2025.2.7 – Saxe Weekly – The Saxe weekly

February 7, 2025

Dear Saxe MS Family,

This week was one for the “winter books” as it has been a while since we have had a delay and snow day in the same week! That didn’t hold us back one bit as you will see throughout the latest edition of our Saxe Weekly. This week, we take a look at Math, Black History Month, our spectacular School Counselors, Digital Wellness, Winter Daytime Open House info, Spring Club sign-ups, a Yearbook reminder, an NCHS “save the date” for 8th-graders, some snow day fun, some extracurricular recognition, scenes around Saxe, a birthday serenade, tons of “believin’”, gratitude, some serious Super-Bowl spirit, Start with Hello, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful, snowy, “Super” weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

2/10 – Daytime Open House: 8:55 7 Red, 11:20 8 Red

2/11 – Daytime Open House: 8:55 7 Blue, 11:20 8 Purple

2/14 – No School – Happy February Break!

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”-Harriet Tubman

“Keep taking time for yourself until you’re you again.”-Lalah Delia

“A little progress each day adds up to big results.”–Satya Nani

“Today is the first page of a new book. Make it a good story!”-Unknown

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese Proverb

Saxe jokes to “keep it light” and get a laugh each day:

What do astronauts like to read? Comet books!

What is a cat’s favorite color? Purrrr-ple

Have you seen the sweater my grandmother made me? It’s pretty knit!

What does a house wear? Address!

Why was the little ant confused? Because all his uncles where aunts

Math

Mrs. Prinz’s Algebra class collaborated in groups to discover solutions to systems of linear inequalities. They discovered how to graph linear inequalities and determine solution sets, particularly when using real world applications.

Mrs. Prinz’s Pre-Algebra class is discovering patterns among linear equations. Students are making connections between the visual aspects of the graphs compared with the context of a real world situation.

Black History Month

Throughout the month of February, we will recognize important African American members of our community at large. This week, we celebrate the life and work of Mark E. Dean – our lives, and society in general, would not be the same without his contributions!

School Counseling

National School Counseling Week 2025, “School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive,” is celebrated February 3-7, 2025, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. Please join in recognizing the incredible contributions that Sarah, Brad, and Tammy make to our school community. Their dedication goes far beyond “check-ins and meetings” — they are compassionate professionals who truly make a difference in our students’ lives every single day. Thank you Ms. Beltran, Mr. Lepisto, and Ms. Nettleton for all that you do!

Mr. Lepsito, Mrs. Nettleton & Mrs. Beltran

And, they even got “national recognition” from our Association of Middle Level Education!

Digital Wellness

In addition to our school environment feeling safe for every single one of our students, our school climate goal also includes a focus on “digital wellness”. One definition of “digital wellness” is: the practice of promoting healthy and balanced relationships with digital technologies, such as smartphones, computers, and social media. It aims to minimize the negative impacts of excessive or unhealthy digital usage on physical, mental, and social well-being.

We recognize these are powerful tools and the impact they have on our day-to-day (even moment-to-moment) lives is real. As a school community, we are hyper-aware and continually working to keep a healthy balance of using technology to enhance the learning experience and putting devices away to interact with peers and/or the “real-world”. Below are excerpts from an article that was shared this week and links for those interested in reading more:

Catherine Price (author of “How to Break Up With Your Phone”), says she agrees with Jonathan Haidt, author of “The Anxious Generation”, in advocating limits on young people’s access to technology and

social media – and stressing the importance of “more independence, responsibility, fun, and

real-life friendship for our kids.” But it’s not just kids’ screen time we need to worry about; “it’s the phone-based life,” says Price. “While children and teenagers are suffering the most from the negative effects of social media and too much screen time; their parents – and frankly, all adults – are as well.”

