2023.9.22 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

September 22, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

It was an action-packed week at Saxe and it is hard to believe we are just rounding out our fourth week of school (already?!). There is so much that goes on around, and throughout, our learning community each day. It is fun to share some snapshots, provide some insight, and we hope that you get a sense of how special our school truly is.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at Constitution & Citizenship Day, the latest 1-Second Everyday, Social Studies, Science, Open Houses, Empower Your Lunch Hour, Innovation, Art, Teen Talk Counselor, eSports, Pickleball, professional learning, Clubs and Extracurriculars, Saxe News, Library, PE, focus groups, PTC Coffee, t-shirts of Saxe, Fun Run, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful long weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

9/25 Yom Kippur – No School, No Homework – Building Closed

9/26 6:00pm Open House Grade 8

9/27 6:00pm Open House Grade 7

9/27 9:15am Grade 5 & 6 Photo Day

9/28 8:00am Grade 7 & 8 Photo Day

Yom Kippur

To those who celebrate, “g’mar chatima tovah”!

One Second Everyday

Back again this week – the latest Saxe Middle School 1-Second Everyday! “Life is made of seconds.” Showcasing so much of what makes Saxe Middle School great! This is a recurring, bi-weekly feature. At the end of the year, we will have a full version that includes every single day of the 2023-24 school year. Enjoy! (pro tip: to enjoy the video at a slower pace, change your viewing option to .75 speed).

Constitution and Citizenship Day and Week

Each year, on September 17, Americans celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. This week, September 17-23, is also recognized as Constitution Week. The commemoration honors the signing of the U.S. Constitution, our nation’s charter, on Sept. 17, 1787. The Constitution, along with the Bill of Rights and other amendments, define our government and guarantee our rights.

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Change the game, don’t let the game change you.” – Macklemore

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.”–Rose Kennedy

“We are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we can from life.“-William Osler

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”― Robert Frost

Social Studies

Students are off to a great start in 8th-grade social studies! An important part of the first unit (Meeting the Needs of the People) is to learn about the Constitution and the foundation of our government. Below are a couple of pictures of Ms. Sikora’s class who were engaging in “Preamble Brackets” as they thought about and discussed the importance of various clauses.

Science

Grade 8 students pollinating plants with bee sticks they made during class. In a few weeks, the seeds created will be analyzed to demonstrate inheritance patterns in the next generation.

Students in 8th grade Science classes extracted DNA from wheat germ. This relatively simple process can be used to extract DNA from many different sources, such as fruits and vegetables. Students “felt like real scientists” and were excited to see the results!

Grade 6 Open House

Parents experience experiments in Ms. Collins Science Classroom – learning by doing!

Empower Your Lunch Hour

During Empower Your Lunch Hour this week, students fixed our Fab Lab sewing machine using the engineering process and started to sew tote bags while exploring the use of different fabrics and threads.

Innovation

During Open House, please make sure you stop by our FIVE amazing Innovation Spaces!

The Library Media Center is our space that offers opportunities for students to become effective, responsible, critical, creative and ethical independent learners. Students and teachers can seek information and literature both in print and digital format.

The Think Lab, located above the library, provides a flexible working and brainstorming space for teachers and students. It allows for meeting, planning, and collaborating for staff and students across teams and grade levels.

The Design Lab, located above the library next to the Think Lab, offers a space for innovation and technology integration. There are 3D printers, video production equipment, robotics, and low tech maker materials for prototyping ideas as students work through the design process.

The STEM Lab, located downstairs in room 165 near the Art rooms, Provides students a space to continue their work from the design lab. We offer advanced robotics, electronics and coding, drone kits, and more for staff and students.

The Fabrication Lab, located adjacent to the STEM Lab in 167, is a space for staff and students to iterate and finalize their prototypes. Students and staff have access and trainings available for basic woodworking, 3D printing in a variety of mediums, sewing, soldering, and more.

Be sure to stop by and check it out!

Art Department

Grades 5-8 are finishing up their portfolio lettering and their artwork is amazing! Fifth graders design bubble letters, sixth graders come up with “characters” to symbolize the letters in their names, seventh graders draw their names in one-point perspective, and eighth graders create graffiti compositions out of their names.

Teen Talk Counselor

We would like to introduce Ms. Karla Greto, our TeenTalk Counselor at Saxe Middle School. Ms. Greto collaborates with school staff and serves as a school-based Mental Health Program for all grades that provides students with assessment, support, and counseling. TeenTalk provides therapeutic services to students who may be working through a variety of adolescent-related issues that may include, stress, academic challenges, school avoidance, and peer/social issues. Ms. Greto is located in the “Bridge hallway” and can be reached at 203-594-4655.

eSports

The Fall eSports preseason kicked off at Saxe this week. The program has expanded from Smash Bros. Ultimate team play and now includes Smash Bros Solo play and Mario Kart. Smash Bros competitors went 7-2 overall this week and Mario Kart competitors recorded their time trials which are still being tallied up. If you missed the opportunity to join for the fall session, please see Mr. Petrakopoulos about joining during the Spring.

