2023.1.13 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

January 13, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

Today marks the completion of the first full week of school for 2023. Students did an excellent job transitioning back from the holiday break last week and have been fully engaged the past couple of weeks. We are fortunate to be able to see the positive interactions, explorations, trial, and just as importantly, error, collaboration, and learning growth that happens in every content area, every day. The Saxe Weekly provides a snapshot of the many incredible experiences that happen within the classrooms and learning spaces each week and we appreciate you taking the time to check them out!

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at MLK Day, Science Workshop, Math, 8th to 9th Transition, Grade 6 Town Hall Meetings, the newly released NCPS App, Community events, Trout Club, Chorus, ELA, STEM, a special gift, paint progress, Student Leadership, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

1/16 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – No School

1/19 – NC Cares Presentation – Kids Menu @ 7:00pm in the Saxe Auditorium

1/20 – End of Quarter 2 (grades 6-8)

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Respect the difference between people. It makes people unique.” – Unknown

“I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.” – Julius Erving

“Respect yourself and others will respect you.” – Confucius

“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” – Jackie Robinson

“Respect is one of life’s greatest treasures. I mean, what does it all add up to if you don’t have that?” – Marilyn Monroe

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, NCPS schools will be closed. We look forward to seeing everyone again on Tuesday!

Quarter 2 (grades 6-8)

Our students have been working hard and the end of the second quarter is right around the corner (1/20). As a reminder, please check in with your child and/or their teacher(s) to be sure there are no outstanding assignments or work that may be submitted prior to the close of the quarter. Connecting and communicating are two great ways to ensure everyone is on the same page!

8th-Grade Science Workshop

Students interviewed one another about their favorite food items and the problems they experience while eating these dishes. After gaining an understanding of the problem, students came up with radical ideas for potential solutions. After capturing feedback from their partner, students then created prototypes of their ideas using aluminum foil. Patents pending!

Mathematics

Math 5 students are exploring volume! In Ms. Campbell and Ms. Donovan’s class, students worked in groups to build cubic meters, cubic feet, cubic inches, and cubic centimeters. This task helped our learners visualize a cubic unit using customary and metric measures. Then, they categorized the types of objects that could be measured appropriately in terms of these measurements. Hands-on learning is how we learn best!

8th to 9th Transition

Welcome to the 8th to 9th Grade Transition page! We hope to provide a smooth transition for your son or daughter as they enter NCHS as incoming Freshmen. Please explore the page below for helpful information regarding timelines, course choices, and frequently asked questions.

Grade 6 Team Meetings

This week, team meetings were held with each 6th-grade team to revisit expectations, best practices, & our Saxe Charter. Students were terrific and we are grateful for our staff who continue to maintain the best learning environment possible for our students! If you would like to check out the slideshow that was covered, you are welcome to do so, here: 6th-Grade Town Hall Meeting

NCPS App

New Canaan Public Schools (NCPS) has officially announced the launch of their new mobile app that helps students, parents, and our community stay up-to-date with what’s happening across our schools. The app will streamline access to both district and school information in an easy-to-navigate mobile format and is an extension of the newly updated NCPS website.

Users will have access to a host of real-time information and important documentation, including:

School and District News
Daily and Monthly Lunch Menus (PDFs included)
District, School-Level and Rotational Calendars
Reminders for Upcoming School/PTC Events
Interactive Staff Directories
Customizable profiles with content specific to an individual school, or multiple schools within the district.

To learn more, click here to view a short video preview of the new NCPS Mobile App:

The app is now available to download for free on Google Play and the Apple App Store:

Download for iPhone

Or visit: https://apple.co/3VsJIAP or

Download for Android

Or visit: https://bit.ly/3eo6FEE

Community Events

Kids Menu—The Substances Available To Our Kids These Days and The Effects On Their Lives

Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 PM, Saxe Auditorium

Please join New Canaan CARES and their partners in welcoming New Canaan High School Resource Officer Jeff Deak and Tricia Dahl, Research Assistant from Yale School of Medicine, in an eye-opening discussion about the common substances accessible to our children, how they affect the adolescent brain, and what we see in our community and schools. This program is intended for middle and high school families. Students are invited and encouraged to attend.

Yearbook

Trout Club

Trout Club was excited for the arrival of over 600 eggs this week from Trout Unlimited! The trout are now home in rooms 24, 28, and 134 until late spring, but will be carefully monitored and taken care of by the Trout Club!

“Chorus Caring for Community”

Filling in the Blanks has been a HUGE Success! Throughout December and much of January, the Saxe 6th grade Chorus supported the charity Filling in the Blanks, which helps kids get the food that they need for every meal. In Connecticut, about 131,000 children live in food insecure households. Filling in the Blanks serves over 3,000 children a week, and gives free meals to those in need. We collected over 350 items so far! If you would still like to donate, we will accept food at Saxe and you can contribute online through January 31. The Saxe 6th-grade Chorus is proud to be contributing to put a stop towards childhood hunger! Thank you to everyone who made a donation! Amazon Custom Gift List.

Tweet Street

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

Standing room only at the 8th Grade transition meeting. A special welcome to the parents of the class of 2027(I [Principal Egan] am getting old). NCHS is an awesome school and we are looking forward to watching your kids grow into the amazing young adults that I know they will become.

ELA students taking advantage of the Innovation space as they prepare/create stories to share with their classmates. Can’t wait to see some of the finished products!

Our Saxe 8 Red team were in the winter spirit leading into break… Now, if we only got some snow? 🙂

One of my favorite signs in Ms. Birdsall’s STEM classroom… This is a great reminder & sums up the beauty of trial & error, resilience, & perseverance in just a few simple words. FAIL: Frequent Attempts In Learning = life skills!

Some of the latest avian creations by our students! They turned out great!

Congratulations to our amazing 5th and 6th grade singers on a wonderful concert!

Students and parents get to participate in an interactive Kahoot during the 5th to 6th-grade transition at the winter Chorale Concert!

Good luck to the 5th & 6th-grade Chorale students on their winter concert!

The 3D-printers are churning out the latest creations by our Saxe students!

Thanks to members of NCHS Courant for dropping off the latest edition over at Saxe! We enjoy seeing our former students as well as sharing what our current students have to look forward to over at NCHS!

There are not too many other times that put a bigger smile on my face than when students stop by with sincere, special gifts – thank you!

Progress on the painting project in the 5th-grade hallway!

Saxe Trout Club is back! Can’t wait to see these little eggs hatch and grow before their release into local waterways. What an amazing experience for our students!

Thanks to Ms. Sheehan for providing an overview of resources available to our G8 ELA students for their current project, in the Library.

Bringing the Saxe Book Club to life with the ELA video project – can’t wait to see the finished product!

Ms. Granite hosting the 5th grade Student Leadership group, can’t wait to see these student leaders in action around school.

Dogs of Saxe

Rosie was riding shotgun during drop off this morning!

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)