2023.3.10 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

March 10, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

As we complete the first full week of March, we have much to be proud of, and celebrate. As noted last week, NCPS welcomed in a team from the TriState Consortium to experience and provide feedback on our ongoing commitment to student and staff wellbeing. Our students did an amazing job being ambassadors and speaking about their experiences. Our staff showcased much of what we are proud of in our professional, whole-child approach. And, it was nice to share our top-notch facilities that continue to evolve both inside and out (i.e., outdoor learning, etc.) as they play a part in our students “feeling good” about being here at Saxe. The preliminary feedback was resoundingly positive and we look forward to seeing our final report in the near future. Thank you to everyone who played a part in preparing for, or participating in, making this such a huge success!

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at a presentation by a Holocaust survivor, Science, celebrate our School Social Work Team, Math, French, Saxe Spirit, community events, student leadership, STEM, gratitude, Saxe Charter, TriState, Saxe Trout, Design Lab, scenes around Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

3/14 – Spirit Day – COLLEGE DAY

Daylight Savings

Don’t forget to “spring” your clocks ahead tomorrow night!

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“You deserve a circle of inclusion and influence, but it’s up to you to create it.” –Richie Norton

“If we want to include everyone, we have to help everyone develop their talents and use their gifts for the good of the community.”– Melinda Gates

“We have to stop thinking about diversity and start thinking about including everyone.” – Viola Davis

“A philosophy that embraces the idea that everyone has something of value to contribute and that everyone has a right to belong, is being included.” – Lisa Friedman

“Being invited to the party is diversity; being asked to dance is being included.” – Verna Myers

Experiencing History

We were pleased to welcome Mrs. Agnes Vertes back to Saxe on Thursday to speak about her experience during the Holocaust. Mrs. Vertes was born in Budapest, Hungary and survived World War II and the Holocaust separated from her parents, living in many different places. As a survivor she has dedicated her life to telling her story. Mrs. Vertes is also an independent documentary filmmaker and has won numerous awards for her work. Her hope is that by sharing, these atrocities would not be repeated.

As time marches on, these opportunities will not always be here. We are grateful for our speaker who shared her personal story and provided a global & generational perspective to our students!

Science

Student scientists in 8th grade are learning how to analyze and interpret position-time and velocity-time graphs in order to describe the motion of an object. Seen here, students were using motion sensors and Vernier Graphical Analysis software in order to track their motion in real time and match the curves that were randomly generated.

Celebrating our School Social Work Team

March 5-11 is National School Social Work Week! We are grateful for our dedicated social workers at Saxe, Ms. Cristina Pesce & Mrs. Kelly Platow as well as our social work intern, Ms. Samantha Holmes.

Our school social workers support our students, families, teachers, and administrators daily and their input is invaluable.

Math

In Ms. Mitchell/Ms. Falcone’s Grade 5/6 Math class, students are conquering ratios & proportions. Students are building on their prior knowledge of finding equivalent fractions while mastering the new skill of finding equivalent ratios. To support visual thinking, students are using the activity, Turning Green, to create equivalent ratios. Once a conceptual foundation was built, students moved into a collaborative activity where they were asked to create their own equivalent ratio anchor chart to be displayed around the classroom. Students are having a blast working with their friends to show off their newly learned skills!

Students in Ms. Bohlmann’s Math 6 class used technology to create tables involving equivalent ratios. They also worked collaboratively to compare double number lines and tables. To support their understanding and thinking students regularly use visual models to represent ratio word problems.

In Mr. Santoro’s 7th Grade Pre-Algebra class, students investigated linear and nonlinear functions. While working together, they compared/contrasted characteristics of linear and nonlinear functions seen in graphs, equations, and tables. After a common understanding was established as a class, students applied their understanding in a kinesthetic and collaborative way.

French

This week, as part of our Clothing Unit in 8th grade French, students enjoyed a fashion show. They sketched their clothes, labeled them in French, and while one student walked ‘the runway’ their partner introduced them and described their clothing in detail, all in French. Students also enjoyed choosing their own appropriate music for their group!

Saxe Spiritwear—SPRING SHOP

The Saxe Spiritwear store is now open! Shop the new spring collection curated for students and adults. All orders should be placed on or before March 19 by midnight. All items will be shipped or ready for pickup in mid-late April. Click HERE to shop now. Go Hawks!

Spirit Day

March 14th is a Spirit Day at Saxe! Proudly wear your favorite College Gear on Tuesday and show us your team spirit!

Supporting our NCPS Schools

Ram Jam at NCHS:

Ram Jam is a musical fashion show (with an awesome live band, skits, and other performances) put on by 100+ NCHS Seniors in order to raise funds for Post-Prom. This event is for everyone- but the middle-schoolers especially love it! Please encourage your kids of all ages to attend.

Details: Friday, March 25 from 7-8pm | NCHS Auditorium
Tickets: Online $20/ At door $25
www.nchs-pfa.org/ramjam2022

NCSF Color Drop

For more info: https://www.nchs-sf.org/colordrop

Tweet Street

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

New week…new announcements! Our lower division students are now helping us with our new LD announcements! Great job today fifth graders.

6th Grade Student Leadership Team brainstorming actionable ways to enhance school climate during Middle Level Education Month

Our first 5th grade certificates of recognition were distributed today! Congratulations to our recipients!

Neat to see Saxe students coding & creating games with App Inventor in Vivian Birdsall’s class! Amazing to see the entire process in action…

Students from 8Red taking stock of what they are grateful for. Some great responses!

Our Saxe Charter flags have been hung in several locations around Saxe. We are grateful to our Saxe Maintenance team for mounting them in a more permanent manner. They look great & garnered some nice attention – thank you!

Caught some good erosion action in Saxe Science.

Taking time to slow down, be present, & walk the building at Saxe with a critical eye, allows you to see some amazing displays of caring, understanding, & motivation. Proud of our staff and grateful for their continuous contributions to our school community!

Discussing perspective taking in Workshop today… Building life skills at Saxe today!

Love seeing Saxe students spreading out and utilizing space outside the “confines of the classroom”… Can’t wait to see the finished products!

Our newly updated “staff wall” at Saxe is a great addition. With almost 200 staff members (& 1300+ students), it helps build connections & has garnered some great attention by faculty & students alike! Stay tuned for the finished product soon…

Saxe welcomed our TriState Consortium visiting team with some of our student leaders – they did an amazing job representing our student body and school!

Another group of Saxe student leaders prepares to welcome our TriState Consortium visiting team. They did an amazing job representing our student body and school – nice work & thank you!

Congratulations to the four students who won student of the month in Mr. Fiorillo and Ms. Redden’s mini team! These students are wonderful examples of what it means to be a Saxe Hawk!

Friday afternoon water testing at Saxe to take care of the Saxe Trout! They are growing and will be “released” into the larger tank, soon… Stay tuned!

The Saxe Design Lab was bustling this week! Some creative projects are in the works and design thinking is on display. Love seeing our students having so much fun learning!

VR, bridges, & an absolutely amazing wood block tower were just a few neat things to see in the Saxe Design Lab this week! In case you are wondering, the tower is 8’10” & was constructed with 348 wood pieces – wow!

The pic/video doesn’t really do it justice, but there had to be 1000 geese, that came in about 4 waves, and landed on the fields at Saxe this week. Amazing to see and hope they left before a mess was made 🙂

The picture probably does not do it justice, but the full moon over Saxe this week was quite amazing!

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!

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