Pickle Ball Club

The first ever Saxe Pickleball Club had a great first week! There were lots of dinks and rallies, and even guest appearances by Mr. Gusitsch and Dr. Ferreira!

Open House Helpers

We had some great students helping out at Open House this week! From left to right, Emi Di Dodo, Amelia Hanno, and Grace Stiefel.

Another great group of helpers for the Saxe Open House series – thanks for helping, crew!

New Canaan Combine

Come and watch the New Canaan Police and Fire Departments facing off at Dunning Stadium to win bragging rights and the 2023 Combine trophy. Events include Incredible Dash, Brady to Moss, the Angry Commuter and others. New Canaan’s own Chris “Mad Dog” Russo will be master of ceremony. Entrance to the New Canaan Combine is free and everyone in the community is invited to attend and cheer on their favorite officer or firefighter. This all happens on Sunday, October 1 at 9:30am.

Twitter/X

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

Teamwork at its finest! Wishing everyone a speedy recovery 🙂

After reading a chapter in Leading & Managing A Differentiated Classroom, the special education team at Saxe engaged in a gallery walk and discussion about differentiation.

Clubs are back in full swing around Saxe! Here is a quick look at #SaxeMathClub – great turnout! #SaxeClubs

Clubs are back in full swing around Saxe! Here is a quick look at #SaxeTroutClub. Look forward to the eggs arriving soon, watching them hatch/grow, and the annual release next spring!

Saxe Clubs are back up & running! Great to see Saxe students participating in extracurricular activities they enjoy & being able to connect with the school in another positive way – thanks to all involved! Here are a few pics from SaxeEsports today. Stay tuned for more clubs!

Clubs are back in full swing around Saxe! Here is a quick look at Saxe Club – focus all around!

#SaxeClubs were back in action today with a great turnout for Pickleball Club! So fun to see Saxe students enjoying this fun activity (&, Dr. Ferreira may have hopped in to connect with her students too!)

Caught some behind the scenes action for the upcoming first episode of #SaxeNews! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Fun to see Ms. Stilwell teaching a group of Saxe 6th-graders in their ELA class, in the #Saxe Library!

Saxe Phys Ed is leveling up their display game this year – nice work!

Could not be more proud of these two groups of Saxe students who participated in focus groups this a.m. to discuss their experience(s) with our daily schedule. They were thoughtful, articulate, & respectfully shared multiple perspectives. Nice work!

One of the benefits of having the Saxe “Lamination Station” close by is that we get to see some of the meaningful, functional, & inspirational items that will soon end up motivating students in their respective spaces!

These “Saxe Innovation Spaces” flyers turned out great! So many wonderful spaces for our students to learn, grow, & create experiences throughout their time here…

Empower Your Lunch Hour clubs are under way! 6th Grade Students are visiting the #DesignLab for a variety of STEAM activities such as robotics, 3D printing and individual passion projects during their lunch period Saxe! #WeAreSaxe #SaxeInnovates

Empower your Lunch Hour has been a big hit at Saxe. It’s a great way for students to dive into some passion projects throughout the week (this one being in the Design Lab)… Thanks to all involved! #SaxeInnovates

We can’t wait to welcome all of our 5th grade families tonight for Open House Saxe! Doors open at 6 and our first presentation starts in the auditorium at 6:10! #fifthgraderocks

Thanks to our Saxe Special Area & World Language teachers for sharing their passion for their content areas to our Grade 5 parents at Open House this evening!

We look forward to opening our doors again this evening for our next Saxe Open House – Grade 6! Can’t wait to see the halls filled with excited parents!

Beautiful evening for the Saxe Grade 6 Open House… Thanks to all who came out to join!

Thanks to our amazing Saxe PTC for their ongoing support. Here is a snapshot of a few of the projects they have helped us envision, & come to fruition, to provide the best experience possible for our Saxe students! (&, treat staff to delicious “eats” for Open House!)

What a terrific venue, & perfect day, to hold our annual Saxe Welcome Back Coffee! Thanks to our amazing Saxe PTC for such a wonderful event & to Dr. Luizzi for joining in celebrating our school community!

Mr. Gusitsch and Dr. Luizzi addressed parents at the Saxe PTC welcome coffee at Waveny this morning. Great attendance and enthusiasm from our Saxe parents! We appreciate you!

Amazing venue & perfect day for the Saxe Welcome Back Coffee – thank you, Saxe PTC!

Top candidate for “t-shirt of the week” at Saxe! (And, educational…)

Ms. Veach “wins the week” with this homemade shirt! Quite impressive & going to be tough to top this one! #SaxeSpirit #TshirtsOfSaxe

Fun Run

Some “Fun Run” Fun – what a beautiful day to celebrate the #Saxe2027 Class!

Dogs Of Saxe

The best way to start the day!

If there was ever a face that said, “ready for the weekend”, it’s this one!

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)