2022.4.22 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

April 22, 2022

Dear Saxe Family,

Welcome back! As we complete our first week following the April break, the trees are starting to bloom, the days are getting noticeably longer, and the weather is starting to actually feel a little springlike (fingers crossed). This is the start of the “home stretch” and we have so much to look forward to as we round out the school year. In addition to continuing the quality learning, the remainder of the year will be filled with culminating experiences, concerts, transition events, and many fun celebrations.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at Earth Day, a school climate survey reminder, our library, some congrats, a new mural, grade-level meetings, a safety tip from our SRO, morning dropoff reminders, STEM, recess, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

4/27 9:15 am – PTC/New Canaan CARES Annual Meeting (Saxe Auditorium)

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Life is an adventure; we get out of it what we put into it.” – Richard Daly

“It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti

“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

– Thomas Alva Edison

“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don’t let these feelings stop them.” – T. Harv Eker

Earth Day 2022

Happy Earth Day! Celebrating our great Mother Earth today (and, hopefully every day)!

School Climate Survey Reminder

This is a reminder to please fill out the school climate survey for our school before May 2nd. It was sent to you via an email from Mr. Gusitsch on 4/18/22. We are eager to hear your feedback as we continue to work to ensure that our school community is safe, welcoming, and engaging for all of our students and families. Thank you!

Library

Students across grade levels have an opportunity to sign up for alternative recess in the Saxe library. Serenity art, puzzles and creative projects are just some of the activities offered for students to ‘make’ on a daily basis. In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, the Saxe Media Center is encouraging students to discover their inner poet. We have set up a Poetry Creation Station with a selection of colorful inspiring words for students to use to create their own original poems. Several snapshots illustrate grade six students taking advantage of their recess time by creating cut-up poems. A fun hands-on way to express creativity!

Congratulations to Ms. Birdsall

Navigating the past few years has been a challenge for everyone. New Canaan Public Schools were as successful as we were in part due to the great partnership with our union leadership. This collaborative approach to navigating the unknown was led on the union side by President, Vivian Birdsall and her NCEA VP, Ms. Ronna VanVeghel. This well-deserved award recognizes their efforts and we are grateful and fortunate to have such wonderful leaders for all of our NCPS teachers!

Saxe Mural

A big thank you to our PTC for the beautiful new Saxe Mural! This idea originated as a dedication to our students for all they endured following the initial phases of the “covid-era”, and the new addition is a wonderful complement to the original. Toni Miraldi of Mural Envy spent time at Saxe over the April Vacation creating the mural which includes iconic scenes around town, our Saxe Charter, & so much more… It truly is a gift for all who walk down this hallway!

Grade-Level Meetings

This week, all of our Saxe students participated in grade-level meetings to revisit our Saxe Charter, doing what is right, internet safety, & focus on having some fun while finishing the year strongly. We also discussed what it means to be: our best selves, kind, caring, inclusive, accountable, upstanders, & the role they play in making our learning community special! If you would like to learn more or have a follow-up conversation with your child, please feel free to check out the slide deck that we used for our meetings, here.

Below: grade 5

Below: grades 7 & 8

Below: grade 6

Officer Deak’s Safety Tip

Please remember the importance of following appropriate traffic procedures, including our drop-off and pick-up procedures (which are listed below). Our procedures are designed to help ensure that every child is safe every day during arrival and pick-up.

Please also help keep everyone safe by having a conversation with your child(ren) about traffic safety, especially about the importance of using crosswalks appropriately near school, in town, or anywhere else (staying in the lines, waiting for the signal to cross, always watch/look for cars that may not see YOU, etc.). Thank you for partnering in keeping our school community safe!

Morning Drop off Reminders

We love welcoming our students into the building to start the day. Below are some tips that help make the a.m. drop-off process be as efficient and safe as possible:

Please be sure to drop your child on the sidewalk that runs along the building leading up to the lower division entrance and not along the south end of the building or on Farm Rd. or South Ave.
We have put several cones out along the drop-off area as a visual cue.
Please have your children exit the car once you have stopped anywhere along these cones (no need to drop right at the entrance/door). It is a long “runway” and extra steps are always encouraged!
Whenever possible, please pull all the way up to the first cone to allow cars behind you to enter/drop.
As you enter the parking lot, please prompt your child to have everything ready to depart your car.
Please try to stay within the drop-off window beginning 20-25 minutes prior to the start of the school day (traffic picks up after 7:15 for UD and 8:05 for LD).
Please be kind and understand that students are trying their best to get out of their cars quickly. Sometimes they need to access the rear seat or trunk to grab a large instrument or have an injury that slows them down.
After you drop your child, please carefully merge and follow the loop back to exit on Farm Rd.
Just a reminder, our buses run their full routes each day and are available for all families at any time.

Saxe Hospitality Team

We are fortunate to have a motivated, caring Hospitality team who take care of our staff throughout the year. The TGIF breakfast this month was a collaboration between staff and Hospitality – what a spread! Thanks to all who were involved…

Tweet Street

Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe middle school Twitter page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!

Good morning and welcome back, Saxe! It is great to see everyone back in the building and hope it was a wonderful April break for all!

Saxe staff preparing for upcoming school wide assessments. Thanks to our admin team for their careful prep, detailed delivery, & responsive Q&A!

Saxe supports New Canaan High School as they prepare for Safe Driving Week!

Some of Vivian Birdsall’s STEM students expressing their creativity! (&, having FUN!)

Highlight of my week is seeing these former Saxe kids! Thank you for the beautiful flowers from Bouquet Buddies and the visit! (Dr. Luizzi check out the Clemson gear).

Beautiful day for recess at Saxe today! Always nice to be outside, but students are definitely benefitting from getting some fresh air and activity in this nice weather.

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)