2025.1.17 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

January 17, 2025

Dear Saxe MS Family,

As we complete our second full week of 2025, I hope your goals for the new year have stayed as strong as the first day of the year. I continue to strive for quality sleep, and it is going very well so far! There is something to be said about “putting your goals out there” for accountability, and I have found this helpful. Whether it is a formal “accountability partner”, or just a quick conversation with someone you are close with, give it a try! Beyond goals, I just want to publicly express a deep level of gratitude for our entire school community (students, staff, parents), and the community of New Canaan. It is an honor to serve in an environment with such caring people who are so dedicated to a common goal of being the best we can be, regardless of the circumstances. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this week be as successful as possible. You are appreciated…

The learning, collaboration, experiences, and growth that we are accustomed to seeing on a daily basis all continued this week. In the latest edition of the Saxe Weekly, we share some snapshots by taking a look at Robotics, Shark Tank, Science, Music, Staff Spotlight: Campus Monitors, Daytime Open House Reminder, South Share-a-Story, the “Believe Wall”, a “shout out” to our custodians, Scenes around Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful long weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

1/17 – End of Quarter 2

1/20 – Martin Luther King’s Day – No School (enjoy!)

1/22 – Saxe Orchestra Concert – 7:00 pm

2/3-7 “Save the Date” – Daytime Open House (more info below…)

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”-Marilyn Monroe

“A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.”-Helen Keller

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy — I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” —Art Williams

“Never let the fear of striking out stop you from playing the game.” —Babe Ruth

Saxe Jokes:

Why didn’t the rope get any presents? Because it was knotty!

What do you give a thirsty crocodile? Gater-aid!

What animal is always at a baseball game? A bat.

What is the name of the horse next door? Neigh-bor!

Robotics

The 8th Grade Robotics Workshop students completed their Ambulance Deserts challenge, they explored other varieties of robots by designing and playing Sphero Bolt soccer. Students used school devices to connect to and control the Sphero Bolts. This engaging activity not only provided inspiration but honed their programming and collaboration skills in a fun, competitive environment. By blending play and innovation, the workshop encourages students to continue to explore the world of robotics beyond the classroom.

Shark Tank

This week, our 7th grade students in STEM Workshop wrapped up an exciting “Shark Tank” style project, showcasing their hard work and creativity. Throughout this project, students applied the design thinking process to tackle real-world problems, gaining hands-on experience with coding, 3D printing, design, and building prototypes. This project not only allowed students to practice valuable STEM skills but also encouraged teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation. While all the projects were innovative and creative, three impressive projects made it to the final round: Disco Dog Leash, Mopper Walker, and One Line at a Time. After careful consideration, the Mopper Walker, an innovative solution to help kids walk and clean at the same time, was selected as the winning project. Congratulations to all the teams for their dedication and ingenuity!

Science

8 Purple students are examining motion graphs to understand displacement and velocity. They needed to analyze a complex motion and replicate it using motion sensor software.

Eighth-grade students are 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. The data led to great discussions and a lot of new questions for future investigations.

Music

Our band students are making incredible progress with their Scale Pass-Off Challenge! These talented musicians have been hard at work mastering their 12 major scales, and their dedication is on full display on our Pass-Off Board. Congratulations to all the students who have already passed off so many scales — your hard work and practice are paying off! Keep up the amazing effort as we continue to grow and improve together. Up next is the CHALLENGE SERIES! Thank you to Ms. Frazier and her Music colleagues for providing this fun and rewarding opportunity for their students!

Saxe MS Staff Spotlight: Campus Monitors

Our Campus Monitor team at Saxe plays a big part in fostering a safe and welcoming environment within our school community. In addition to being key members of our safety and security team, they provide additional supervision of hallways, common areas, and outdoor spaces, supporting our goal of a positive school environment for our students and staff. Beyond promoting physical safety, our campus monitors also establish positive relationships with students, parents, and families and are present not only during school hours, but for events that occur beyond school hours as well (concerts, plays, extracurricular events, and more). Thank you to Sid, Robyn, and Jeremy – we are grateful for the role that you play at Saxe Middle School!

