy a weeklong “Spirit & Kindness Week”! Monday is wear your favorite hat and say “hello” to someone new… Here we go!
Hat Day at @SaxeMS today! Kicking off the week right with spirit and kindness… Thought I’d have to choose between favorite hats, but the weather made the decision – it’s nice out!
Thank you to our Principal David Gusitsch for delivering some much appreciated coffee and treats to all our staff. Thanks to our awesome Saxe PTC for helping us put together the “Kindness Cart” to kickoff our Kindness/Spirit week at Saxe. Nothing like a little caffeine & candy to get people excited!
The Kindness/Spirit week is off to a great start! We had lots of spirit and acts of kindness around school today! Kudos to Middlesex, this is pretty impressive! Kindness Week on the same day as Music Monday.
Outdoor classes in March in CT? Yes, please! Nice weather = outdoor learning at Saxe. In this case, Ms. Bohlmann’s classes are working on % equations on calculators… Love seeing the hat day spirit, too!
Some Kindness/Spirit scenes around @SaxeMS with “hat day” today! Great way to kick off the week with a joint spirit week with neighboring school, Middlesex Middle School.
Like a true World Language teacher, Ms. Wu had a hat with “Teacher” in multiple languages!
Let’s see those colors! Just as importantly, give out those sincere compliments throughout the day as a way to celebrate the joint Kindness/Spirit week with DragonsMMS!
Sending compliments across town lines!
Nothing like a “Be Kind” chant to celebrate the Kindness/Spirit Week!
Caught some Saxe News filming in action as they discuss the upcoming change in school start times for the 2022-23 school year. Look forward to hearing the student responses!
Mr. Ekstrom’s Saxe Science class took advantage of some decent weather to measure/time differences in walking, jogging, & running. Love seeing classes utilize our outdoor spaces!
Students & staff “brought the spirit” today! Heard lots of positive compliments around the building as well! Such a positive vibe participating in a unified Kindness/Spirit Week with our neighbors at MMS!
Love hearing those compliments today and seeing those colorful smiles!
Super Saxe spirit! Passed this student in the hall and he said, “I win…”. My response, “you’re right!”. He was a good sport for a quick photo, too. Kindness/Spirit Week continues with our neighboring town!
DragonsMMS: Another day, another act of kindness! We may be rivals, but we love that our neighbors have joined us in our School Spirit & Kindness week!
Our incredible Saxe students taking our kindness challenge to heart! Cleaning up our playground area during their recess time!
School social workers provide students with mental health & behavioral support so that families & other school staff can provide well-rounded services. School communities are stronger and more effective with a diverse team of experts. We are grateful for our Saxe Social Workers… Thank you, Ms. Barrett, Ms. Pesce, & Ms. Sotolongo!
Tons of awesome jerseys today! My favorite? When I asked a student, “99 on the Lakers, who was that again?” & his response with a huge smile was, “Fletch!” Awesome 80’s flashback!
I decided on the NYY #2 jersey hoping MLB will get the season in order soon.
Some snowy scenes around Saxe today! Stay safe this afternoon, all.
Kindness/Spirit Week continues! It has been a great week so far… Can’t wait to see all the “rockers” around Saxe today!
Some serious “rockin’” spirit around Saxe today! Another great Kindness/Spirit Day is in the books! We wrap up the week partnering with our neighbors, DragonsMMS tomorrow with school colors day – let’s see that red and black!
Exciting News!
Best school districts in Connecticut
It’s Friday and this is the last day of the joint Kindness/Spirit Week with our neighbors over at MMS – let’s see that Saxe/NC red & black today! Just as importantly, please be sure to thank a staff member for being awesome!
Our Saxe Hospitality Crew knocked it out of the park with this TGIF breakfast today! What a perfect way to cap off the Kindness/Spirit week – thank you!
Just a couple of the hundreds of decked out, spirited outfits around school today! Love the Saxe Spirit!
What a wonderful surprise as I returned to my desk earlier! I’m not sure who it was that left this kind gesture, but it made me smile – thank you! Kindness Matters at Saxe and this is a perfect way to wrap up our Kindness/Spirit Week with our neighbors at Middlesex Middle School!
Nothing better than collecting data outside on this beautiful day for position/time graphs to learn about velocity.
Have a great week, see you next Friday!
Thank you to all of our Saxe Weekly contributors! Each weekly edition is an example of collaboration in action. A special thanks to Lauren Sherwood for the continuous stream of positive, optimistic quotes!
Saxe Resources (live links)
Website: https://www.ncps-k12.org/saxe
Saxe Middle School
Celebrating Our Learning Community Through Caring, Communication, & Commitment
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