2023.12.8 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

December 8, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

Yet another week has flown by! Each edition of the Saxe Weekly is a snapshot of some of the innovative, enriching, engaging, and even fun, experiences and activities from around our learning community. Whether you read it from top to bottom or simply scroll through to scan the photos, we appreciate you joining us in this journey of joy in learning that takes place each and every day here at Saxe.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at PJ Day, the latest Saxe News & 1 Second Everyday, Jokes of the Day, welcoming our newest staff member, Math, Mandarin, Science, Sustainability Club, Theatre, Toys for Tots, Nutcracker, a record breaker, Saxe Spirit, a brain break, ELA, Basketball Club, positive messages, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

12/12 8th Grade /NCHS Band Festival

12/14 8th Grade /NCHS Band Festival (snow date)

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” – Stephen Hawking

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts”-Eleanor Roosevelt

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”– Lou Holtz

“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” —Charles Kettering

“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” -Thomas Jefferson

PJ Day

PJ Day was a huge hit today as there were lots of students who chose to participate in “getting comfy for a cause”! Thank you to everyone who participated and to the many members of our learning community who donated to this noble, worthy cause. As of 4:30 p.m., NCPS was #1 in the state with West Hartford on our heels in a close second. A special “thanks!” to the Gracie Fund for Pediatric Cancer for adding another $1000 to our total, for almost $3500!If you are still interested in donating, all information is included below… Thanks again!

Today, December 8th was 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 loved seeing lots of students in their comfy PJ’s while raising money for this great cause.

As of 4:30 p.m. on 12/8/23:

In case you wanted to see the official flyer, here you go:

Saxe News

Check out the latest episode of Saxe News where are crew covers components of digital citizenship and use of technology. Thanks to all involved, enjoy!

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).

Exciting News: Introducing the Saxe Joke of the Day!

We’re thrilled to feature our new initiative that aims to bring more laughter and joy to our school community – the Joke of the Day! Each day, We share a daily dose of humor to brighten the mornings and lift spirits. Whether it’s our students eagerly anticipating classes or a staff member navigating the responsibilities of the day, we believe that a good laugh can make everything a little brighter. Enjoy our fun submissions from this week!

“What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!”

“Why did the math book look sad? Because it had too many problems!”

“Did you hear about the guy who was fired from the keyboard factory? He wasn’t putting in enough shifts!”

“Word of advice: don’t trust atoms. They make up everything.”

“Why can’t you ever argue with a 90-degree angle? Because they’re always right.”

Welcoming our Newest Staff Member

This week Saxe welcomed a new Supervisory Aide, Mr. Lee-Remington Steele. Check out his bio to get to learn a little more about him. Welcome to our Saxe Family, Lee!

College attended: St. John’s University

Hometown: Jersey City, New Jersey

Hobbies: Basketball, caring for his animals.

Other States you’ve lived in: New Jersey

Favorite Sports Team: Baltimore Ravens

Favorite Genre of Music: Rap, R & B.

Math

Students in Ms. Bohlmann’s Math 6 classes used their collaboration skills to set up a plan to solve fraction division word problems. Students demonstrated their understanding by using visual models to interpret, solve, and justify their reasoning. These models helped students to determine how many groups can be made or how much is in each group. Students noticed that dividing fractions is equivalent to multiplying by the reciprocal of the divisor.

Students in Ms. Bohlmann’s Math 7 class modeled proportional relationships in multiple ways on the vertical whiteboards. The class calculated unit rates using complex fractions and determined if situations were proportional.

Mandarin

How do you memorize new vocabulary? Sixth Grade Mandarin students learn “the days of the week” by singing a rap song. Very cool!

Science

The 6 Blue and Red Team Science classes created cards to be sent to hospitalized kids this holiday season. Spreading the joy while giving back – nice work!

Sustainability Club

Saxe’s Lower Division Sustainability Club has been busy this past month. We replanted our various species of herbs and lettuce plants into our hydroponic garden, which now has a new home in front of the main office. Hopefully, we will have a delicious and healthy harvest in the next few weeks. Students also made their own festive bird feeders which will be placed along the Waveny Trail sometime in the next two weeks. Be sure to keep an eye out for them on your next walk in the woods!

Saxe Theatre News

Come be a part of the Saxe 7th & 8th Grade Musical, Bye Bye Birdie! You can register for the cast, crew or orchestra on the Musical Website HERE. Auditions are next Wednesday and Thursday from 3:00- 6:00 pm. Please follow the instructions on the website for registration and Audition Time Slot sign-ups. For Questions, please contact Lauren and Matt at SaxeByeByeBirdie@gmail.com.

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.

Nutcracker This Weekend

The New England Academy of Dance’s Nutcracker is happening this weekend! Over TWENTY Saxe students are dancing in it, and eleven year old Bianca Magratten is performing the role of Little Clara. They all have been working on this show since August. The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra is accompanying the dancers, too! It is one of New Canaan’s cultural highlights and not to be missed. Best wishes to all involved!

Saxe in the News

This past weekend 5th-grade student Vanessa Delev broke another CT Swim record. This time, it was in the 200 IM (SCY). Vanessa’s time was 2:18:36. The prior CT record was held by current Stanford University junior, Meghan Lynch, from 2014 with a time of 2:19:75. Vanessa also broke the record of Metro swimming (New York city & surrounding area), for which the record was 2:18:78. Vanessa’s time is currently the fastest in the U.S. Wow, congrats, Vanessa and keep up the great work!

Twitter/X

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

Holiday spirit is all-around Saxe already!

To our friends who celebrate, Happy Hanukkah!

Wow! This is a wonderfully creative, festive creation worth sharing!

The Saxe Main Office is in the spirit for the holidays (even our school namesake, Mr. Henry Saxe)!

It’s PJ Day at Saxe – get comfy for a great cause! We’ve already reached our goal (thanks to all who have contributed!) & are celebrating through the finish line! Have a great Friday, All!

(Link below if you’d like to contribute)…

https://give.connecticutchildrens.org/fundraiser/5113389

Some more spirit for PJ Day at Saxe today! Tons of students have gotten comfy for a great cause!

Saxe Math students are up & moving as they collaboratively solve problems with their groups (or, with other groups). Great learning & skill building!

A look at Ms. Potenza’s “Wonder Wall” as it evolves into the “New Facts Wall” as students continue their research in ELA. There are some really interesting topics students are researching (immune system, computers, cryptocurrency, sloths, sharks, migration patterns, & much more)!

Here’s a snapshot of a quick Brain Break. “Pass it Around”, in the form of “the wave”! Students were up, active, & back in their seats in about 2 minutes, refreshed & ready to keep working. Very cool to see it in action!

Mr. Puckett had a great turnout for some extracurricular basketball this week at Saxe. Looking forward to these (&, more) students participating this winter!

These guys are THE best! So grateful for our dedicated custodians at Saxe & the care they give our building/campus, inside & out, all year long!

Wow! Two weeks later and we have some serious plants in the lobby of Saxe! Thanks to our Sustainability Club students and advisors for this public display of growth & learning!

Day 1:

2 weeks later:

8Red is “shining a light” on the positivity at Saxe!

Amazing art! Equally amazing message – “I can do this” 💪

This pup was as soft as this picture looks 🙂 #DogsOfSaxe

Ollie was visiting during drop-off this morning! #DogsOfSaxe

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)