Fun facts about our Campus Monitors:

Mr. Sid Formica was a Correctional Officer in Bridgeport before coming to Saxe. He loves Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey bars, and dogs!

Mr. Jeremy Perry was an Arizona State Trooper for 20 years. He is also a retired Reservist serving 11 years in the Marines and 10 years in the Navy. He has a new Jack Russell Terrier puppy and loves M&M’s!

Ms. Robyn Haschak was a Judicial Marshal for 22 years in Stamford. She is an avid Disney and NY Yankees fan!

Save the Date

We will hold our Winter Daytime Open House the first week of February. It is a great opportunity to welcome our parents into the space that your children spend so much time in on a daily basis to hear a recap of the first semester and a look ahead for the second semester. We are hopeful that advance notice will allow people to make any necessary schedule adjustments, but also recognize that not all parents will be able to attend during the day. For those who are not able to join, we will make all of the slides/information available and as always, teachers and counselors will be happy to answer any questions. For those who are able to attend, we look forward to seeing you then!

LEGO Donations

Looking to offload any LEGOs? Our Innovation Spaces are a hub of innovation where students explore engineering, creativity, and problem-solving. To enhance their hands-on learning experiences, we are seeking donations of LEGOs. LEGOs are an incredible tool for fostering creativity and teaching design principles. Whether it’s a small box of bricks or a set gathering dust at home, your contributions will help spark innovation in our students’ projects. Donations can be dropped off at the Saxe MS Main Office. Every piece—big or small—makes a huge difference! Thank you for your support in inspiring the next generation of creators and problem-solvers 🙂

Grade 8 to Grade 9 Transition Coffee

Last week, we shared information and resources for parents beginning to navigate the grade 8 to grade 9 transition. In addition to the “transition site” and the slides that were shared, the video of the session that was held last week has been updated (also posted on the transition site…). As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your child’s School Counselor, Dr. Ferreira, or Mr. Gusitsch.

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

The interior paint phases continue at Saxe MS with the latest being our front, (exterior visible), stairwell… It’s shaping up nicely & we are grateful for this “refresh”!

It’s amazing what a fresh cost of paint will do, especially in one of the most highly traveled, & visible, spaces at Saxe MS. It’s shaping up nicely & we are grateful for everyone involved – thank you!

8th-grade Saxe MS students explore (Click the links to watch!) different amounts of mass while measuring speed & acceleration (using some pretty high-tech methods)… Not only were they learning a great deal, they were having fun doing it!

It won’t be long until the next harvest from the Saxe MS “Grow Tower”! Amazing…

In addition to the day to day learning & experiments in Saxe Science, the plants they have learned about continue to grow nicely!

Thank you the Saxe Sustainability Club for inviting me in to hear about their proposal for a spring plant sale program that will span several weeks & community events. Good things are in the works with this dedicated group – stay tuned!

In addition to thanking our teachers for the Saxe Shark Tank experience, we also want to thank the student audience (who were great) & of course, the Sharks! This quarter, we had a teacher, parent, admin, & 2 8th-graders who participated last year – what a great panel!

Congrats to our Saxe Shark Tank finalists who presented to their peer audience this week… The ideas, presentations, & products con’t to amaze & impress even some of the most seasoned “sharks”! Thx to our teachers who collaborate to make this experience possible for our sts!

While I love being in classrooms all around Saxe MS, this is one of my favorite events each year! Thank you to South School for inviting members of the community in to read to your students, it is such a fun opportunity to see & interact with our “future Saxe Hawks”!

The Saxe MS “Believe Wall” continues to expand with positive quotes & messages that are great reminders for students & staff alike!

Scenes around Saxe

It may not have been a lot of snow, but our fabulous Saxe Custodians were out bright & early making sure the walkways were clear & safe for all. Thank you, you’re the BEST!

This week brought some nice “Scenes around Saxe MS”!

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)