May 29, 2026
Dear Saxe MS Family,
It’s the end of May? Already?! The week may have only been four days due to the recent Memorial Day holiday, but we packed in some serious action into each one of those days! This week in the Saxe Weekly, we take a look at the latest Saxe MS Podcast, Advisory, Digital Wellness, Spring Band Concert, field trip info, Yearbook Club, some Saxe birthdays, Heritage Month, Hawks Gazette, positive reflections, outer space equipment, Dogs of Saxe, and much more. Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!
Be Well,
Dave Gusitsch
Principal, Saxe Middle School
Upcoming Noteworthy Dates:
6/4 Saxe 7/8 Spring Choir Concert (7 pm) – No Homework
*Quotes that resonated with us this week:
“The expert in anything was once a beginner.” —Unknown
“The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” — Malcolm Forbes
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”-Unknown
“Every champion started as a beginner once”-Unknown
Saxe Jokes of the week:
What does May put on its pancakes? May-ple syrup
What is the fastest ride at the carnival? Most people would say it is the roller coaster, but the carousel has the most horsepower!”
What did the digital clock say to its mom? “Look, Ma—no hands!”
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!
Advisory
This week at Saxe MS, we held our final Advisory session. 76 (!) small groups, made up of our entire student body and staff, met with an adult over the course of the year to build community & have fun! There were games, reflections, advice shared, smiles, laughs, & unifying/whole school activities, indoors & out. Below are a few pics to enjoy… Thanks to All!
Mr. Chard’s group playing spoons…
Mr. Lepisto’s group got up and moving!
Ms. Kiley’s group took advantage of a gorgeous day and got students up and moving, outside!
Mr. D’Alton jumped in for some beachball fun with their group!
Ms. Perretti’s group spent some time reflecting on their experience in 7th-grade and left enough time for some heads-up 7-up – classic!
Mr. Gusitsch’s class shared some memories from the school year and then got out to get some fresh air and vitamin D!
And, here’s a group shot of our Advisory group from the first session & last session (then & now)… Lots of meaningful experiences filled the time between! Thanks to this special group (&, all) of our Saxe MS students for helping make this such a terrific year!
September, 2025:
May, 2026:
Digital Wellness
During Workshop at Saxe MS today, 7th-graders reflected on & discussed digital wellness, responsible online behavior & decision making, being good digital citizens, & how to work on being our best selves online & IRL (in real life). All important skills in an ever-changing world!
Here are multiple Workshop classes reflecting on responsible online behavior & overall digital wellness in the upstairs Library space…
The auditorium at Saxe MS (Click the link to listen!) is filled up & the Jazz Band is kicking off the Spring Band Concert in style!
Congrats to Ms. Frazier & the Saxe MS 7th-grade band on terrific performances of Pixels, Djembe Laya, & Fireball! Bravo!
The Jazz & Percussion interludes were a nice touch to the show… Congrats to Mr. Zeiser & all of his Saxe MS students!
The Saxe MS 8th-grade Band kicked off their set with Squirrel Chase… How FUN & they sounded terrific!
Squirrel photos added for effect; originally sent from my daughter Brooke, who recently completed her freshman year at Michigan State University, where the squirrels on campus are friendly and beloved by all (Go Green!)…
8th-grade rounded out the Spring Concert with Moscow, 1941 & Arabian Dancers… Great show all around – congrats to all involved! Bravo!
Thanks, as always, to Mr. Whitlock & Mr. Antinou, for operating the incredible audio, visual, & lighting systems that we are so fortunate to have in our Saxe MS auditorium! Every show sounds & looks better because of your knowledge & expertise!
Upcoming Field Trips
Grade 7: Holiday Hill – On Tuesday, June 9th, our 7th grade will be going to Holiday Hill in Cheshire for their end-of-the-year field trip! Holiday Hill is located in the central Connecticut countryside and is a beautiful 200-acre resort that has been providing first-class food, service, facilities and entertainment. Please see the flyer below for the food menu and available activities. We will be leaving Saxe around 8:10 am and returning around 3:15 pm (after regular dismissal), so please make arrangements for transportation home. The cost of the trip is $105 and can be paid on MySchoolBucks here. If the cost of the trip is prohibitive in any way, please contact your child’s counselor as we want every student to join in this special class trip. We are looking forward to a fantastic day!
