2026.1.30 – Saxe Weekly (#312)

January 30, 2026

Dear Saxe MS Family,

As we round out the first month of 2026, it is my hope that you have kept warm while “enjoying” this seasonal weather! This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at National School Counseling Week, the latest Saxe MS podcast, a special thanks to our custodial and maintenance staff, PE, “Continuing Education”, Daytime Open House (DOH), Saxe Spirit, Saxe in the News, a lost & found reminder, some snow day fun, Band, Library, scenes around Saxe, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

Be Well,

Dave Gusitsch

Principal, Saxe Middle School

Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:

2/2-6 School Counselor Appreciation Week

2/2 8:55 – 7 Red DOH 11:20 – 8 Red DOH

2/3 8:55 – 7 Purple DOH 11:20 – 8 Green DOH

2/5 8:55 – 7 Blue DOH 11:20 – 8 Purple DOH

2/6 8:55 – 7 Green DOH 11:20 – 8 Blue DOH

2/6 Sport Spirit Day (wear your fav jersey/shirt/outfit!)

Please note:in addition to the dates/times listed above, more specific/detailed information for the Daytime Open Houses is included in the Weekly itself. We will also send out reminders the morning of each respective open house. We look forward to seeing many of you join us in the building next week!

*Quotes that resonated with us this week:

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.” —Helen Keller

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.”– Abigail Adams

“When one teaches, two learn.” ― Robert Heinlein

“Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth.”-Chanakya

Saxe Jokes of the week:

What do you call a photo taken at the North Pole? A polar-oid.

What do you call a ghost in the winter? Casp-brrr.

What did the police officer say to the snowman when he got caught stealing? FREEZE?

Can a horse join the army? No, the Neigh-vy.

National School Counseling Week

School counselors are the heart of our school—listening, encouraging, and guiding students to be their very best. During School Counselors Week, we thank Ms. Beltran, Mr. Lepisto, and Ms. Nettleton for their kindness, patience, and the countless ways they support students, families, and our school community every day.

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! 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!

A Special Thanks

Depending on the personal property situations in our lives, we all have varying degrees of responsibility to clean up after a storm like this last one. Some have cars to clean off, some have driveways to clear, some have sidewalks, some have decks with steps, some lucky ones have kids or services that help, and others are just able to enjoy it from inside and not have to worry about cleaning up. I love the winter, am typically fine with the cold, and don’t mind a good ‘ol fashion snow storm. This last one gave me a run for my money. It was A LOT of snow to clear… I know I wasn’t the only one who casually commented about sore muscles on Tuesday and I live in a modest home with some property that I try to clear to make sure our dogs can get out for their “outdoor activities”. Here is where the “special thanks” comes in… While we collectively finished clearing up around our respective homes, our dedicated maintenance and custodial teams cleared out their own homes and then did an amazing job making sure our ENTIRE campus was clear and safe for our return! What an incredible job they did and we could not be more grateful to these members of our school community – thank you!

Saxe PE

It may be cold out there but the action is heating up in the gym with nonstop movement! Students in 7th and 8th grade PE are working on teamwork, fitness and skills through basketball, team handball, and broomball.

“Continuing Education”

Our district’s educators are continually learning and growing to better support your children, and the photos that follow highlight teachers from across our schools participating in our Inquiry and Engagement Academy (PRAC course). This graduate-level, three-month professional learning course brings teachers together weekly to strengthen inquiry-based teaching, deepen student engagement, and bring thoughtful, research-based practices into the classroom for the benefit of every learner. We are thrilled to have educators span the pre-K-12 experience.

Saxe Daytime Open House

Here are the messages that were sent out in recent weeks:

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…

Saxe Spirit

Friday, February 6th is Saxe Sport Spirit Day! Not a football fan? No problem! Wear your favorite hockey or soccer jersey! We don’t care who you root for, just show your team spirit! We would like to take photos for a spread in the yearbook, so the more people showing spirit, the better!

Saxe in the News

Congratulations to Alice Kalinovsky on the 7 Blue Team! She recently won two International Piano Competitions—receiving Second Place in December and First Place in January. Last Saturday, January 24th, Alice performed alongside other award recipients at a Gala concert at Carnegie Hall. What an amazing achievement!

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.

Snow Day Fun

We heard a ton of stories of the fun that was had following the recent storm – hear are a few pics!

Here is a pic of me clearing the driveway where my wife “recreated” a photo from 15 years ago and this past weekend, with my son looking out the same window checking out the action (he did come out and help, too 🙂 ).

And, our dog Melvern loves the snow!

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

Congrats to the Saxe MS Jazz Band for kicking off the Winter Band Concert (Click to listen!) in a hip, groovy manner – nice work!

The Saxe MS 7th-Grade Band played a terrific three song set, including the apropos “Toboggan Run” by Conaway! Nice job & congrats to all involved!

A huge thanks to Mr. Whitlock for running all the sophisticated tech in the Saxe MS auditorium to ensure the performances look & sound the best they can be!

The Saxe MS 8th-graders round out the Winter Band Concert with an enthusiastic rendition of Standridge’s “Snowscape” (perfect for the recent CT weather)! Congrats to all involved!

If you closed your eyes & listened to the Saxe MS (Check it out!) band concert, you would never believe you were listening to middle schoolers… It’s amazing how impressive they sound – congrats again to all!

Learning isn’t just for students here at Saxe MS! This dedicated group of professionals have embarked on the “Inquiry & Engagement Academy” journey, led by Ms. Hanna & Ms. Meyer. It’s hard to not be inspired by this dedicated group & I look forward to seeing them grow together!

The Saxe Library board has been updated & it’s sending our SaxeMS students on an international journey! Thanks to our dedicated Library staff who keep these displays fresh, interactive, & engaging for all to enjoy!

Flexible seating options often make a positive difference as our Saxe MS students work independently. They may look like they are close together, but you could “feel the focus” & hear a pin drop during this part of the lesson!

When our Saxe MS students get to choose topics that are of interest, it’s fascinating to see the wide range of selections that become part of their conversations!

Scenes around Saxe

Got snow?! We certainly got plenty around Saxe MS this week!

Dogs Of Saxe

Sometimes, Ms. Orlando decides to spoil some of our Dogs Of Saxe with a biscuit… This one is so well trained, he barks as they round the corner in anticipation of a treat – so sweet!

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)