Price recently revised and updated her book, and in this article shares her five-step plan for building a healthier relationship with our phones, supporting others who have the same goal, setting a positive example for kids, and being kind to ourselves on the journey:

• Step 1: Define what you want

• Step 2: Reconnect with real life

• Step 3: Make your phone boring

• Step 4: Create phone-free spaces

• Step 5: Start and end the day on your own terms

Escaping cellphone addiction won’t be easy, concludes Price, and she recommends staying in touch with a “phone breakup buddy” for mutual support. If you lapse, she says, don’t be too hard on yourself: “Notice what happened and decide how you want to move forward. The mere fact that you realized you slipped means that you’re succeeding. Keep it up, and not only will you feel like you’re modeling the behaviors you’re trying to instill in your kids, but eventually you’ll find yourself with a new relationship with your device that reflects what you already know in your heart: the best parts of life don’t happen on a screen.”

“Are You Struggling with Your Own Screen Time?” by Catherine Price in After Babel,

January 29, 2025

For more information or to order the book, click on the links above. A healthy relationship with our digital technology is an ongoing process, for all of us. We will continue to encourage our school community to make the best decisions to help with those healthy relationships. If you happened to read this entire piece, you are doing well – keep up the great work!

Winter Daytime Open House

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Winter Daytime Open Houses this week (and, thank you for your flexibility with the ones that needed to be rescheduled for next week)! Below are the dates and times for the upcoming sessions and slide decks for the presentations that have already been held. As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s teacher, counselor, or grade-level administrator.

Tuesday, 2/4	Friday, 2/7	Monday, 2/10	Tuesday, 2/11
8:55 a.m.G7: Green TeamRoom #: 1447 Green Slides	8:55 a.m.G7: Purple TeamRoom #: 105 7 Purple Slides	8:55 a.m.G7: Red TeamRoom #: 102PS Link: coming soon!	8:55 a.m.G7: Blue TeamRoom #:111PS Link: coming soon!
11:20 a.m.G8: Green TeamRoom #: 163 8 Green Slides	11:20 a.m.G8: Blue TeamRoom #: 2098 Blue Slides	11:20 a.m.G8: Red TeamRoom #: 200PS Link: coming soon!	11:20 a.m.G8: Purple TeamRoom #: 221PS Link: coming soon!

Clubs & Extracurriculars

A huge “thank you” to Ms. Jarosik for coordinating our Spring Club & Extracurricular session! Please see the message that she sent out earlier today:

Grade 7/8 After School Activities are now open for sign ups! They will begin on Monday, February 10th and end on Friday, June 6th, 2025 (a few clubs will begin the week of February 24th but are marked as such). You can find a copy of the brochure and the sign up link on the Saxe Website and I have attached them as well below. Please email me if you have any questions at Lisa.Jarosik@ncps-k12.org. Have a wonderful weekend!

Saxe After School Clubs Brochure

Saxe After School Club Sign Up Link

Yearbook

8th Grade Yearbook Ad Reminder! Ads for the 8th-grade students close on the 13th, but we are requesting that you add them in as soon as you can because it may add more pages to the yearbook. Thank you for your help!

Save the Date

Calling all 8th-graders and families… Be sure to put March 4th on your calendar to experience all that NCHS has to offer, and, all that you have to look forward to next year!

Snow Day Fun

Thanks to all who sent in pictures of your “snow day fun”!

MathCounts

Congrats to all the students who competed at the Mathcounts competition over the weekend at Fairfield University. Good luck at states!

NCHS Color Drop

On Saturday, the New Canaan Scholarship Foundation kicked off its fundraising campaign with the Chevy Colorado truck making its grand entrance from Karl Chevrolet to the Farm Road intersection, escorted by a parade of fire trucks, police vehicles, and EMS. All five school mascots joined the ride, bringing extra spirit, excitement, and energy! Thank you to everyone who came out to support the event! Click here to purchase a golf ball.

Saxe in the News

The Saxe 7th/8th grade squash team has just returned from the Middle School Squash Nationals in Philadelphia. It was an exciting weekend! We brought two teams and the boys played well against some tough competition from all over the country.