Grade 8: Brownstone Adventure Park
This year for our 8th-grade trip, we will be returning to Brownstone Adventure Sports Park in Portland, CT, on June 11th. The 8th-grade class will be able to enjoy a fun-filled day of swimming, ziplining, rock climbing, and a variety of other activities at one of Connecticut’s best water parks! Students should prepare for a day outside and bring or wear the following: bathing suits, towels, sunscreen, water shoes, etc. Given the nature of the activities, students should feel comfortable wearing a t-shirt/swim shirt and/or shorts over their swimsuits (note: life preservers are required to be worn at all times, and are provided by the venue). If they are planning to do rock climbing, sneakers or climbing shoes are required. Students may bring a bag lunch or purchase one at the snack bar. Based on previous experiences, the lines to purchase lunch can be quite long, so packing a bag lunch is suggested. Bag lunches should not have glass bottles or any peanut products. To avoid loss, theft, or damage, we strongly encourage students to leave their cell phones at home. If students choose to bring them, they should be powered down and stored in their bags, and/or secured in the on-site lockers that are available to rent. Chaperones will have a phone in the event of an emergency, and communication will be sent to parents when we leave the park and as we get closer to Saxe. In the unlikely event that you would need to contact your child, you may call the school, and they will contact the on-site administrator. Students should arrive at school at the regular time and report to their designated room. Buses will return to Saxe at approximately *3:15 pm. The cost of the trip is $90. If the cost of the trip is prohibitive in any way, please contact your child’s counselor as we want every student to join in this special class trip. Tickets may be purchased, and permission slips completed, using the following links below. Please note that both forms must be completed in order to attend the trip.
* Students will be returning after the regular school day. Please coordinate transportation home accordingly.
· Permission Form *Brownstone permission form must be filled out in order to enter the park.
Yearbook Club
One of the best perks of being in the Yearbook Club is the early preview! Our yearbook staff enjoyed perusing the current edition and finding all the cool photos that they each added. We look forward to unveiling the 2025-26 Saxe MS Yearbook to our entire school community, soon!
Heritage Month
As we come to the end of May, we are wrapping up our celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Throughout the month, we recognized and honored the many contributions and achievements of individuals whose talents, leadership, and creativity have made a lasting impact on our communities and our world. This week, we highlighted the accomplishments of George Takei, Chien-Shiung, Stacey Milbern, and Hazel Ying Lee.
Odyssey of the Mind
Congratulations to our Saxe students who are out in the Midwest competing in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals this weekend… Good luck and have fun!
Hawks Gazette
Check out the latest editions of the Hawks Gazette! Thanks to our students and staff advisor, Mr. Myers, for this fun, interactive format in which to learn more about, or engage with, Saxe Middle School. We enjoy seeing Saxe through the lens of our students! Thank you to the following for your contributions: Gino Monaghan, Max Cohn, Nico Curran, Tiago Sirett, & Luke Loeffler…
Or, check out the latest edition by accessing the Hawks Gazette Google site, directly.
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Below are photos and phrases that were included on our Saxe Middle School page (@SaxeMS) this week. Enjoy!
The latest 8Red bulletin board is updated with student reflections on how they plan to apply what they have learned at Saxe MS toward a successful future. We are proud of the fine young adults our students mature into – best wishes to all!
We are so fortunate to have a Library space, resources, & dedicated staff to make it such a multi-functional area for all at Saxe MS to use & appreciate! Here is a Social Studies class diving into a lesson during period 1…
Today, we visited Saxe MS Science teacher, Mr. Chard, & saw the latest @NASA space artifact on display! Fascinating to see these pieces of equipment up close & personal & hear how they work to keep astronauts safe & capable of functioning in space!
Love catching a good “birthday student” pic right at Saxe MS arrival – hope it was the best one yet! 🎉
(GREAT t-shirt, too!)
Dogs Of Saxe
Bear & Dunkin started our day off at Saxe MS with some smiles! Thanks to all who bring their Dogs of Saxe to visit us as they drop their humans off at school!
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
