2023.12.22 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

December 22, 2023

Dear Saxe Family,

Well, that’s a wrap on 2023! It is amazing how quickly time passes when there is so much to experience and to be grateful for. As we head into this holiday break, I hope that you are able to spend some time with those you care the most about, enjoying a change of pace, and doing whatever it is that brings you joy. Whether you are traveling afar, remaining fairly local, or simply staying right at home, be as present as possible with those closest to you and enjoy each moment!

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at the latest 1-Second Everyday, acts of kindness & gratitude, bonding through team celebrations, Social Studies, a ton of holiday spirit, Music, PE, Latin, Spanish, French, resources and wellness reminders, Math, Winter Chorus Concert, Science, the annual Cookie Exchange, recess, Rowing Club, Pickleball Club, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful remainder of your 2023. See you in 2024!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

12/25 – 1/1 – Holiday Break

1/2/24 – Happy 2024 & Welcome Back!

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”―C. S. Lewis

“To know how much there is to know is the beginning of learning to live.” —Dorothy West

“Do not let making a living prevent you from making a life.” -John Wooden

“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.” —Serena Williams

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” – Benjamin Franklin

The Weekly Humor Highlights!

“Where do you find books about oil in the library? In the non-friction section.”

“What do you call a turtle who takes up photography? A snapping turtle.”

“What is a tree’s favorite candy? Ornamints!”

“What did the gingerbread man put on his bed? A cookie sheet!”

“Where does a snowman keep his money? In a snow bank!”

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).

Kindness Matters

The Students on 8 Green practiced spreading kindness and compassion by creating a kindness chain. Each student made a link in the chain with a positive message to his/her classmates. It is hung in the hallway as a daily reminder to always be kind and spread happiness!

Saxe Students Showing Gratitude

This week, Saxe students showed their appreciation for our amazing bus drivers by creating and presenting holiday cards to each of our drivers. We appreciate every member of our school community and a special thanks goes out to Ms. Beltran, Ms. Greto, and Ms. Wasserman for organizing!

6 Green Team

Green Team students took it upon themselves to create a winter wonderland on Mrs. Taylor’s door, complete with icicles, a snowman, and falling snowflakes. We continued the festivities with a “Flash Fiction in A Flash Friday,” during which time students volunteered to read their language arts flash fiction stories to their green team peers. Congratulations to our volunteer authors for taking a risk and allowing us to enjoy their creativity. Finally, we all gathered for a game of “Guess that Green Teammate.” Students and teachers learned lots of fun, interesting facts about each other while enjoying cute baby pics. What a great day!

6Blue provided some opportunities for students to choose activities that included communication, teamwork, creativity, & best of all, FUN!

Social Studies

On Thursday the fifth grade welcomed back (via zoom) David Eichelberg who is the Outreach Specialist for Mohegan Tribe. He shared with students a bit about the role of music and animals in tribal life both in the past and present. David answered many questions about traditional culture and its role in Mohegan life today.

Holiday Spirit

Students from Ms. Rosen’s class (conducted by Mr. Sanders) welcomed students as they came to school on Wednesday. Below is the link to their rendition of “Jingle Bells”.

Watch the video here!

More Music News

Last week the 6th grade band was visited by local New Canaan resident and composer, Gwyneth Walker. Dr. Walker will be writing a piece for the 6th graders and they will give its World Premiere at the Spring Concert on May 28, 2024. She spoke to the students about what a composer does and how she gets ideas for her compositions. After the band played a few pieces for her, she asked them for some ideas they would like to have in the composition she will be writing for them. Dr Walker will meet with the 6th grade band several more times before receiving the finished composition sometime in March. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project!

Physical Education

December in Miss Goodman’s PE classes has been filled with Spikeball and broomball. During spikeball students learned different skills to get the ball off the net in a way that their opponents couldn’t return it and we did a class tournament with partners. Broomball is a combination of ice hockey and field hockey. We played in teams of 6 and we rotated rounds of games. Students worked on moving through space and playing different positions.

Latin

Mr. Hearty’s 6th Grade Latin students singing Holiday Carols to other classrooms around Saxe. Songs in Latin include ‘Deck the Halls’ and the ‘Dreidel Song’.

Spanish

The World Language students sang festive songs this year to help spread holiday cheer. Here are some of our Spanish students singing to neighboring classes.

French

Students in Dr. Chadli’s French class played a “Baguette” game and wish everyone an awesome break!

Saxe Spirit

8th Grade Green Team with their crowns from the LA department Loviathan competition celebrating the close of the calendar year, 2023!

Holiday Spirit Abound

Lost and Found

Missing a coat, sweatshirt, or hat? Lunchbox, water bottle? We have a very full lost and found! Please stop in by January 5th and see if your lost item can be found! We will be donating everything that is not claimed the following week.

Message for Families: Resources for During School Break

We hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday break! If you are in need of assistance while school is not in session- please reach out to one of the resources below.

Call or Text “988”- 24 hour Crisis and Hotline
Kids in Crisis 24 hour confidential hotline (203) 327-5437 (KIDS). Kids in Crisis
CT Infoline-211-for confidential hotline/and mobile (will travel to your home) crisis intervention services 24/7. Dial 211 or 988 (or text 988) from any phone. www.211ct.org
New Canaan Urgent Assessment Free Mental Health Assessment and Support For New Canaan residents (children, adolescents and adults,) requires an appointment. Usually seen within 48 hours. 1-866-542-4455, ask for the Urgent Assessment Program.
Jacqueline D’Louhy, LCSW/Youth and Family Services Coordinator at 203-594-3081 or email: jacqueline.dlouhy@newcanaanct.gov

General Wellness Reminders

Thank you to our NCPS Nursing staff for looking out for the wellbeing of our entire learning community! Below is a helpful reminder from our NCPS Nurses:

Cold and flu season are in full swing in Connecticut! There is also a rise in other illnesses such as Covid-19, RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) pneumonia and gastrointestinal viruses. We encourage the following precautions to prevent the spread of illness.

