September 15, 2023
Dear Saxe Family,
Today completes our first “full week” of school and there were many instances of learning, experiences, and excitement over the course of the past five days! This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at a safety reminder, NCPS app, welcoming new staff, Science, Saxe Open Houses, Social Studies, Empower you Lunch Hour, Clubs & Extracurriculars, Photo Day, Saxe Spirit, Executive Functioning, EI, morning announcements, Saxe Charter, Math, Library, Latin, Dogs of Saxe, and much more.
Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
9/15 For those who celebrate, Happy Rosh Hashanah!
9/19 6:00pm Open House Grade 5
9/20 10:30 am Saxe PTC Welcome Back Coffee @ Waveny
9/20 6:00pm Open House Grade 6
9/22 2:00pm Saxe Grade 5 “Bonding” Fun Run @ Saxe Fields
9/25 Yom Kippur – No School, No Homework – Building Closed
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“When you change your thoughts, remember to also change your world.”—Norman Vincent Peale
“In order to write about life first you must live it.”– Ernest Hemingway
“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” —Oprah
“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”—Malcolm X
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.” — Dalai Lama
Safety Reminder
Below is a message that was sent out to parents this week:
We have received some reports about students entering and exiting our campus by crossing the street(s) in areas that are not designated as official crosswalks. We understand that traffic can get busy and it may save a few minutes to drop off or pick up students in an area other than the designated areas, but proper safety practices must be followed. For a quick reminder, please review the appropriate Saxe drop-off/pick up locations & procedures.
This afternoon, we made an announcement to remind students about traffic & pedestrian safety near our campus. This is not in response to any one incident, but more of a proactive measure based on an increase in reports of safe rules not being followed. We will also include a reminder in our Saxe Weekly, our morning announcements, and on our digital displays around school. We ask that you have a conversation with your child(ren) about traffic safety, especially about the importance of using crosswalks appropriately near school, in town, or anywhere else (staying in the lines, waiting for the signal to cross, always watch/look for cars that may not see YOU, etc.).
Thank you for partnering in keeping our school community safe!
These are the slides that are included in our digital displays around the school and on our website:
Stay Connected
A quick reminder, that NCPS offers a free mobile app that gives you your school(s) most important information right at your fingertips. This includes:
The NCPS app is available to download free from the Apple App Store (https://apple.co/3VsJIAP) or from Google Play (https://bit.ly/3eo6FEE).
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Today starts National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15). This is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the important contributions of Hispanic Americans to our country.
Welcoming New Staff
We continue to share and celebrate our newest staff members! This week, we highlight:
Chris Buonanno – Science Intern
Betsy Allen – Special Education TA
Welcome to our Saxe Family!
Science
Students in 8th grade Science are growing Brassica rapa plants as part of our Life Science unit. We planted our seeds the first week of school and have been observing the growth and development of the plants since then. The plants have begun to develop flowers and students made bee sticks to pollinate the plants next week. This was a great opportunity to learn about symbiotic relationships and the anatomy of bees and flowers.
Grade 5 and 6 Saxe Open Houses
Grade 5 and 6 Open Houses are next week! An email from the administration about details of the evening went out this afternoon. Below are the links for the schedule for the evening. Please ask your child for their personal schedule which has been filled out for you with each of their teachers and corresponding room numbers (please preview it with them to make sure you are able to read/understand what they have written down). If you are in need of any help, we will have counselors, staff, and student helpers available to help you following the auditorium presentations.
Social Studies
Students in grade 7 start the year building their learning community. Playing the game of Catan is a highly engaging way to work together and learn some of the concepts and vocabulary that will be used throughout the year.
Empower Your Lunch Hour
All Saxe students are invited to Empower Your Lunch Hour, which started this week! Students can use this time to work on a variety of STEM passion projects including coding, robotics, design and creation, 3-D printing, flight, Saxe News, and coming up with innovative solutions to problems around Saxe. If students are interested in attending, they can see Mr. Petrakopoulos, Ms. Pacelli, or Ms. Nicholas in the Design Lab (upstairs from the library) or the STEM Lab (Room 165) anytime before their lunch wave. You can also email at jennifer.pacelli@ncps-k12.org, george.petrakopoulos@ncps-k12.org, or kathryn.nicholas1@ncps-k12.org.
