October 20, 2023
Dear Saxe Family,
Well, another rainy weekend is upon us (maybe this is the last one for a while?!). With all of the excitement that happens around here, not even that can keep us down! Coming off the hugely successful Celebrate Saxe campaign, we would like to thank everyone who contributed! Whether you volunteered, donated, or simply cheered us on, you made a difference. Every last bit helps us work toward the united goal of providing the best experience possible for our students. A special “thank you” to our amazing PTC, especially our Celebrate Saxe Chairs and team!
This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at the latest 1-Second Everyday, a special podcast, Peer Buddies, CT Kid Governor, Yearbook Club, Kindness, Saxe Spirit, Science, Art, EI, STEM, Innovation, NC Library, Math, Leadership Club, sustainability, happiness, Saxe Cafeteria, Pickleball Club, Rowing Club, a birthday, Dogs of Saxe, Scenes around Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
10/27 PTC/PFA Joint Meeting w/New Canaan Cares (NCHS Wagner Room)
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.” — Grandma Moses
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” -Tony Robbins
“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”–Buddha
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”― George Bernard Shaw
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).
Saxe Student Podcast
Our students are involved in so many projects that they are passionate about and every once in a while, they end up “hitting the mainstream”. Will Stimpson and Blake Pozatek recently had the amazing opportunity to interview the CEO of the motor company, Rivian, RJ Scaringe (and, his son Pete). Feel free to check it out, here!
Here’s the backstory for the interview: About a year ago, they did an episode on Rivian (the electric vehicle company). Somehow, the head of marketing at Rivian heard the episode and shared it with RJ Scaringe, the founder and CEO of Rivian who immediately said he wanted to meet the boys.
Last spring, Will and Blake were invited to a Rivian event in NYC to meet RJ and the team. It went well and RJ asked if he could join the boys on their podcast as a guest. Fast-forward to the end of July 2023, Will and Blake flew to Normal, IL and spent the day with the Rivian team recording a podcast with RJ.
The episode was finally released recently and has been really well received. They normally just do an audio podcast, but Rivian also did a video recording of the interview and the boys posted it to their YouTube channel. Rivian has posted about the podcast on their website and both RJ and Rivian are sharing it on their social media accounts (here).
Here’s the backstory for their podcast: When Will and Blake were in 5th grade, they started writing a newsletter on science, technology and sports and trying to sell it door to door to their neighbors. When they got to 6th grade, they decided to launch a podcast (called The Next Generation Podcast with Blake and Will) and continued to talk about things that interested them related to science, technology and sports. They did this all completely on their own. Over the past 2 years, their podcast has made it to Apple and Spotify, and they have recorded over 50 episodes.
Congrats Will and Blake! Be sure to check out their podcast and subscribe…
Peer Buddies
Saxe Students engaged in playing board games and conversation this week with their peer buddies. It looks like a good time was had by all!
Grade 5 Social Studies
We would like to congratulate Lily Schlafman from Mr. Fiorillo’s class. She was recently elected by her peers to be the Saxe nominee for Connecticut Kid Governor! The other 7 nominees, her cabinet, each deserve congratulations as well. Each candidate received a substantial amount of votes making this an extremely close election. The other nominees were (in no particular order) – Maxwell Luntz, Margot Emson, Noa Grace Duran, Erik Swanson, Kimber Sparks, Reid Schloz and June Breen. We are especially proud of how the entire group has worked to encourage each other.
For those who are new to Saxe here is a blurb from the CT Kid Governor website which captures the program. It fits perfectly with our first unit about our state government. “More than a contest and not just about the position of governor, the program teaches important lessons about state government, voting, elections, and civic participation. Timed to coincide with Election Day in November, this annual program provides 5th graders the experience of nominating one student candidate from their school and voting in an authentic statewide election. Participants identify issues impacting their community and state, research solutions, create platforms to address those issues, and make campaign videos.”
Yearbook Club
Students in the yearbook club helped design posters to put around the school. Next week, they start adding photos to the yearbook. If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook, please go to Jostens.com to order yours today! Also new this year, 8th grade families can add an eighth or quarter page promo in the yearbook. Be on the lookout for further information!
Kindness Matters
Our students are thoughtful in so many ways! A group of 5th Graders spent time during their recess cleaning up around the playground area. Nice work and thank you!
