April 21, 2023
Dear Saxe Family,
As we wrap the first week back from Spring Break, it feels like we didn’t skip a beat! This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at Earth Day, upcoming assessment info, Daytime Open House, Physical Education, Shakespearience, Autism Month, Saxe Spirit, Confidence Club, Saxe Trout, Science, a couple of birthdays, scenes around Saxe, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
4.24 Daytime Open House – 7 Blue, 6 Purple, 8 Green
4/25 Daytime Open House – 7 Purple, 6 Red, 8 Purple
4/26 Administrative Assistant’s Day
4/28 Saxe Spirit Day – Neon Day
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“Life isn’t easy. All your life you have to strive to make yourself better. It’s a full-time commitment. To be your best, you have to work your hardest.” – Anonymous
“Remember what it felt like to be excluded so that you can help build a community where everyone is included.”– Lisa Friedman
“At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include than included for who I exclude.” –Reverend Eston Williams
“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” –Maya Angelou
Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day! This annual celebration is an opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for change around the issues most impacting our planet — and celebrate the beauty of Mother Earth. Get out and enjoy all that we have to be grateful for in this wonderful town of New Canaan!
Smarter Balance (SB) & Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Assessments
Dates:
| Grade 5 | SB: 5/1-5/11/23; NGSS: 4/24-4/26/23 |
| Grade 6 | SB: 5/8 – 5/23/23 |
| Grade 7 | SB: 5/2 – 5/11/23 |
| Grade 8 | SB: 5/1 – 5/11/23; NGSS: 4/24 – 4/27/23 |
Important and/or Helpful Reminders:
  Cell Phones and Smart Watches need to be left at home or in backpacks/lockers during testing time. |  AirPods are not allowed in testing sessions- plug in headphones are available in school unless a student wants to bring their own plug in headphones. |
 Make sure to have a good night’s sleep! |  Don’t forget a healthy breakfast! |
 If you are able, walk, bike, or ride to school for some early morning activity to wake up your body, & brain! | |
For parents, we encourage you to help your child view the upcoming testing in a positive way – as an opportunity to demonstrate what they know, and are able to do. Ensuring your child is well-rested and has a healthy breakfast are examples of how you can be supportive. Additional resources and the letter that went out to all families on 4/20 may be found, here.
Open House Slide Shows
Were you not able to catch the most recent Daytime Open House? We’ve got you covered! Below are the slides each session held so far and you are always welcome to reach out to your child’s teacher or counselor with any additional questions. Thanks to all who came out!
| Thursday, 4/20 | Friday, 4/21 |
| 8:55am G7: RED Team Slide Show | 8:55am G7: GREEN Team Slide Show |
| 10:10 a.m. G6: GREEN Team Slide Show | 10:10 a.m. G6: BLUE Team Slide Show |
| 11:20 a.m. G8: RED Team Slide Show | 11:20 a.m. G8: BLUE Team Slide Show |
Physical Education
Students in Miss Goodman’s PE classes are getting ready to start our epic unit of Project Adventure. 5th graders began today working in groups to swing across from island to island to get their team to the other side with the bucket of medicine. We also traversed across the rock wall. Smiling faces all around!
Students in Mrs. Hendry’s class are leaping and flying to get out of their comfort zones and practice perseverance, safe risk-taking, and working to overcome fears. And some just had fun!
Shakesperience: 8th Grade
Big thanks to our amazing PTC for supporting the traveling acting group, Shakesperience, for our eighth graders. As we launch our classic unit, our students were introduced to Shakespeare works in dramatic form. Shakesperience actors perform plays such as Romeo & Juliet MacBeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and King Lear, with the help from some eighth-grade volunteers, of course. We’re so grateful to have Shakespearience back at Saxe after a brief Covid hiatus.
Saxe Spirit
We just wanted to let you know that Neon Day, originally scheduled for Wed, 4/19, has been moved to Fri, 4/28 🙂
We cannot wait to celebrate this feel-good, happy weather with some bright neon clothes!
April is Autism Awareness Month
In 2023, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 36 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to 2020 data. Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and nearly two-thirds of children with autism between the ages of 6 and 15 have been bullied. This year’s theme for Autism Speaks is “Together we stand for a world of difference.” The Saxe community is encouraged to wear blue or Autism Awareness shirts for the remaining Fridays in April – 4/21 & 4/28.
Saxe Confidence Club
The Confidence Club is run through the program of LiveGirl. They offer different fun activities each week where they learn what can help them grow and relate to students around them.
Scenes around Saxe
Some friends with their close to-matching spring-time “fits”
Some Birthday spirit was in the air today! We hope it was the best day, ever…
6th grade teachers getting their Vitamin D by taking lunch outside on the outdoor tables.
And, some more classes got out for some activity on this beautiful Friday!
Tweet Street
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe middle school Twitter page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
The most recent Saxe postcards are in and ready to be deployed, to spread some joy, within our school community!
The Saxe Staff Wall has come together nicely & is a great way for our large school community to connect with one another ! Thanks to Ms. Sherwood & Ms. DiMeglio for making it happen!
Whether it was Math, SS, ELA, or Science (or, all others not pictured), it was a great return from Spring Break. Students & teachers didn’t skip a beat & got right back to the important work at Saxe!
Nothing says “good morning” at Saxe like a “Happy Birthday!” I hope it was the best day, ever!
Love seeing our Saxe students demonstrate what we value most – being kind! Some moments warm your heart. A student dropped their lunch and before I could turn around, 4 students and a teacher ran over to help. It’s moments like this that remind me that our fifth graders are kind, compassionate, helpful students! Fifth grade rocks!
Some landscaping and exterior work has our Saxe building & campus looking sharp. Thanks to all involved!
Seeing some progress in one of our courtyards… Can’t wait to see our students benefit from this project!
Saxe Trout are continuing to grow in preparation for their release this spring!
Whether it is indoors or out, students in Saxe Science get to observe & record the growth of plants & make connections to their learning in the classroom!
Thanks to the hundred+ Saxe parents who came out for the first couple of days of grade 6-8 Daytime Open House! It was great to hear our teachers/counselors share their passion & so nice to see our parents in their children’s learning spaces!
And, for a little humor, one of our teams shared the following video that shows how middle schoolers may, or may not act, at times 🙂
Dogs of Saxe
Bailey is one of our most consistent Dogs Of Saxe over the past couple of years (first visit was at just about 8 weeks old)!
We are so fortunate to have such wonderful campus scenery, especially in the spring!
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 Ms. DiMeglio 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
The Saxe weekly 