2024.2.2 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

February 2, 2024

Dear Saxe Family,

Happy February, and, Groundhog Day! If Punxsutawney Phil (or, any other gopher) is correct, we should be in for an early spring. Whether you feel the woodchucks predict the weather or not, Mother Nature will let us know when it’s time for spring in New England. One thing we can look forward to, is finally seeing the sun again this weekend after this long stretch of overcast days – enjoy!

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at our Winter Daytime Open House schedule for grades 6-8, Celebrating our Saxe School Counselors, Spirit Day, some amazing Art, Science, STEM & Innovation, Spring Clubs, 100 Days, Band concerts, our “souper” staff, some Saxe bdays, Wellness, Crochet Club, Dogs of Saxe, an awesome sunrise, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

2/5 – 6-8 Winter Daytime Open House (all dates/times below)

2/6 – 6-8 Winter Daytime Open House (all dates/times below)

2/9 – 6-8 Winter Daytime Open House (all dates/times below)

2/9 – Spirit Day – Jersey Day (and, for football fans still “in it” – 49ers and Chiefs Gear)!

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”-Wayne Dyer

“You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — A.A. Mine

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”—Winston Churchill

“Believe in yourself, push your limits, experience life, conquer your goals, and be happy.” – Joel Brown

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

The Weekly Humor Highlights!

“What do you call a person with no body and no nose? Nobody knows!”

“How do birds learn to fly? They wing it.”

“What did the bee say to the flower? Hi honey! What did the flower say to the bee? Buzz off!”

“Which is faster, hot or cold? Hot, because you can catch a cold.”

“What did the hamburger name its baby? Patty!”

Saxe Winter Daytime Open House: Grades 6 – 8 – REMINDER
You are invited to attend our 2024 Winter Daytime Open House during the week of February 5th – 12th, 2024. The schedule below depicts the specific day, date, and time for each respective grade/team. Grade 6-8 teams will host their program within their respective team classroom area. For parents who are unable to attend during the scheduled time, slides will be made available to show the content that was covered.
Teachers will review team progress made thus far regarding meeting local and state curriculum standards, address initiatives that have promoted an academically, emotionally, and physically safe learning environment, and offer an academic introduction to the second semester.
Due to limited parking on campus, the Lower Division Circle will be available to park. There may also be a few spots open in the Lower Parking Lot by the playground or a few spots at the front of the school.
If you have any further questions regarding our Winter Daytime Open House program, please feel free to contact your child’s counselor, grade-level administrator, or Mr. Gusitsch.

Monday, 2/5	Tuesday, 2/6	Friday, 2/9	Monday, 2/12
8:55 a.m. G7: *Red Team* Room #: 102	8:55 a.m. G7: *Green Team* Room #: 144	8:55 a.m. G7: *Purple Team* Room #: 105	8:55 a.m. G7: *Blue Team* Room #: 113
10:10 a.m. G6: *Blue Team* Room #: 34	10:10 a.m. G6: *Red Team* Room #: 28	10:10 a.m. G6: *Purple Team* Room #: 24	10:10 a.m. G6: *Green Team* Room #: 19
11:20 a.m. G8: *Red Team* Room #: 200	11:20 a.m. G8: *Blue* *Team* Room #: 205	11:20 a.m. G8: *Green Team* Room #: 163	11:20 a.m. G8: *Purple Team* Room #: 219

Saxe School Counseling Week

National School Counseling Week 2024, themed “School Counseling: Standards-Based, Student-Focused,” is set to be celebrated from Feb. 5–9, 2024, by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). The week aims to highlight the significant role school counselors play in the U.S. education system, showcasing the positive impact they have on student’s academic success, social/emotional development, and career planning. School counselors actively assist students in exploring their abilities, partner with parents, foster positive development, and collaborate with educators to create an environment where students can reach their full potential. These certified professionals, holding master’s degrees in counseling, are crucial contributors to the overall educational program, working to eliminate barriers to learning and enhance student achievement. We are lucky that every student at Saxe has a School Counselor and we are grateful for this SSP “Dream Team” below!

Spirit Day

Next Friday (2/9) is our next Spirit Day. Wear your favorite jersey to show your favorite team, club, or activity! For any 49ers or Chiefs fans, we will gather for a quick “rivalry photo”, so be sure to wear your team’s colors next Friday!

Art

Seventh grader Emily Meng is the recipient of four Scholastic art awards. She was recognized with two gold and two silver keys for her amazing artwork. Here are her 2 gold key winners. One of her works was inspired by the Saxe hawk rendered in scratchboard. Amazing imagery… Congrats, Emily!

Science

Eighth-grade students were investigating forces and motion using cars and ramps. Students designed and carried out experiments in order to determine how height and mass impact the acceleration of a car down a ramp. Students used motion sensors and graphical analysis software to collect and analyze their data.

Students in 8th grade science are learning about motion and velocity. They analyzed a motion graph and recreated the “Story of motion” using motion sensors. It provided instant feedback to how well they understood the velocities involved.

