May 3, 2024
Dear Saxe Family,
Happy May! It is hard to believe that we have already welcomed another month on the calendar… The next month and a half will be filled with excitement, events, and unique learning experiences that our students will remember for years to come. We look forward to celebrating the final six weeks and sharing what makes our learning community so special!
This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at highlights from this week that include: the latest 1 Second Everyday, Spring Daytime Open House info, Art, “Incoming Parent” Orientation info, a “thanks” to our teachers & nurses, Science, NC Behavioral Health resources, Latin Day MMXXIV, a visit from NCHS students, an Esports champion, scenes around Saxe, Saxe Outdoors, happiness & gratitude, robots, Team “Spring Refresh” meetings, Pets of Saxe (staff), Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
5/6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week – Thanks to our amazing teachers!
5/6-7 Saxe Daytime Open House (info below)
5/7 Incoming 6th grade Parent Orientation-Saxe Aud; 6:00 p.m.
5/8 School Nurse’s Day
5/10 Saxe/South Walk to School Day (rescheduled)
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“I’ve been searching for ways to heal myself, and I’ve found that kindness is the best way.” — Lady Gaga
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ― Albert Camus
“The world’s favorite season is the Spring. All things seem possible in May.” ― Edwin Way Teale
“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” —Winnie the Pooh
Joke:
What did the SCUBA divers say when they were given more air? TANKS!
I had a hen that could count her eggs. She was a mathemachicken!
April Showers bring May flowers. What do Mayflowers bring? Pilgrims!
Why do the French like to eat snails? Because they don’t like fast food!
Why do bees have sticky hair? They use honeycombs!
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).
Spring Daytime Open House
To all Grade 6, 7, & 8 parents, you are invited to attend our 2024 Spring Daytime Open House during the week of April 29th – May 7th, 2024! The schedule below depicts the specific day, date, and time for each respective grade/team. Similar to the Winter Daytime Open House, 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, information will be made available to show the content that was covered.
Please refer to the email sent to your inbox for specific room locations. Thanks!
The Spring Daytime Open House series are intended to differ from the Winter one as they will be less about specific content covered for the remainder of the year, and more about a celebration of learning from throughout this year! Student work samples (either physically or digitally) will be on display from respective content areas and you will have an opportunity to see the product of the learning that your children have been experiencing this school year.
Due to limited parking on campus, the Lower Division Circle will be available to park for the 10:10 and 11:20 sessions. 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 or grade-level administrator.
Thanks to everyone who joined us on Monday and Tuesday for Open Houses! If you weren’t able to attend, you can find the link to the presentations below.
| Monday, 4/29 | Tuesday, 4/30 |
| 8:55 a.m.G7: Blue TeamELASocial Studies | 8:55 a.m.G7: “Purple” TeamPurple Team Slides |
| 10:10 a.m.G6: Red TeamRed Team Slides | 10:10 a.m.G6: Green TeamGreen Team Slides |
| 11:20 a.m.G8: “Purple” TeamPurple Team Slides | 11:20 a.m.G8: Green TeamGreen Team Slides |
Thank you to our Art teachers who put together this terrific slideshow and lobby display to showcase some of their work and experiences for the Spring Daytime Open Houses. Check out the full slideshow and more pictures further down in the Weekly. Enjoy!
Incoming 6th Grade Parent Orientation
We cordially invite you to the “Incoming 6th-grade Parent Orientation” on Tuesday (5/7) at 6:00 p.m. in the Saxe auditorium. We will cover relevant topics such as general school-wide information, similarities and differences between 5th and 6th-grade, a typical school day/week, and much more. To provide the clearest picture, this will all be framed through the various perspectives of students, parents, and staff. We look forward to seeing all who are able to attend on Tuesday!
Teacher Appreciation Week
During this Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10), we extend our deepest gratitude to all the educators who tirelessly dedicate themselves to shaping the minds and hearts of our students. Your passion, patience, and unwavering commitment to nurturing young minds are the cornerstone of our society. You inspire, challenge, and empower students to reach their fullest potential, instilling in them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to thrive in an ever-changing world. Your impact extends far beyond the classroom, shaping the future leaders, innovators, and citizens of tomorrow. Thank you for your tireless dedication, endless encouragement, and boundless enthusiasm. You are the guiding lights that illuminate the path to knowledge and success for countless individuals. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
School Nurse Day
Next Wednesday is School Nurse Day! Whether it’s providing comfort to a sick child, offering guidance on health issues, or responding swiftly to emergencies, their unwavering commitment to our school community is truly commendable. Their presence brings reassurance and peace of mind to students, parents, and staff alike. Thank you, Ms. Graham & Ms. Paine, for your invaluable service, kindness, and compassion. You are the unsung heroes of our schools, and your contributions do not go unnoticed. Happy School Nurse Day!
Science
Mrs. Poidomani’s students are doing a Terrestrial Ecosystem Study Today (TEST) to collect and record data of how the forest floor is changing over time with the transition of seasons. They are investigating abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystems to compare/contrast with the aquariums in the classroom.
8th graders researched the solar system this week to learn more about the planets as well as start understanding the scale size of objects within our solar system. Green and Red team students used a little creativity to design a “space-themed” amusement park with their new knowledge. Each attraction in their park represents an object in our solar system. This helped us prepare for our visit to the NCHS Dome next week where we will “tour” the solar system and gain a better understanding of our place in the universe.