Saxe Spirit
Every Friday is Saxe Spirit day. And these students were definitely showing their spirit!
Science
In Science Workshop this week, 8th grade students used the design thinking process in order to create innovative utensils. Students interviewed one another about their favorite foods in order to gain empathy about the user’s experiences with this food. They brainstormed ideas for new utensils that would help to solve problems the user experiences when eating their favorite dish. After capturing feedback from their partner, students then created prototypes of their utensils out of aluminum foil. It’s great to see empathy and creativity on display!
Art
Take a look at 8th grade Steampunk Value Drawing video – amazing talent on display!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wxcMe2gw0BY5OHjamExbRepxJLd3p7K1/view?usp=share_link
EI
Dr. Marc Brackett from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence will be speaking to us regarding Emotional Regulation on November 2nd, at 7:00 in the Saxe auditorium. Please join us for this free event! Dr. Brackett will be talking to us about specific strategies we can use to help our students, and ourselves, improve our well-being, competence and resilience. More details in the flier!
Twitter/X
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe Middle School page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
Sticking with the #CeleSaxe theme of “just play”, we got to choose a winner from each grade for an upcoming pizza party for themselves & a few friends – congrats to our winners! (Stay tuned for more in the coming week)…
Thanks to all who contributed – it was a HUGE success and we look forward to our dreams coming to fruition!
What do a bunch of backpacks outside the Saxe STEM & Innovation space mean? “Awesomeness in action”! Love seeing the various opportunities our students engage in during extracurriculars…
Great participation, & products on display, during the Saxe STEM & Innovation Club this week!
Adding some splashes of color & celebrations of unique perspectives from, & around, our Saxe campus. The best part? These are ALL taken by students in the digital photography club! #SaxeClubs
This week, we got to tour the amazing spaces in the new New Canaan Library. Wow! Thanks to the gracious library staff who took the time to show us around & allow us to brainstorm ideas for our own spaces at Saxe! It was great to see so many of our students there, too!
Students in Ms. Bohlmann’s class were taking advantage of the great space in the #SaxeDesignLab to coordinate plane & plot points… They loved moving around & getting out of the classroom – nice work!
SaxeMath
SaxeMath teachers from 6th & 8th grade visited one of our 7th-grade classes to observe some “visible thinking” practices in action. Great to see the small groups up, moving, & working through the problems, together!
Love seeing this crew come through, this time spreading some seasonal joy around Saxe! Including one of the best jokes I’ve heard in a while, “How do you mend a broken pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch!”. Thanks for stopping by!
Speaking of pumpkins, saw this guy pop up in one of our Saxe outdoor areas this week!
Our Saxe SRO, Officer Blank, & a few of his Leadership Club students practice the all important skill of public speaking in the SaxeMS.
We love seeing our elementary SRO, Officer Gibson pop over for lunch and recess!
Congrats to our highly-motivated & environmentally conscious Saxe student, Samuel, for his “Sustainability Proposal” that he presented today! His research, concepts, & ideas are truly commendable & we appreciate the passion that he brings to this important topic!
The “Happiness Hallway” is on its way back at Saxe! Our Health Ed teachers (Ms. Orlando & Mr. Hautau) do an amazing job helping our students understand, & apply, the important skill of gratitude – nice work!
We are beyond lucky to have one of the most caring (& talented) food service teams around at Saxe. The fresh options they prepare each day for our students is beyond amazing & we are grateful! SaxeCafe
Seriously?! This is what the pizza looks like at Saxe?! Best “cafe staff” around – thank you, Saxe Cafeteria team!
One of the best clubs around at Saxe- Pickleball (Click the link to watch!) Such a motivated, fun bunch!
Rowing Club was cranking out some reps this week Saxe. Thanks to Mr. Ellett for providing this great opportunity/activity for our students! SaxeClubs
Love the birthday celebrations at Saxe – hope it was the best day, yet!
Dogs of Saxe dutifully watching their humans head off to school!
Scenes Around Saxe
A couple of autumnal pics of the newly renovated “Hawks Valley” courtyard space at Saxe. And, the tables have finally arrived and assembly has begun – thanks in advance to our maintenance team!
Some beautiful mornings around Saxe this week…
Another great week at Saxe! A passing shower one afternoon created some terrific scenes – thanks to all who shared photos!
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
