May 10, 2024
Dear Saxe Family,
We have a tremendous amount to report from this week at Saxe! Teacher Appreciation Week (thank you, PTC!), School Nurse Day, Spring Daytime Open Houses, Incoming Grade 6 Parent Orientation, fun science field trips to the DOME and Waveny, and even a trip to release salmon raised here in classrooms!
As we reflect on the excitement of the week, we also look forward to this weekend as we honor and celebrate some of the most important humans on the planet – our Moms! There are a million and one ways to write about the selfless love, dedication, and sacrifices of mothers, in our school community, nurturing families and shaping future generations, but quite simply I would like to say, “Thank you!”. We are grateful for you, appreciate you, salute you, and it is my hope that your family makes it the best weekend, ever. Happy Mother’s Day!
This week in the Saxe Weekly, we also take a look at a May Fair reminder, Math, some reading superfans, more Science, French, Robotics, Sustainability Club, setting goals, some outdoor activities, Pets of Saxe (staff), Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful (Mother’s Day) weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
5/12 – Mother’s Day!
A friendly reminder to ALL Moms… 🙂
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.” —Iris Murdoch
“Teaching is more than imparting knowledge; it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts; it is acquiring understanding.”—William Arthur Ward
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.”–Bob Talbert
“Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students.”–Solomon Ortiz
“The duties of a teacher are neither few nor small, but they elevate the mind and give energy to the character.” –Dorothea Dix
Saxe Jokes:
Which is the best day to go to the beach? SUNday!
Why was the toilet paper having such good luck? It was on a roll.
How do eyeballs fight? They tend to lash out!
Where does water sleep? In a river bed!
What is the most dangerous instrument to play? The Bermuda Triangle!!
May Fair Reminder
An announcement was made at school on Friday afternoon to remind students to represent themselves in town as well as they do in school, exhibiting the traits and characteristics that we work so hard to embed within our school community. These include being kind, respectful, courteous, and caring. We see our students practice these each day and know they are able to do the same while around town in New Canaan. Wishing everyone the best on a fun-filled weekend!
Math
Students in Ms. Link’s Algebra class are learning how to factor and solve polynomials. Students used the algebra tiles to build area models which helped them to determine the factors of these polynomials. By using the algebra tiles students were able to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to factor a polynomial as well as identify patterns that they will be building upon throughout the unit.
Incoming 6th Grade Parent Orientation
On Tuesday evening, we held our Incoming 6th Grade Orientation. We covered topics such as general school-wide information, similarities and differences between 5th and 6th-grade, a typical school day/week, and much more. It was framed through the various perspectives of students, parents, and staff. Thank you to all who were able to attend. If you could not attend, you can watch the entire presentation here, or check out the slideshow, here. As always, please feel free to reach out to your child’s counselor or Mr. Gusitsch with any questions.
Spring Daytime Open House
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Grade 6 – 8 Spring Daytime Open Houses! If you were unable to attend, you can find the links to each of the presentations below.
| Monday, 4/29 | Tuesday, 4/30 | Monday, 5/6 | Tuesday, 5/7 |
| 8:55 a.m.G7: Blue Team LA SlidesSS SlidesScience SlidesMath SlidesRoom #: 113 | 8:55 a.m.G7: “Purple” TeamPurple Team SlidesRoom #: 105 | 8:55 a.m.G7: “Red” TeamRed Team SlidesRoom #: 102 | 8:55 a.m.G7: “Green Team Green Team SlidesRoom #: 144 |
| 10:10 a.m.G6: Red TeamRed Team SlidesRoom #: 28 | 10:10 a.m.G6: Green TeamGreen Team SlidesRoom #: 19 | 10:10 a.m.G6: Purple TeamPurple Team SlidesRoom #: 24 | 10:10 a.m.G6: Blue Team Blue Team PresentationRoom #: 34 |
| 11:20 a.m.G8: “Purple” TeamPurple Team SlidesRoom #: 221 | 11:20 a.m.G8: Green TeamGreen Team SlidesRoom #: 163 | 11:20 a.m.G8: “Red” TeamRed Team SlidesRoom #: 200 | 11:20 a.m.G8: “Blue” TeamBlue Team SlidesRoom #: 205 |
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. Be sure to check out the full slideshow – Enjoy!
6th Grade Superfans
There is a group of “Keeper of the Lost Cities” SUPERFANS on the 6th green team this year! Every day, they carry their books like a good friend — chatting together about their favorite characters and intense plot, while debating about which of the many books in the series is the best! Of course, enthusiasm is contagious; readership continues to grow on Six Green. It is definitely proof that reading builds community. Thankfully, author Shannon Messenger shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon!
Science
6th grade Purple began their yearly adventure to Waveny. It was a beautiful Tuesday filled with exploration and engagement.!
6th Grade Purple acquired some abiotic and biotic samples on their adventure through Waveny. This week, they took a look under the microscopes to see what more they could find!
French
8th-grade French students learned parts of the body in relation to the current unit on daily routines – ‘Ma Routine Quotidienne’. We ended the week on a ‘high note,’ singing songs to practice the new vocabulary! You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/vmthcDTgbL4.
Robotic Workshop
The robotics workshop has been busy this quarter! Students have already participated in time trials and are now on to redesigning and re-coding their robots for our head-to-head race day. This quarter, they have some very innovative designs solving our challenge problem, including a built-in timer to eliminate human error, edits to robot weight, and a robotic arm that extends during racing. Students used the engineering and design process to plan, test, and iterate their robots to achieve the fastest time on the robotics course.
