2026.1.23 – Saxe Weekly (#311)

January 23, 2026

Dear Saxe MS Family,

We are back into the swing of things as we round out our third week of school for 2026, have begun our third quarter, and somehow only have one week left in January! And, I’m not sure if anyone has been following any of the weather reports, but the weekend may turn our state into a snowglobe for a little while, (“maybe”) :). If that’s the case and you end up getting outside to enjoy the wonders of winter (building a snowman or “snow fort”, sledding, helping a neighbor shovel their driveway, going for a hike, or anything else that brings you joy), take a picture and share it with Ms. Jarosik (lisa.jarosik@ncps-k12.org) & me (david.gusitsch@ncps-k12.org) and we will include them in next weeks edition. Bonus points for including any pets!

As always, we appreciate you following along to experience some of the moments that we capture throughout the week. The goal is always to share as many snapshots of all of the exciting learning, experiences, and oftentimes, fun, that takes place over the course of any given week. We are proud of all of the opportunities that our students, staff, and families get to connect with, or be involved in, and enjoy sharing with you each week.

This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at the latest Saxe MS podcast edition, Winter Daytime Open House information, a cold-weather update, some “save the dates” for upcoming events, info on clubs & extracurriculars, a Lost & Found reminder, Math, Orchestra, snowy scenes in & around Saxe, gratitude, Workshop, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

1/29 Saxe 7/8 Band Concert – No Homework (7:00 pm)

2/2-6 Winter Daytime Open Houses (info below)

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Success is not in what you have, but who you are.” – Bo Bennett

“Discipline, consistency, and patience. If you lack these, you won’t grow.”– James Clear

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” — Dwayne Johnson

“Action is the fundamental key to success.” – Pablo Picasso

Saxe Jokes of the week:

Why did the music teacher need a ladder? Because the notes were too high!

What did the icy road say to the car? Want to go for a spin?

How do mountains stay warm in winter? They put on their snowcaps.

What is a snowman’s favorite drink? Iced tea.

Saxe Weekly: The Podcast

Interested in getting an overview of the latest Saxe Weekly in podcast form? Using Google’s Notebook LM, we are able to offer an option to listen to all of the great “goings on” in our school community while you are “on the go”, with the Saxe MS Podcast (link coming soon)! We invite you to give it a listen… Enjoy!

Note: We have been using Notebook LM to create our podcast for the past couple of months, and recently, noticed the “create an image – infographic” option. It’s a pretty neat representation of the latest Saxe Weekly and may become part of our weekly update – enjoy!

Winter Daytime Open House

We always look forward to opportunities where we are able to open our doors and invite parents into the space that their children spend so much of their day/lives in! The message below was sent out earlier this week with detailed information for each grade-level and team. We will send reminders out as the dates get closer, but we look forward to seeing many of you in the building the week after next!

Dear Saxe MS Grade Parents/Guardians,
You are invited to attend our 2026 Winter Daytime Open House during the week of February 2nd – 6th, 2026. The schedule below depicts the specific day, date, time, and location for each respective grade/team. Teams will host their program within their respective team classroom areas, so you are able to see the physical space that your children spend a large portion of their day in! For parents who are unable to attend during the scheduled time, slides will be made available to show the content that was covered.
During the scheduled session (approx 35-40 mins.), your child’s core teachers will share learning and experiences that have taken place on their respective team, combined with an overview of what students have to look forward to during the upcoming spring semester at Saxe. Part of our goal is to articulate our approach in promoting a well-rounded, academically, socially, and physically safe learning environment where students are encouraged to explore, “struggle” (trial & error), grow, and appreciate the incredible process of learning, along with their peers and teachers.
Due to limited parking on campus, the Lower Level Entrance (a.m. drop-off/p.m. bus loop) will be available for parking. There may also be a few spots open in the Lower Parking Lot by the playground/fields, 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, grade-level administrator, or me.

* Please note: parking may be restricted in the Lower Loop during arrival for Intermediate students between 8:50 – 9:15…

Cold Weather Update

With the extended cold snap that we are experiencing, we thought it would be a good idea to share how decisions are made based on permitting students to go outside for recess or activities. Below is the message that was sent out earlier in the week:

Greetings Saxe MS Parents,

As we head into a “colder than normal” stretch of weather over the next couple of weeks, we thought it was worthwhile to share how we make decisions whether our students are permitted to go outside for recess. It is always our goal to have this option for our students, and many students look forward to this time each day, but we always ensure the option is a safe one based on current conditions.

Each day, we consult with our School Nurse, who checks our local temperature, wind chill, and “feels like” temp to make the final determination that we are not in an unsafe zone for the limited time (15-20 minutes) that students would be outside. Below is an example of the chart that is used. Once we determine it is safe, it is ultimately always up to each student to choose whether they would like to go out during recess.

Please note: we use the same resource to ensure safety on hot days, too.

