October 11, 2024
Dear Saxe MS Family,
What a week at Saxe Middle School! Celebrate Saxe, the Northern Lights, and next steps in our healthy relationships with personal technology were just a few exciting events that scratch the surface… In addition, this week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at all things “Cele Saxe ‘24”, an amazing BMX Pro performance, digital wellness, Science, Social Studies, October “awareness” month, Rowing Club, Saxe in the News, a special birthday shoutout, positive signage, certificates of gratitude, random acts of kindness, Library, ELA, Math, Art, Yearbook, scenes around Saxe, Pickleball, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful long weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
10/14 Columbus/Indigenous People Day (building closed – enjoy the day!)
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”-Unknown
“Self-belief & hard work will always earn you success.”-Unknown
“Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.” —Nora Ephron
“We learn from failure, not from success!”― Bram Stoker
“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” —Banksy
Saxe Jokes:
What are the coolest letters in the alphabet? The AC!
What do cats like to eat in the summer? Mice cream cones
Do you know what happens when you knock a fan over backward? It blows up
What’s a ghost’s favorite room in the house? The living room
What bird wears a toupee? A bald eagle!
Celebrate Saxe ‘24
We are grateful for our Saxe PTC & all they do for our SaxeMS students! Celebrate Saxe 2024 has been fun for all & we appreciate everyone’s support! Want to learn more or participate? Check out all things Celebrate Saxe, here: https://saxeptc.org
Saxe MS 8th-graders were treated to an amazing (Click the links to watch his moves!)BMX Pro performance during #CeleSaxe24! Thanks to our Saxe PTC for making it all happen!
Saxe MS 7th-graders were up next for the amazing (Click the link to watch!) BMX Pro performance during #CeleSaxe24! Thanks to our Saxe PTC for making it all happen!
Pretty amazing combo of BMX & basketball (not to mention the skill, agility, & balance required to pull this off)! #CeleSaxe24 (Click the links to watch!)
Thank you to our Saxe Custodians who had the Main Gym set & ready to go for our #CeleSaxe24 BMX assembly this week! A special thanks to our Saxe MS Phys Ed staff who was flexible with the shared space, too! It was a great show!
We are grateful for our Saxe PTC & all they do for our Saxe MS students! Celebrate Saxe 2024 has been fun for all & we appreciate everyone’s support! This year’s goal: updating our “common spaces”! Want to learn more? Check out all things Celebrate Saxe, here: https://saxeptc.org
The Celebrate Saxe 2024 Spirit just “leveled up”! Thanks to our SaxePTC for turning some of our Saxe Art projects into displayable signs for our main corridors!
Digital Wellness
Our students received their Yondr pouches this week after watching a short video on this initiative at Saxe Schools.
Day 1 of adding pouches to the Phone Free Schools went well at dismissal! Thank you (Click The Link To Watch!) to all who were involved in the planning, preparation, & execution of each phase of the plan to help students be mindful of their “digital wellness” & see opportunities for social interaction!
We are starting to see some creativity shine through as Saxe MS students personalize their pouches!
Our Saxe MS students have been doing a great job as we have been working toward healthy relationships with personal electronic devices/technology – we are proud of them!
Thanks to Ms. DiMeglio for helping to “Saxe-ify” our unlocking stations!
Thank you to Ms. Nicholas & her Saxe STEM students for going through the Design Thinking Process to imagine & bring to fruition a personal tech pouch unlocking station. This was a crowdsourced collaborative effort that helps our entire Saxe MS community – great teamwork!
Science
This week in Science Workshop, students were designing hats that would meet the needs of various users (firefighters, fishermen, construction workers, pilots, etc.). They explored the responsibilities of people in these roles and then developed a needs statement to focus on in their design process. After brainstorming ideas, they created prototypes in the Design Lab. Today, they presented their ideas, focusing on reflection and feedback.
(it’s great to see classes taking advantage of the outdoor learning spaces as well!)…
Grade 8 Social Studies
Students have been learning about the 3 branches of government and the Constitution. They created superhero cards for one of the branches.
October is…
ADHD Awareness Empowerment Month! Click here to learn more about how the ADHD Brain is wired for Innovation
Dyslexia Awareness Month! Click here to learn more about Dyslexia and the International Dyslexia Association’s resources.
Down Syndrome Awareness Month! Click here to learn more about Down Syndrome.
Rowing Club
The Saxe Rowing Club visited the New Canaan HS/Maritime rowing club on Saturday Oct 5th. Rowers got to experience being on the water rowing in “the barge”, several for the first time. They had a lot of fun on a bright sunny day with coaches Hank Ellett and Will Valdez.
Saxe (&, NCPS) in the News
Today in the New Canaanite… Congrats & thank you to our amazing staff who make this possible!
X
Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe Middle School page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
A special Saxe Birthday shoutout to S! And, a neat photo opp with her Mom (&, our very own Saxe MS Orchestra teacher, Ms. Dorfman)! Hope it’s the best bday, yet!
Saw a lot of positive messaging around Saxe MS this week… Inspirational, celebratory, fun, & much more! (I’m guessing the last one was our students favorite…).
One of my favorite practices each month at Saxe MS – handing out our Certificates of Gratitude where members of our school community recognize students or staff who have gone above & beyond to make someone feel special!
Thanks to Ms. Jarosik for helping our Saxe MS staff feel special on this random Wednesday! For no other reason than to bring a smile to people’s faces as they entered the Main Office – nice work! #Random Acts Of Kindness
The “Favorite Book Character” stars continue to grow outside the Saxe Library!
Thanks to our Saxe MS Main Office crew for these nice looking displays that share our new staff & what we “believe” in at school!
Some great “crowdsourced” strategies & crafts in Saxe ELA this week!
Thanks to Saxe MS 8Blue for sharing what makes them happy 😃… Family, friends, art, music, sports, and so much more. Way to celebrate the good things in life!
Mr. Tomasiewicz really challenged his Saxe Science students with this Meiosis Concept Map! Students will continue to reference & build upon this learning as they proceed…
Saxe Math students have many ways to demonstrate their learning & understanding… Love seeing the “visible thinking” processes in action!
Great combo of pencil/paper & tech in Saxe Math as students worked through formulas, area, volume, & more!
Pretty neat to see Saxe MS students demonstrate their growth in understanding of evolution in Saxe Science!
Some terrific new Saxe Art is on display around Saxe MS! Nice work by our students & thank you to our staff for putting it on display!
Saxe Yearbook Club has a terrific group of students who are already hard at work capturing what makes Saxe MS so special! Thanks to Ms. Mackenzie & Ms. Jarosik for providing this opportunity for our students!
My daughter Brooke shared this from an organization she has been involved in – couldn’t pass up a chance to post our mascot! Go Saxe Hawks!
Scenes Around Saxe
Not only was today a great day for Saxe Recess, but the fall foliage around our Saxe MS campus makes for some terrific scenery!
What a perfect day for some Pickleball out on the Saxe MS Hawk’s Courts! Thanks to Ms. Saab for providing this opportunity for our students through our Saxe Clubs!
Another “thank you!” to Ms. Jordan for keeping the flower pots outside Saxe MS looking great, all year long!
Thank you to our Saxe Custodians for keeping up with our outdoor spaces as we head into the fall season… We appreciate you keeping our campus spaces looking great!
Speaking of scenery around SaxeMS, here are a couple of early morning pics that act as a reminder that it’s worth taking a moment to look out the windows around the building – we are lucky!
Dogs of Saxe
Oakley made our morning at Saxe MS arrival today – thanks for the visit!
Great visit from one of our Dogs Of Saxe this morning!
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