STAY HOME when sick. Do not return or gather with others until you are fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications.

Remember FREE Covid tests are available

https://www.covid.gov/tools-and-resources/resources/tests

Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.

Cover your mouth and nose if coughing or sneezing with a tissue or sleeve.

Avoid touching your mouth, nose, and eyes.

Stay up to date with your vaccinations.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, especially if someone is sick.

Practice wellness habits-

Get plenty of sleep
Eat a healthy diet
Exercise
Drink enough water
Get outside for fresh air
Connect with your loved ones
Make time for fun

Be well and Happy holidays!

Saxe in the News

Congrats to Henry Buczkiewicz, who placed 10th in the nation among eighth graders at the 2023 National K-12 Grade Championships in Orlando, FL this past weekend.

Twitter/X

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

Good morning, Saxe! Just a reminder that we are on an early dismissal schedule today. Have a great day & a terrific holiday break!

What a way to start the week at Saxe – check out this amazing holiday creation! Nice work!

Spirit was off the charts at Saxe today! Here are just a few pics…

Happy Holidays (Click to watch!) from Ms. Devine & Ms. Campbell’s classes – great spirit!

Ms. Sanders & some band members traveled around Saxe (Click to watch!) this morning, spreading some holiday joy. Thank you for putting smiles (Click to watch!) on the faces of so many staff & students across our campus!

Saxe students on 7Green worked through Math problems with their groups all around the room, & then checked their responses with a little tech. Good mix of learning & collaboration!

Monday may have been a shortened day at Saxe, but students didn’t skip a beat & had a great day! Here are a few pics from 8th grade Science, 6th-grade French, & Upper Division Chorus preparing for their Tuesday evening concert!

Ready for the Saxe 7/8 Choral Winter Concert in front of a packed house!

A little “Jingle Bell Rock” to entertain the crowd during the 7th Grade performance (Click to watch!) set of the Winter Choral Concert at Saxe!

What a treat to hear the NCHS Concert Choir perform during the transition from 7th to 8th grade performances. Great to see some of our former Saxe students & what a truly talented bunch – thank you!

The last song was a fun medley & equally impressive! Congrats (To watch, click the link!) to all & a special thanks to Zac & Dan running the tech behind the scenes!

Students in Ms. Barcia’s Science class are field testing their “aerodynamic engineering”!

Singing at Saxe is not just for Chorus (click to watch!) class… Dr. Chadli’s French class decked the halls with these melodious chords, in French!

Students in Ms. Martocci’s class welcomed one of Saxe finest retirees, Ms. Owen, back to work on creating some terrific reading inspired bookmarks!

If there was ever any question, this vertical planter at Saxe definitely works! Thanks to the Sustainability Club for getting this up & growing in the main lobby for all to see & enjoy!

Our Saxe PTC takes amazing care of our Saxe staff! Thank you for the amazing “Cookie Exchange ‘23”… Word on the street was over 160 families participated & there were an estimated 5,000+ cookies for staff to choose from – unbelievable!

Treats are rolling in for the annual Saxe Cookie Exchange… Thanks to all who participated – I guarantee these will be bringing smiles to hundreds of faces this week!!

“Cookie Exchange ‘23” was a huge hit at Saxe – thank you, Saxe PTC!

More from Saxe “Cookie Exchange ‘23”…

Thanks to our Saxe PTC for the beautiful frames for our #EmotionIntoArt artwork that will be on display, soon (Mulala, Lady Liberty, & Michael Jordan)!

Holiday activities are plentiful Saxe today! Blankets and scarves for a homeless shelter, a little hot cocoa party, and aromatic and beautiful orange and clove creations! #fifthgraderocks

NCPS has the best bus drivers and our SaxeMS7th grade leadership students wanted to say thank you and happy holidays!

Thanks to NCHS Courant for delivering the latest edition to – we love keeping up with what’s going on over at NCHS!

What a glorious day for the final round of recess for 2023 at Saxe (1/2 day tomorrow)… Nothing better than some fresh air & activity as part of our student’s day! #SaxeRecess

New Canaan 7th-graders were on the road this weekend “up north”, & close enough to catch them play an impressive game against Brookfield. Congrats on the win!

The Saxe Crew club members were back at it, getting their reps in!

Pickleball Club continues to be a hit at Saxe! Thank you to Ms. Saab for providing this opportunity for our students!

The pics don’t really do it justice, but thanks to our Saxe PTC & dedicated custodial crew for getting some accent lighting in our Saxe outdoor spaces. They look great (especially during these short winter days & during evening events)!

The hallways at Saxe were filled with enthusiasm, especially with the 8th-grade, who held team events in the auditorium…

Neat to see the entire 8th-grade in the Saxe auditorium creating lasting memories with their teams! Congrats to all involved in putting together these meaningful experiences! Enjoy the pics and check out a brief video, here…

The December Saxe grade level pizza lunch w/Grade 6 was a fun/special one. One of these young men is the grandson of MY Principal, Mr. Green, at Meeting House Hill School, back in the mid-80s. I have fond memories of my time at his school (including a “Lunch w/the Principal”)!

MHHS as it looks in more recent times…

Dogs of Saxe

Some #DogsOfSaxe are more agreeable to having their picture taken than others. Took two takes to capture this pair! 🙂

Who doesn’t love to see a puppy to start their day?! Ms. Orlando got to enjoy a moment with 10 week old Tilly at Saxe arrival this week! #DogsOfSaxe

Have a great break & see you next YEAR – 2024!

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)