Regardless, it is always good for students to dress appropriately for the cold weather (layers, etc.) to navigate the frosty temps during travel for arrival and dismissal, and due to the fact that temperatures may vary slightly throughout the day/building. Being the parent of teenagers, and seeing our students each day, we understand that tolerance to cold weather varies greatly (those who always like to wear shorts &/or t-shirts 🙂 ). This is just a friendly “fyi” & reminder to have a conversation with your child, if appropriate. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

With that being said, we provide opportunities to get out & get some fresh air whenever possible!

As posted on X: Despite the colder than normal temps this week, Hawk’s Court still got some good use by the Saxe MS morning crew & tons of students during Saxe Recess!

Orchestra

The 7th-grade Orchestra started their set off in impressive fashion with Richard Meyer’s “Terra Nova” – congrats to all!

Congrats to the 8th-Grade Orchestra on a marvelous set during the Saxe MS Winter Concert! Enjoy a little/impressive snippet of “Pirates of the Caribbean”(Click the link to listen!)… A special thanks & congrats to Orchestra Directors, Ms. Dorfman & Ms. Harris – Bravo!

Mandarin Event Posters

The performance task of the grade 7 (G7) Mandarin classes gives students the opportunity to showcase their language skills while making connections to real life events. Students are very excited to design their own Saxe extracurricular event posters in Mandarin with collaborative group work. The events from Valentine’s Day dance party, G7 talent show, football or squash practice, to swimming club and cheer leader participation are vividly presented on each group’s posters, as if it is a creative gallery flow with words, characters and image design. Thank you for reviewing the photos to witness our students’ joy of learning the Chinese language!

8th to 9th Orientation

Last week, we shared resources and information from the Transition Meeting that was held in collaboration with the NCHS Guidance and Administrative teams. Soon after our return from the February break, students and parents are invited to experience all that NCHS has to offer with the “Incoming 9th-Grade Student & Parent Orientation”. Save the date, March 5th, for an event that showcases what makes New Canaan High School one of the best high schools in the state of Connecticut, and beyond!

If you are looking for any information regarding the middle to high school transition at any point, please visit our website “Saxe 8/9 Transition” page…

National “Unplugged” Day

It is no surprise to anyone that we are all surrounded by screens and digital mediums throughout most of our days. Technology is not necessarily “bad”, but just like anything else, moderation is important to consider. This is one of the reasons our phone-free schools approach has been well-receieved as we know it ultimately improves the overall wellness of our students. As a school (and, district), we recognize there is a healthy balance that needs to be struck and technology should be used to enrich learning or provide experiences that otherwise may not be possible without its use. Frequently, not using tech is the better option and one that we still thoughtfully plan for on a consistent basis. Coming up in March, we are planning to participate in the National “Unplugged” Day, which will include information, research, and ideas to enjoy living screen free (where appropriate/possible)! Stay tuned for more to come…

Saxe MS Clubs & Extracurriculars

We are proud to offer such a wide-ranging offering of club and extra-curricular activities for our Saxe MS students! They are a great way to follow a passion, connect with the school community in unique or different ways, and just have some plain old have fun! Below is a *tentative list of activities that will be run during the upcoming spring session, which will begin the week before our February break. Stay tuned for more details, we will send reminders out in the coming weeks!

*Please note: Clubs listed above are not guaranteed to run. Most will, but all clubs are attendance dependent. We try to run as many as possible, but if attendance does not warrant it, some will close out. Thanks for understanding!

Lost & Found

Just a friendly reminder to stop by, or have your child(ren) check out, the continually growing inventory of Lost & Found items. There are tables and racks full of shirts, jackets, shoes, water bottles, folders, bags, lunch boxes, and so much more… Many of these items have names on them and will be easily identifiable, all you have to do is look! All items that remain at the end of the month will be carefully packaged and respectfully donated to a local organization to get a new lease on life 🙂

Note: the Lost & Found is located in the hallway directly between the Cafeteria and Auxiliary Gymnasium.

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

Fun to see some refreshed “Gratitude Slips” around the Saxe MS Main Office. These are a great way to spread a little joy & makes someone’s day!

It was a delight to listen in on this focused group of Saxe MS students during Ms. Reed’s Workshop class. They studied this busy photo & hypothesized what exactly was going on in the “Bodega Comedy Club” before the “big reveal”. Some interesting insights & creative thinking!

Math

It’s always fun to see the different/unique ways our Saxe MS students work through problems in Saxe Math classes! And, thanks to Ms. Martin for sharing a little insight on the steps/process for this particular example…

There were some “snowy scenes” inside Saxe MS this week, too!… Here are just a couple of the seasonal bulletin boards that have been updated to reflect the winter vibe!

Scenes around Saxe

Some snowy scenes around Saxe MS from this week… If the forecast lives up to the hype for this weekend, we may be seeing a lot more than this next week!

Normally, we catch the sunrise at Saxe MS but this sunset before the Orchestra concert was beyond amazing! (Pics don’t do it justice…).

Have a great weekend, see you next week!

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)