Clubs and Extracurriculars
Just a reminder that Saxe clubs and extracurricular activities will begin on Monday! For Grade 5/6 Before School Clubs, parents will need to provide transportation (8:05 – 9:05 am unless otherwise specified). Grade 7/8 Clubs run after school from 2:40 – 3:40 pm. A late bus is available at 4:00 pm and students will not be able to ride the Grade 5/6 buses home. Students may sign up for one club or multiple clubs. If a club is offered on multiple days, you do not need to sign up for both. You may visit the Saxe Website for more information and the Club listing. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Lisa Jarosik.
Saxe Photo Day
Saxe Photo Day is around the corner! Grade 5/6 will have their photo day on Wednesday, September 27th and Grade 7/8 on Thursday, the 28th. Please see the order form below. As a reminder, if you order your package before photo day, it will be shipped to the school and given to your child to bring home. If you do not like the photo package, you can return it to the photographer on retake day and they will automatically ship a replacement package to the school. Any ordering after photo day will have to be shipped to your home. You can find more information at www.shop.legacystudios.com and enter the code 3588F24.
9/11 Announcement
On Monday, we recognized the significance of this date with our students and staff with a brief announcement and moment of silence…
Good morning Saxe Middle School. Today is an important date in our country’s history. Recognizing that you, as students, were not born yet, & many staff were very young, please know that many adults in your life will remember this day like it was yesterday. On this date of the 22nd anniversary, please take a moment to reflect and acknowledge the victims, heroes, families, and all of those impacted by the events of September 11, 2001.
(Moment of silence)
As a tribute to those impacted by 9/11 please consider an act of kindness today, even if it is a simple smile or “hello” to someone. Always Remember. Never forget… Thanks and have a great day.
Community Voice
Interested in having your voice heard as part of the New Canaan Long Term Plan of Conservation of Development? Education is a central pillar of the town, and this survey allows for parents & students to be heard to ensure the result will reflect that sentiment. For background, the POCD is a state-mandated, planning asset that outlines growth objectives and identifies strategies to protect resources and attributes of New Canaan. The plan becomes a north star for evaluating initiatives the town may undertake. The POCD Sub-Committee in partnership with the Town’s Consultant firm, SLR, will guide the POCD update process. The multi-step collaborative initiative will provide many opportunities for the public to get involved, starting with this Community Survey.
Here is a link to the SLR website
https://www.slrconsulting.com/projects/
Twitter/X
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe Middle School page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
Taking time to remember, reflect, & thank those who serve(d)!
My favorite sign to see along the commute to New Canaan (East Ave) has been updated to celebrate the new school year! “NC Kids are the Best – Have Fun at School”. I could not agree more & it’s a great message for all!
Working on our executive functioning (EF) skills in grade 5! Saxe #fifthgraderocks
Friday AND locker day!? What could be better!? SaxeMS
Fifth graders reporting our morning announcements! Great work! SaxeMS #fifthgraderocks
SaxeMS students were engaged and provided some thoughtful responses to where they see our #SaxeCharter in action around our learning community!
Terrific seeing Saxe students making their thinking visible & working through Math problems in “non-traditional” ways!
SaxeMS students got an overview in the Saxe Library this week from our new Librarian, Ms. Stilwell. They seemed to be having fun listening, learning, & exploring!
Sometimes a closed door presents a terrific message! This one was on the back of a door in a classroom I was visiting during an EI lesson about living our “Charter” at
Saxe. Coincidence? I think, not! #BeKind
The Saxe Physical Education board has been updated & looks great!
Very “Sciency” way to share student names – Periodic Table of Students!
The Design Lab was a perfect space for Ms. Berry’s Thinking Classroom strategies in 5th Grade Math. They practiced finding compound volume in small groups on the glass marker boards.
It’s like a trip back in time with Mr. Hearty’s Latin class – very cool!
8-Red got to know each other with some nice prompts. Great display of building community!
Dogs of Saxe
Look at that focus watching their human head off to school today at
Dogs of Saxe truly make our day at arrival. Such a great way to start the day & we appreciate their humans bringing them along for the ride (or,walk) to Saxe!
The sun is shining on this beautiful Friday morning & Saxe is bringing the spirit back! We look forward to seeing that Red & Black around school and we know that “Good things are going to happen today…” at Saxe! Have a great day, All – Go Hawks!
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 Melissa 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
