2023.1.6 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

January 6, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

Happy New Year and I hope your first week of 2023 has been a great one! It was wonderful welcoming our school community back this week and our staff and students did not miss a beat getting back into reconnecting, learning, and having fun. We have a lot to look forward to in the new year and we will be kicking it off in style with several events and concerts, beginning next week. We look forward to seeing you around soon!

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at the latest Saxe News, Math, Mandarin, 8th-grade transition coffee, 6th-grade lunch update, Magnet School information, Saxe Spirit, 3D-printed Mars Rover, CT Kid Governor, outdoor activities, some birthday spirit, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

1/10 – 8/9 Transition Coffee @ NCHS Wagner Room from 9:30 – 10:30 am

1/11 – PTC Budget Meeting with Dr. Luizzi (NCHS Wagner Room)

1/11 – Winter Chorus Concert for Grades 5/6

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another person has to say” – Bryant H. McGill

“Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it, you’ve got to give it.” – R.G. Risch

“Treat people the way you want to be treated. Talk to people the way you want to be talked to. Respect is earned, not given.” – Hussein Nishah

Saxe News

Check out the latest Saxe News where our reporting crew covers caring for our community by keeping our campus clean! Thanks to Mr. Petrkopoulos and the entire team at Saxe News for keeping us informed.

Mathematics

Students in Ms. Kiley’s 7th Grade Algebra class enjoy using Desmos, an interactive online instructional tool. The class has been studying their unit on Systems of Linear Equations. The graphing activity allows students to work together and see if they got the answer right in real time with fun emojis!

Students in Ms. Martin’s 8th Grade Algebra class are also using Desmos. For this instructional activity, students matched equations in a card sort to practice their skills with solving systems of equations.

Mandarin

6th-grade students learned about the major cities in China this week. Bert Fillingham shared his personal experiences with his peers when he lived in Hong Kong for eight years!

8th Grade Transition Coffee

On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, in the Wagner Room at NCHS, from 9:30am – 10:30am will be holding our 8th Grade Transition Coffee. During this meeting, we will provide an overview of the timeline, course selection, the appeals process, and other important details. This event will be recorded for parents who are unable to attend.

Magnet School Information

In addition to New Canaan High School, 8th Grade students have the option of attending five other public high schools. Below you will find a description of the CT School Choice opportunities for your child and a reference sheet for the five high schools that are options for your child.

High School Choice Opportunities

Saxe Spirit

Spirit was in the air all around Saxe for Team Color Day!

Filling in the Blanks

The sixth-grade chorus classes have arranged a food drive for Filling in the Blanks. Filling in the Blanks helps with child hunger. Thousands of children in CT and NY have been experiencing a food insecurity which is worse than a pandemic. The sixth-grade chorus classes are trying to help provide free meals to students in need with Filling in the Blanks help! You can help us by donating food to our food drive. The boxes will be found in the main office, the lower division office, and room 153. You may also donate online by going here: Amazon Custom Gift List

Please help us help students in need!

6th Grade Lunch Update

We are excited to announce that beginning Monday, January 9th, students will be able to mix teams during lunch. 6th-grade students have done a nice job in the cafeteria during the first half of the year seated by teams. We are looking forward to students embracing this opportunity, while continuing to display the positive behaviors they have demonstrated in the cafeteria up to this point. This is a great opportunity for students to sit with friends on other color teams and/or create new friendships. We also recognize that there can be some uncertainty that comes with change or transition. With that in mind, teachers, counselors, and support staff will be available to guide them in navigating this situation as needed. Bon appetite!

Tweet Street

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

Thanks to Saxe STEM teacher, Vivian Birdsall, & Mr. Almonte for creating/3D-printing this amazing Mars Rover! It’s a nod to our ongoing focus on “Innovation” & represents our recent virtual presentation by Planetary Scientist, Dr, Nina Lanza. It will reside in our Celebrate Saxe showcase!

CT Kid Governor – Meet Bassett, a 5th grader at Saxe who ran on the platform of Endangered Animals.

To learn more about Bassett and his platform, watch his campaign video HERE

Students enjoyed some beautiful weather outside this week. Nothing like being able to get out and be active in early January!

Grateful for our dedicated staff who serve on our building committee for our upcoming TriState Consortium visit!

Students didn’t miss a beat getting back into action as we returned for the first week of 2023!

The first “buckets” of 2023 were dropping before a.m. arrival at Saxe. This crew does need New Year’s resolutions as they are out there just about every day of the year!

Love seeing the birthday spirit around Saxe! I hope it was the best day ever!

Laser-focus by a few of our Saxe students! Thanks for your dedication and commitment to being the “Voices of Saxe” during morning announcements!

We are fortunate to have some of our dedicated Saxe alum come back from NCHS to work with our students! Their dedication and commitment are beyond commendable & we are grateful…

It was great to welcome all of our Saxe students back for the first school day of 2023! Hope everyone’s start to the new year is going well…

Dogs of Saxe

One of our newest Dogs of Saxe- Dakota is only 9 weeks old (&, happy to bring us smiles at the morning drop-off line)!

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)