2023.12.1 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

December 1, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

Happy December! I hope your return from Thanksgiving has been a positive one and your week went well! For our latest Saxe Weekly, we take a look at the CT(/Saxe) PJ Day, Grade 5 Conferences, Physical Education, Special Education, Peer Buddies, Music, Start with Hello, Library, Theatre, Toys for Tots, some good-natured humor, certificates of recognition, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

12/4-8 5th-grade conferences (please note: Saxe has 5 conference days; elementary has 4)

12/5 7:00 pm 8th Grade /NCHS Orchestra Festival

12/6 7:00 pm 8th Grade /NCHS Orchestra Festival (snow date)

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”—Ferris Bueller

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.” — Reba McEntire

“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” — Steve Jobs

“Embrace the power of positivity. A single positive thought can light up your entire day and the days of those around you.”-Unknown

Saxe PJ Day

Next Friday, December 8th will be Saxe PJ Day! We are raising money for the CT Children’s Foundation for kids that are battling cancer. If you would like to donate, you can use this link: https://give.connecticutchildrens.org/fundraiser/5113389. We look forward to seeing lots of students in their comfy PJ’s while raising money for this great cause.

For anyone who has a competitive side (for a good cause), South School has gotten off to an amazing start and is currently #1 for CT’s Top Individual Fundraisers! They’ve also helped the district reach the #2 spot for the Overall Fundraising Team. Congrats to South and Go Saxe (and, all of NCPS)!

Grade 5 Conferences: Week of 12/4

The 5th grade is excited to welcome parents into the building the week of 12/4 for parent-teacher conferences! A few important reminders about conference week:

Conferences are for Grade 5 ONLY
Conferences for Grade 5 are Monday-Friday (this is different than the elementary schools who are Tuesday-Friday)
Early release will be at 1:15pm. Buses for grade 5 will be running to send students home. Pickup will also be available at the front of the building as usual.
When you arrive for your conference, please go to the LD entrance and sign in with our campus monitor. You will need your license upon arrival to be scanned into our system.
Please be sure to park in the side parking lot. You will not be allowed to park in the back loop by the LD entrance as we have buses that come in and out in the afternoon for UD and LD regular dismissal.
Thank you for participating and partnering with us – enjoy!

Physical Education

November was a busy and active month in PE. Students in Miss Goodman’s classes were outside practicing their frisbee skills in both KanJam and Ultimate Frisbee.

Students in Miss Goodman’s and Mrs. Hendry’s PE classes worked on their Aerobic Endurance and completed their fall mile. Many students achieved PR’s and dropped seconds off their times. Way to go! Up next the PACER!

Special Education

Co-teaching classes in Math and Language Arts offer students the opportunity to learn from both a general education content teacher and special education teacher in the general education setting. This is one type of inclusion that we practice at Saxe. Mrs. Prinz & Ms. Evensen’s 7th-grade math class utilizes stations to receive targeted, small-group instruction from each teacher as well as practice the skills in a small group setting. Each student learned how to create equivalent expressions by combining, distributing, and factoring with the appropriate level of support and independent practice.

Peer Buddies Field Trip with Mrs. DeRobertis and Mrs. Hendry

Peer Buddies is a group of 7th-grade students who volunteer during their workshop class with students in the Access program. They focus on inclusion activities, socializing and interacting with peers. Access students have been traveling to the farm each Friday and have learned how to groom and care for the horses. Today, they shared their knowledge with their Peer Buddy friends! Students learned about each horse, how to approach (and not to approach!) a horse and then got to groom and spend time with four different horses from the Barn. There was a collective sad sigh from all the students when they were told their time was up. The Buddies hope to visit again in the Spring.

Saxe Orchestra

The 8th-grade orchestra students rehearsed with the NCHS Orchestra this week in preparation for the 20th Annual New Canaan Orchestra Festival Concert, being held next Tuesday, 12/5 at 7pm in the NCHS Auditorium. The students would love your support if you’re able to attend!

Start with Hello

At Saxe, we are eager to help everyone feel included and safe. On Wednesday, November 29th, Our World Language Department helped with launching the “Start With Hello” program. From a World language perspective, we believe that learning how to say “hello” in different languages offers numerous benefits, particularly in the context of language education. Here are some of the advantages we discussed in our classes:

Cultural awareness, global perspective, respect for differences, improvement of communication skills, the importance of breaking the ice. Learning greetings can be a fun and engaging way to start language lessons, capturing learners’ interest from the beginning. It can motivate learners by providing a tangible, practical application of language skills.
Greetings can serve as mnemonic devices, aiding memory retention by associating words with social interactions. Also, regular use of greetings reinforces language basics through repetition, contributing to long-term retention.
After further discussions and engaging activities from watching videos, hanging flags with 21 greetings from around the globe, students recognized that knowing how to greet is a practical skill that they can immediately apply in real-life situations such as traveling, sporting events, school, etc.
As educators, we discussed that learning greetings provides insight into linguistic patterns, such as pronunciation, intonation, and common phrases. Mastering greetings can serve as a foundation for further language learning and building confidence in learners.