On music pull-out days, the Robotics and Automation workshop took a break from their robotics challenge to explore the world of flight. Through the use of balsa planes and flight simulators, students explored how the interactions of the forces of drag, thrust, lift, and gravity make flight possible. The students were challenged with iterating balsa planes to see who could achieve the most laps. Some students explored how thrust affects speed and air time while others edited the wings, adding flaps and moving the position to explore the effects of lift and center of gravity.
NCHS DOME Visits
This week, 8th-grade Science classes visited the DOME at NCHS. Students were able to take a tour of the cosmos from a unique perspective and dive deeper into the patterns of movement that result in various astronomical phenomena. Students were blown away by the capabilities of the technology.
Salmon Release
The Saxe Fish Club has been actively participating in the “Salmon in the Schools” program, an enriching educational initiative that commenced on January 4th. This program has offered our students a unique, hands-on learning experience, allowing them to raise salmon from eggs to fry while learning about aquatic ecosystems, the life cycle of salmon, and the importance of environmental conservation.
Throughout the program, students have been directly involved in the daily care of the salmon, monitoring water quality in the tanks, and ensuring the optimal conditions for the salmon’s development. This has not only deepened their understanding of biology and ecology but has also fostered a sense of responsibility and stewardship towards our natural environment.
The culmination of this project was a field trip to the Salmon River in Colchester on May 7th, where students had the opportunity to release 285 salmon they had nurtured into their natural habitat. This hands-on release event provided a practical learning experience about the challenges facing salmon populations and the efforts being made to conserve this vital species. By participating in this final stage, students witnessed firsthand the impact of their efforts and the significance of contributing to environmental sustainability.
Sustainability Club
This week in Lower Division Sustainability, we worked on planting new seeds and tending to the hydroponic garden. We are planting seeds that will eventually grow into plants such as bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and more! We are working hard to grow all of these things to keep giving to our wonderful staff/teachers who work so hard for us!
Twitter/X
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe Middle School page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
Thank you to our Saxe PTC for helping us celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week! Today is one of the Saxe “favs” – Bubble & Brew! Also, a HUGE “thanks!” to all of our staff who make the learning experience so special for our students…
Mailboxes were stuffed with some sweet treats to kick off Teacher Appreciation Week at Saxe (which was very exciting for our staff!) 🙂
As we prepare to wrap Teacher Appreciation Week ‘24, our tremendous Saxe gave us one last amazing meal from La Pescaderia! Thank you, parents & thank you to our terrific Saxe staff who make our learning community so special – you ARE appreciated!
Thanks to our fabulous Saxe PTC, we welcomed back a Saxe staff fan favorite, The Tasty Yolk! Delicious & enjoyed by ALL (& some, twice). We even caught a few NCHS staff members sneaking over for a taste! (We are happy to share in the Teacher Appreciation celebration!)
What a week! Thank you to our Saxe PTC for all of the thoughtful & delicious treats each day as we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week ‘24! Our Saxe staff is beyond grateful…
Showing my team some love this week for Teacher Appreciation Week! Friendly reminder: Related service providers are teachers, too!
Grateful for our Saxe School Nurses, Ms. Graham & Ms. Paine – two of the best! Thank you for all that you do for our school community!
Thank you to all who came out to join in the “Incoming 6th-grade Parent Orientation” at Saxe this week. The stars of our show? Our students, of course!
6 Blue spending some quality time with “their parents” during the Spring Daytime Open House! Kahoots, student experience videos, student work, & lots of laughs… Thanks to all who attended!
A few more pics from the Saxe 6 Blue Spring Daytime Open House & the student “What I Commit to to finish the year strongly” banner…
6 Purple had some great digital & physical artifacts on display during the Saxe Spring Daytime Open House. Thanks to all who came out to visit!
8Red has updated their board with inspirational reflections on future goals for our Saxe 8th-graders!
Testing water, comparing classroom & pond samples, growing plants, & growing trout – just another day in a Saxe Science class!
The Saxe Library was bustling today with Saxe Science classes sharing & providing feedback on some of their latest work!
A glimpse of “The Dome” at NCHS as Saxe 8th-grade Science classes visited for their first “collective immersive experience”. The wonder, awe, & excitement were fun to see in person & we look forward to what the future holds with this amazing resource!
Couldn’t resist this great photo working 1:1 during a math lesson today! Saxe #fifthgraderocks
Caught a “Happy Birthday!” at Saxe arrival this morning! Hope it was the best bday ever!
Warm weather = some quality outdoor activities at SaxeMS! Science – exploring seasons; chorus – practicing their singing; & recess with some “big air” on the swings!
Fresh-cut grass in our Saxe courtyards – nothing better! Thanks to our amazing custodial team who take such great care of our building & campus!
A few folders from the latest batch of Saxe Certificates of Gratitude… One of my favorite things to do each month, recognize & thank students and staff members who have gone above & beyond to contribute to our school community!
Pets of Saxe
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. Demers – Challenge
Mr. Miller – Custodial Team
Ms. Rende – Science
Ms. Dobransky – 5th-Grade
The Pets of Saxe display is growing as our Saxe staff share their “animal family members”. Just another way to put the “unity in our community”!
Dogs of Saxe
A couple of our friendly dogs who have visited this week!
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