Congratulations to Charlotte Edwards, for her accomplishment at the US National Indoor Rowing Championships held on February 1st. Charlotte, pictured with her teammate, Eloise Healy, won a gold medal in the regional championship in Pittsburgh, PA. Overall Charlotte came in third Nationally, winning a Bronze medal, with a time of 8:07, only 6 seconds behind the gold medalist

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

Thank you to our Saxe MS Custodial & Maintenance teams, along with New Canaan DPW, for having our campus ready & safe following the 2-hour delay to start the week… You are appreciated & we are grateful for your work!

Whenever there’s snow, our Saxe Custodians make sure there are clear paths & walkways around the entire campus so everyone can access the building safe & sound. Thank you, your work is greatly appreciated!

Huge shoutout to our Saxe Custodians for all they do for our school community! Here’s what their hard work translates to… Had they not cleared this space, it would have been a sheet of ice. Instead, our Saxe MS students were able to get out enjoy some fresh air the next day!

Walking the halls around Saxe MS & came across this impromptu Saxe Science “learning station”… Love that our students & teachers feel comfortable & take advantage of the many spaces around the building!

When you hear a loud commotion in the Saxe MS cafeteria & turn around to hear multiple tables singing “Happy Birthday” to one of their classmates!

Thank you to our Saxe SRO, Officer Blank, for gifting this “Believe” rock this week! Not only is it our Saxe MS “1-word” for 2024-25, it reminds our students & staff to reflect on all we have to be grateful for!

And, some more “Believe” statements from throughout the week… Thank you to Ms. Orlando for sharing a few random samples that help make the “Believe Wall” the great display that it is… Each week, it continues to grow with good reminders of “what makes us, us” & all that we have to be grateful for!

8Green updated their board with some great reminders about all we have to great grateful for in ourselves, family, & community! Here are just a few…

Great turnout for the Saxe MS 8Blue Winter Daytime Open House! Math, Science, SS, & ELA teachers & counselors covered a ton & did a great job reminding parents how wonderful their children are… (Worth noting: it’s hard to deny Mr. Chard’s passion as he explains graphing F=MA)!

Great turnout for the Saxe MS 7Purple Winter Daytime Open House! Not only was curriculum & content discussed, but our teachers did a great job reminding parents how wonderful their children are… We enjoy spending time with them, each day!

Good morning, Saxe MS! Just a reminder, 7Purple & 8Blue teams will be hosting their Winter Daytime Open Houses today. We look forward to all who are able to join!

*Note: due to weather related schedule changes, 7Red/8Red will be on Monday & 7Blue & 8Purple will be on Tuesday…

Neat to see our Saxe Art students out & about around the building viewing, examining, & discussing different pieces of art made by other Saxe MS students. Can’t wait to see what this group will create!

Looking forward to seeing some serious spirit around Saxe MS this Friday!

Who’s gonna win this weekend?! We had a little fun with some of our Eagles & Chiefs fans at Saxe MS today… Good luck (Click to watch!) to both teams & to all the fans out there, enjoy the big game!

Thank you to our Saxe MS 8Green teachers & counselors for helping make the Winter Daytime Open House such an informative, positive experience for our Saxe MS parents!

Thank you to our Saxe MS 7Green teachers & counselors for helping make the Winter Daytime Open House such an informative, positive experience for our Saxe MS parents!

We are looking forward to our Saxe MS “Start with Hello” week as we lead up to the February break… Thanks to all who are helping make this possible!

We are grateful for our Saxe MS School Counselors, Ms. Beltran, Mr. Lepisto, & Ms. Nettleton! Thank you for ALL that you do for our students & school community. You are appreciated!

This quote is too good to not include:

Whether it was Leo at Saxe MS morning drop off, or Cali, Melvern, & Tommy at home on the snow day, our Dogs Of Saxe brought us great joy 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)