On the 8 Purple team, students in Science class are researching a planet in the solar system in an effort to determine if we can create a scaled model of the solar system within a classroom. Students have to figure out the size of their planet if Earth were the size of a marble”. Once the planets are scaled we’ll turn our attention to orbits.
Behavioral Health Website
The New Canaan Behavioral Health Alliance website is now available to our community. Finding the right behavioral health support for yourself, family member or a friend can feel overwhelming. The New Canaan Behavioral Health Alliance (NCBHA) is excited to announce the launch of its website. New Canaan Human Services, NCCF and Silver Hill Hospital have partnered with over 30 local agencies and organizations to encourage, develop and support a greater community awareness of behavioral health issues and resources in our area. To talk directly to someone who can help navigate available resources, or just to see what behavioral health events are happening around the area, visit www.newcanaanbha.org.
CT State Latin Day – May 2nd, MMXXIV
Images include: Waiting for the bus, whole group photo at Holiday Hill, our Saxe certamen team getting ready to compete against high schoolers in Latin trivia, lunch break, gaga ball, proudly displaying toga teddies, military drill demonstrations, and awards winners.
NCHS Captains Giving Back
This week, NCHS athletic captains helped 7th grade students learn more about cyberbullying. A big thank you to the NCHS spring athletic captains who came to visit 7th-grade classes this week to help the students learn about the many problems with the permanency of digital communication, and what they can do to protect themselves and to prevent cyberbullying. Another big thank you to the Saxe Upper Division Counselors (Sarah Beltran, Brad Lepisto, and Tammy Nettleton) for developing and leading the lesson, and to Sandra Warkentin, NCHS school psychologist, and Jay Egan, Athletic Director, for coordinating the visit!
Esports
After several weeks of competing against teams from multiple states along the East Coast, Max L came out #1 in the Smash Bros eSports tournament and is the Vanta League Champion! Congrats to Max & all who participated! Peter T, last season’s champ, helped coach Max in his final match. Great team effort!
Shark Tank
Science Workshop experiences are always exciting! Here is a snapshot of the latest Shark Tank series, in action. Good luck to all participants!
“Birthday Besties”
Miss Cannon and Carolina are birthday twins! Happy birthday to you both!
X/Twitter
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe Middle School page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
Good morning, Saxe! We know spring is here to stay when the trees are in full bloom… Have a great day, All!
Thanks to all of the Saxe parents who came out for Spring Daytime Open Houses this week!
6 Green had a great display of student work from all content areas, throughout the school year, to share with parents during their Saxe Spring Daytime Open House!
Thanks to all of the incoming Saxe 5th grade parents who came out for the “Parent Orientation”. It was a great turnout, & not surprisingly, who were the stars of the show? Our students, speaking about their experiences! Nice work, all around!
If you were unable to attend, we have you covered! The recording of the video and slides from the presentation may be found using these links. Please feel free to reach out to Ms. Granite with any questions.
Also, the resources that are listed below can be accessed by our incoming parents if they need additional information.
Parent Information Night Slideshow
Nice weather this week brought many classes out to our Saxe Hawk’s Valley courtyard. What a terrific outdoor space to explore different learning experiences!
The amount of creativity & detail in this ever-expanding Saxe Art project on display in the Saxe main lobby is nothing short of amazing! Showcasing the “unity within our community”!
Thanks to our Saxe Art department for putting the “Unity” in our Saxe community! The detail & creativity in this display is amazing…
Saxe Art classes visited the ever-expanding project on display in the Saxe main lobby. It’s a great example of “building unity within our community”!
The “Happiness Hallway” continues to expand at Saxe… Each orange sticky note is a moment of gratitude, as shared by our students – positive energy at its best!
Grateful to our New Canaan DPW crew who support our Walk/Ride to School Day each spring & fall! Due to expected traffic adjustments following the incident on I-95, we will be postponing until next Friday, 5/10. See you then!
The Walk/Ride to School Day may have been postponed, but many students still took advantage of this nice day to ride to school!
Students are using their emotion regulation, distress tolerance and mindfulness skills in WISE class this morning.
Thank you to the NCHS CTsports captains who visited Saxe to share their experiences. What a great way to “give back” & make a positive impact on future #NCHSRams! Good luck with the rest of your spring seasons, too!
6Red & 6Green held their “Spring Refresh” this week to review expectations, rules, reminders, etc. for their respective teams to finish the year as strong as possible. Great discussions!
6Blue held their “Spring Refresh” this week to review expectations, rules, reminders, etc. for their team to finish the year as strong as possible. Students even reflected on what they were “committed to” as they head down the stretch. Great discussion!
Caught our Saxe News roving reporters getting some good footage – can’t wait to see the next episode!
Saxe Latin students weathered the traffic delays this morning before heading out to their annual Latin Day trip. It ended up being a great day & fun was had by all!
Saxe students explore the realm of coding & robots in Science Workshop. Fascinating application of the design thinking process to achieve their goals! (Click to check out video 1 & video 2!) #SaxeSTEM
Pets of Saxe (staff)
For the past couple of months, we have been featuring the pets who reside at the homes of some of our staff members. Thanks to Mr. Gillan who coordinated this effort to provide this opportunity to get to know each other a little better and further unite our school community! Thanks to all who have contributed as well… If you are a staff member and would still like to participate, you are welcome to access the slideshow and enter your pets (the slide deck continues to grow each week!). Enjoy!
Ms. Duncan – Art
Ms. Levine – Spanish
Ms. Lashendock – Art
Ms. Blake – Literacy Specialist
Dogs of Saxe
Dakota brought some sunshine to a dreary morning at Saxe!
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