STEM Club/Empower Your Lunch Hour Collaboration

Ms. Needle, a 1st-grade teacher at East, reached out to us to help her design and build a multipurpose storefront for her 1st-grade class to enhance their community unit. The 8th-grade EYLH students first met with Ms. Needle via Google Meet to discuss her specific needs and to see the space where the storefront would be stored. They then brainstormed and rough sketched out the idea as a team on the smartboard. Eighth-grade students then put together a CAD model to share with Ms. Needle for feedback. Once she approved the CAD design, students began prototyping the model using cheaper materials like foam core and cardboard. After bringing the model to Ms. Needle’s class for feedback from both the students and Ms. Needle, we noted the necessary alterations and are working on our second prototype to test the model’s sizing once more before we progress to woodworking.

Saxe Club Information

The next session of Before/After School Clubs will begin on Monday, February 12th. We are still working on a few details but should have the link out for sign-ups on Monday, February 5th! Look for the email from Ms. Jarosik.

Schools Supporting Schools

The NCHS Color Drop is right around the corner and you will once again have a chance to win some amazing prizes (including a truck!) while supporting NCHS students through the NC Scholarship Foundation. Thanks for considering and good luck to all who participate!

Click here to purchase your golf ball.

Sustainability Club

This week, Ms. Jarosik in the Main Office was the lucky recipient of some of the Sustainability Club’s hydroponic goodies! She was given lettuce, dill, sage and cilantro. So she made some recipes to showcase them. A Pumpkin Coconut Soup with sage and a Scallop Ceviche with the cilantro. It doesn’t get fresher than that!

New Canaan Football represented! Congrats Lucas (former Saxe student!)…another trip to the Super Bowl!

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

Twitter/X

Hard to believe it’s Feb 2nd already, but Happy Groundhog Day!

Ms. Orlando celebrated the 100th day at Saxe with a homemade sign at morning drop off… There were a TON of waves & smiles – great way to start the day!

Thanks to our Saxe Faculty Senate for a thought provoking, meaningful meeting. Our staff continually collaborates, learns, & looks for ways to grow to provide the best experience possible for our students!

Showtime! The Saxe 5th/6th grade band concert is off to a great start!

Next up – Little Brazil Suite! Congrats to all of the soloists this evening – very impressive! The jokes are great, too…

“I wrote a song about a tortilla… It was more of a ‘rap’”…

Next up – Blizzard Blues…

“Why didn’t the snowman do the audition? Because it had cold feet!”

Our Saxe 6th-graders kick off their set with Zombie Stomp, & a little side humor… “Why did the Zombie ace the test? It was a no brainer!”

The final(CLICK THE LINK TO LISTEN!) song by our Saxe 5th-graders included a shout out & tribute to longtime Band Director, Mr. Coulter. Classy move & congrats to All!

Final song – the ever-famous, William Tell Overture… And, one final joke to accompany the performance:

“What did the horse say after it fell? Help, I’ve fallen & I can’t ‘giddy up’”!

Our Saxe band program has been tuning up for the 2024 Winter Concert – they sound great & are ready to go!

Ready for the final concert of the Winter Concert Series at Saxe… Best wishes to All!

The Saxe 8th-graders knocked it out of the park! They sounded terrific & had some fun along the way – congrats on a wonderful concert!

Mr. Zeiser joins the Saxe Percussion (CLICK LINK TO LISTEN!)Ensemble for a great performance of “What?”!

The 7th graders did an amazing job kicking off the Saxe Band concert! Their set even included a tribute to beloved band teacher, Mr. Coulter, who was not able to be here this evening (but had students well prepared)! Congrats to All!

The final “tune ups” before the 7th/8th grade Saxe Band Concert… The audience is in for a GREAT show – they sound amazing!

Thanks to our “NCPS Be Well” Committee for the “Souper” lunch today at Saxe- delicious!

Thanks to Ms. Hammell for sharing this moment of joy as another #SaxeBirthday is celebrated! Hope it was a terrific day!

Yet another harvest this week from the Vertical Garden… This thing is amazing! 🌱 Thanks to our Sustainability Club who keep up with it!

Grateful to have such an active Wellness Committee at Saxe & NCPS. Thanks to all involved in providing the best in caring for one another & ourselves!

6th-graders got to challenge their thinking with manipulatives, partner work, & scaffolded questioning as they worked through ratios in #SaxeMath – great job by all!

Some fantastic crochet projects going on during the 6th-grade lunch/recess block. In addition, several other staff members offer up their rooms for students to catch up on studies, work on passion projects, or just socialize. Thank you to each who “opens their doors”!

@SaxeMS students benefitting from some fresh air, activity, & socialization during #SaxeRecess. Even on a less than perfect day, the benefits remain!

A special birthday “holler” at arrival today! Hope it was the best one yet! 🎉

Dasher was excited to join this carpool this morning! It even included one member who will be celebrating a birthday this weekend – Happy bday! 🎉

Sunrise over Saxe – what a shot! Thanks to Ms. Jarosik for capturing 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!

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