2023.8.28 – Saxe Weekly (Day 1 Info & Welcome Back!)

August 28, 2023

Dear Saxe Students and Parents,

It has been wonderful seeing our building come “back to life” this past week with our return of staff, New to New Canaan orientations, and our 5th-grade “Meet the Teacher” event today. As we look forward to warmly welcoming almost 1,300 students tomorrow morning, we would also like to welcome our parents to the 2023-24 school year as well! Every stakeholder plays a role in making our learning community the special one that it is. Below are some important details, live links, and helpful resources as we prepare for our first day (and, a few pictures from the past week)…

The School Day

Upper Division (Grades 7, 8) starts at 8:00 am and ends at 2:30 pm. (Periods U1-U8)
Lower Division (Grades 5, 6) starts at 9:15 am and ends at 3:45 pm. (Periods L1-L8)

*It is always helpful for your child to bring a printed copy of their schedule on the first day. Because there are some situations that require some last-minute finetuning, please print a fresh copy on Monday evening. You may find the link to PowerSchool, here, and if necessary, instructions to access your child’s schedule, here.

When your child arrives at school on Tuesday, they should report as follows:

Grade 8 Students – Report to their Period U1, “A” Day World Language or Special Area class
Grade 7 Students – Report to their Period U1, “A” Day Core class
Grade 6 Students – Report to their Period L1, “A” Day Core class
Grade 5 Students – Report to the basketball court blacktop (recess/playground area). Students will be greeted by teachers, counselors, administrators, and support staff to be welcomed & guided to their first class of the day. In the event of inclement weather, an update will be sent out early Tuesday morning (the cafeteria will be used as a backup plan).

In the event of an absence on any given day, please email your child’s Division Office (G5/G6: brenda.carmichael@ncps-k12.org; G7/G8: lin.benware@ncps-k12.org) or call 594-4500.

Arrival and Departure

Thanks for following these simple rules to keep our students safe. Dropping off or picking up students on the street is unsafe. The passing of a school bus with its stop sign extended/lights flashing, is illegal & will be reported by the bus driver. Please review the arrival/departure locations and procedures here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We have been compiling a list of FAQs as we lead up to the opening of the school year. These include topics from backpacks to what to bring on Day 1, electronic devices, lockers to lunches, and everything in between. You are welcome to view these questions and the accompanying responses, here.

General Reminders

To minimize the constant distractions from personal technology, cell phones are not permitted & must be put on “silent” mode, or powered down, during the day. Smartwatches may be worn, but should not be used to communicate or access apps
There is no better way to start the day than with a hearty, healthy breakfast. Please remember to prepare each day by eating well in the morning.
To maintain the cleanest, and most respectful, environment possible, chewing gum and hats are not permitted in our classrooms or offices
Guidance for appropriate school attire, along with other important student information, is available in our handbook, here. All students and parents are encouraged to access and review this useful information
Our division secretaries, school counselors, and teachers are always happy to answer any additional/specific questions that you may have. Please feel free to reach out!

Saxe PTC

Finally, we invite all parents to be active members of our school community. As a member of the Saxe Parent Teacher Council (PTC) you may participate in a variety of efforts that are all designed to have a positive impact on the entire educational experience for your child. We are so grateful for our amazing PTC and the wonderful partnership that exists with our school! Please visit the Saxe PTC site, here.

Parting Thoughts

In our recent Saxe “Welcome Back Letter”, we offered an opportunity for students and parents to reflect on our focus of being “United” throughout this new school year. I encourage you to have a conversation with your child(ren) around this topic, discuss the number of trusted adults that are here at Saxe to advocate for your child, and invite you to share what being “united” within our school community looks like to you, through this quick google form (thanks to all who already replied!).

In addition to the above information, we will continue celebrating our Saxe students, staff, activities, and community through our weekly newsletter (saxems.com), our newly updated website, and our Twitter handle, @SaxeMS. I look forward to connecting, or reconnecting, with each of you soon!

Wishing everyone a great evening and a restful night’s sleep on the eve of our new school year. We look forward to seeing our entire 2023-24 Saxe community come together for the first time on Tuesday!

Be well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

8/29 – Welcome Back – official kickoff of the 2023-24 school year!

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Hope is the belief that the future will be better than the present, along with the belief that you have the power to make it so.” ~ Dr. Shane Lopez

“Teaching is more than imparting knowledge; it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts; it is acquiring understanding.” ~ William Arthur Ward

“Students don’t need a perfect teacher. They need a happy teacher, who’s gonna make them excited to come to school and grow a love for learning.” ~ Anonymous

Here are some fun pictures that show some of the action that took place around Saxe over the summer, and the past few days during staff Professional Learning. Enjoy!

Looking forward to seeing some of these Math teaching practices in action this school year at @SaxeMS! Great PL session for #SaxeMath – nice work!

Some great Professional Learning (&, prep work) around @SaxeMS today!

We are so excited to welcome our newest @SaxeMS staff members to our #SaxeFamily! It has been a good week of “onboarding” & they are off to a great start!

What’s the best way for our newest @SaxeMS staff members to get acquainted with their new building? Group scavenger hunt! Welcome to the #SaxeHawks Family! Stay tuned to learn more about each new staff member in future editions of the Saxe Weekly.

Thanks to Ms. @SarahGranite & our #SaxeCounselors for warmly welcoming the newest members to our #SaxeFamily during the grade 5 “New to New Canaan” orientation!

Thank you to our @SaxePTC for helping us warmly welcome back our @SaxeMS staff to kickoff the 2023-24 school year!

Great kickoff to the 2023-24 school year at the @ncps_ct Convocation at @NCHS_CT! Inspiring, motivating, & optimistic are a few words to describe the messaging & takeaways. Thank you to all who spoke & @Dr_Luizzi for leading the way!

“Opening Day” for staff at @SaxeMS for the 2023-24 school year! It was great to welcome everyone back & have our building come “back to life”. Great energy & vibes as we prepare to welcome our students back next week! #WeAreSaxe

Thanks to the work of our amazing #SaxeCustodians, our building is looking top-notch as we prepare to welcome 1500+ staff & students back onto the @SaxeMS campus over the next week!

There are “signs of the new school year” all around at @SaxeMS as we look to forward to welcoming our staff back for the official kickoff of the 2023-24 school year this week!

We were so excited to receive our #EmotionIntoArt paintings by @tomvarano this week! They are great & we look forward to hanging them up in @SaxeMS soon. Thanks to our @SaxePTC for the experience & making it all happen!

Thank you to Mr. @APBedard81, our staff, our @SaxePTC, & most importantly, our tremendous @SaxeMS students who helped welcome our “New to New Canaan” families this week!

Thanks to our @SaxePTC for helping our @SaxeMS staff “get hyped” for the 2023-24 school year!

Thanks to our @SaxePTC, we are looking forward to utilizing more outdoor learning spaces on the @SaxeMS campus this school year! We will be adding more seating/workspaces, but it’s a terrific start! #SaxeOutdoors