Greetings are the first step in building relationships, emphasizing the social aspect of language learning. Understanding and using greetings appropriately demonstrates empathy and an appreciation for others’ languages and cultures. It was very exciting to watch students connect incorporating greetings from various languages with our Saxe charter. Being an inclusive student in a learning environment, by embracing linguistic diversity, reinforces the idea that multilingualism is a valuable and respected skill. Nice work by all!

And here are some more “Start With Hello” photos from around the building this week:

Here are some pics from the “Start with Hello” Human Scavenger Hunt!

Library Visits

Over the past few weeks, 5th and 7th graders have been exploring books in their classrooms and the library to check out for their new ELA units of study.

Winter Sing-Along
The NCPS Music Department is spreading even more holiday cheer! Saxe students performed at the Annual NCPS Music Department Winter Sing Along on Wednesday, November 29. This year’s event was held at the New Canaan Library and featured performers from 5th-12th grades. The 5th and 6th Grade Treble Choir performed their own song as well as leading the audience in numerous holiday carols. The 6th and 7th Grade Woodwind Ensemble performed several joyful holiday tunes. And Zephaniah Denu, 6th grade trombonist performed with the NCHS Jazz Band! We look forward to continuing to spread the holiday cheer through music!
6th and 7th Grade Woodwind Ensemble Members:

Payce deMarco, Anca Jordan, Michael Cantu, Erika Denning, Anabelle Islamov, Cleo-Zinser-Trudell, Emma Biegel, Clare Newbery, Abby Schilpp, Keyla Vero
5th and 6th Grade Treble Choir Members:

Hailey Albrecht, Olivia Amaya, Sofia Canoro, Sadie Cerone, Margo Emson, Greysen Feinberg, Magnolia Foley, Tenley Jones, Adrian Khachane, Bianca Magratten, Sadie Meaden, Juliet Nuckols, Melania Ruggieri, Naomi Schettino, Mackenzie Tiani, Madeline Walsh, Ainsley Taliercio

Saxe Theatre

Please join us for the 7th/8th Grade Musical Info Meeting on Wednesday, December 6th. The Student Meeting will be from 2:30-3:30 pm and a parent info meeting will be held the same day from 5:30-6:30 pm. Both meetings will be in the Saxe Auditorium. If you have any questions, please contact Lauren at Lauren.Sherwood@ncps-k12.org.

Toys for Tots

This year, the Saxe community is proud to announce that we are hosting Tuni’s Toys for Tots fundraiser for the second year in a row! Elena Dillon, Grade 8, hoped to organize this fundraiser to honor her family. She says “Tuni’s Toys for Tots is a fundraiser that was started by our family members when we lost my beloved Aunt Tuni. This foundation was created to honor Tuni and to keep her kindness and love alive.”

By partnering with the original Toys for Tots foundation, Elena is hoping to spread joy to surrounding communities. We are asking students throughout the school and members of the school community to consider donating a toy to help a child in need.

What: New and unwrapped toys for children up to age 12

When: December 4th – December 16th

Where: Drop off at the main entrance in the Toys for Tots box

Please contact Mrs. Prinz at jacqueline.prinz@ncps-k12.org for more information.

Joke of the Day

We’re thrilled to announce a new initiative that aims to bring more laughter and joy to our school community – the Joke of the Day! Starting today, we began sharing a daily dose of humor to brighten our mornings and lift our spirits. Whether it’s students eagerly anticipating classes or staff members navigating the responsibilities of the day, we believe that a good laugh can make everything a little brighter. So, without further ado, we kicked off this laughter-filled journey with our first Joke of the Day:

“What do elves learn in school?

The elf-a-bet.”

We look forward to sharing more laughs with you throughout the school year and will be soliciting staff and student submissions to join in the fun!

We will also include some fun humor to brighten our days. Enjoy the first image that was brought up during one of our grade-level meetings yesterday! Some of our parents may remember this Far Side classic 🙂

Twitter/X

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

So proud of our fifth grade certificate of recognition recipients! Who will be nominated in our next round!? Saxe #fifthgraderocks Can you find Mrs. Granite?

Saxe Band & Orchestra members contributed to a wonderful evening at the NCPS Winter Singalong where there was a sold out crowd of about 200 people at the NewCanaanLibr- congrats to all involved!

Progress with the paint project in the Music wing – shaping up!

Love seeing our Saxe Science classes utilizing different areas of the building for their collaborative learning practices! Here is a snapshot of 7Blue & 7Green joining forces in the Upper Mez as they discuss environmental changes…

Our World Language department brought “Start with Hello” to next-level status, in multiple languages! “Anneyeong haseyo, Nihao, Jambo, Dia dhuil, Hola, Privet, Grüezi, Hej, Marhaba, Ciao, Xin Chào, Guten Tag, Hallo”, & many more…

It was a perfect day to curl up with a good book!

Our #SaxeMath students use every square inch of the room to collaborate & hone their skills. Love seeing the #BuildingThinkingClassrooms strategies in action!

It may be December 1st, but this sign on East Ave never goes out of date! Be Thankful…

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!

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