Mark your calendars!  Meg Domino will be back for our final Saxe PTC Meeting of this year to build on last month's Social Networking, with "Summer Sanity- How to Harness It".

Does the thought of school ending make you cringe? Does chaos take over when summer hits your home? Are you looking for some tips and boundaries for your burgeoning adolescent?  Then join us for a 1 - hour Q & A on:

 

"Miles for Mikey" Walk

Join the Saxe Team and support a worthy cause in honor of our friend, Mikey Czech. The Mikey Czech Foundation was founded by Mikey's family and friends and is dedicated to pediatric brain tumor research. Sponsored by the Saxe A-Team.


Bring a check*/cash of $15 to:


Or, you may register online under "Saxe Team" at www.mikeyczech.org.
 
* Checks can be made out to the "Mikey Czech Foundation"

Save the Date

Eighth graders, you are invited to attend the 8th Grade Dinner Dance:


Tickets will be sold ($15 cash or check) the first week of June during lunch. All students must purchase a ticket in advance.

Additional information, including permission slip and dress code, will be sent home.

Testing Grades 2 Through 8 in May

The State of Connecticut mandates that every school district identify students who are Visually Creative, Gifted and Talented and report the results to the state. To that end, all New Canaan Public School Students, grades 2 through 8, will be given a 3-page, one period long art test during the month of May.  The purpose of this double-blind* test is to help identify students in the population who demonstrate creative talent. An 11 member Selection Committee will be convened to score all the tests and make their determination. Once identified, the students and parents will be notified, by mail, in July, of the identification.
 
Newly identified students/parents will be asked to come to a meeting in September where they will meet with Mrs. Darlene Pianka, Director of Special Education and Mrs. Andrea Levai, Instructor for CIA and the Program will be explained.  A Question and Answer session will follow.  The program is in session from September to the end of May-concluding with an ART EXHIBIT featuring all the work done during the year.
 
Any parent who DOES NOT want their child tested, needs to send a note to their child's art teacher expressing their desire to have their child excused from the test no later than May 3rd, before testing begins.
 
Any parent who would like to have their child considered for the program is encouraged to send a letter of recommendation to Mrs. Levai at Saxe, asking that their child be considered for the program. A portfolio, supporting the child's interest in art should also be submitted.  The portfolio should consist of a variety of 6-8 pieces of ORIGINAL, SELF-DIRECTED artwork. No classroom projects, please. Name, phone number, grade and school should be on each piece submitted.  Three-dimensional work should be photographed and only the photograph included in the portfolio.  Letters of recommendation and portfolios must be at Saxe by June 4th and must be picked up by July 2nd at Saxe.
 
double-blind* The test packet is double blind because it does not contain the name of the student, only a code-therefore the work is evaluated by the Committee, not the child.

Field Trip Schedule

The trip will encompass works of art that are relative to the Social Studies
curriculum including certain pieces from the collections of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, India and China. Remaining dates for the trip are as follows:
Many thanks to the faculty, administration and the PTC for supporting this trip!

April Report
         
Following some rough weather this winter and spring, the Board of Ed approved Wednesday, June 23 as the Graduation date for the New Canaan High School Class of 2010.  The last day of school for all other grades will be June 24.

A number of Board Policies are currently under review including Policy #5161 "Police in Schools" and Policy # 3510 "Management of School Activities".
 
Alan Sneath gave a Visual and Performing Arts update which introduced the Board to the new technology teachers are using to produce digital portfolios of student work.  The department is using Digication as a platform.  Digication was created by students at Rhode Island School of Design and is very user friendly. Teachers and students can use the technology to create portfolios of their work.  Several teachers from the district including Saxe Middle School Teachers Bonnie Sailer, Art, and Sarah Gleason, Music, demonstrated to the Board how they are using the technology. For example, from the Digication platform, Sarah Gleason played clips of the chorus and read the students reflections after hearing their recordings at the beginning of the year and then again in April. The teachers expressed their pleasure at the student's ability to use the technology to record and remark on their progress.

Come and Find It!

There are lots of unclaimed items in Saxe's Lost & Found!  Please encourage your children to visit the Lost & Found located in the corridor between the gym and cafeteria.  Also, lost lunch boxes are located on a table outside the cafeteria. The Bus Company has a lost and found too, parents should stop by there also. Similar to previous years, all remaining items will be donated to a local charity at the end of the school year.

Health Notices

Allergy Alert
Saxe is a LATEX FREE school to protect any students with a life threatening latex allergy.

NO LATEX GLOVES
NO BALLOONS
NO KOOSH BALLS - Anywhere or anytime
 
These items are particularly dangerous because they can cause the latex particles to become airborne. We use only vinyl gloves and only mylar balloons.
Thanks for your cooperation in keeping our school safe for all our students

Food Allergies
Please remember that ALL Field Trips at Saxe are Nut Free.

Notice to 6th Grade Parents
Connecticut State Law requires ALL students to have a Physical exam During Sixth grade.  The blue Health form needs to be on file in the Nurses office by the last day of 6th grade.
 
The State Department of Health has confirmed that the immunization requirements for entry to 7th grade :

1. 2 Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccines
2. A second dose of  Varicella  
3. A dose of  Tdap

Upon completion of the exam, which usually coincides with the students birthday, send the blue form to the Nurses office.  We accept physicals from June of 09 until June of 10 .  Your child will not be permitted to begin 7th grade without this on file.
_______

Head Lice
Another health topic that causes concern is head lice and we have had a handful of cases in school this past month.  Just a reminder that there is a powerpoint presentation on the New Canaan Public School website with information about head lice.  Click on the link here: Lice Presentation.

 

Another helpful and comprehensive place for information is the Center for Disease Control site  www.cdc.gov/lice. You can also call Saxe to speak with a school nurse.

Headlines

Joseph Heilbron Foundation Fundraiser
Fresh Air Fund Host Families Needed!
Outback to Host "Parent's Night Out", May 14
New Canaan Cares Kitchen Tour, May 13
New Canaan Girls' Field Hockey Registration Now Open
New Canaan Soccer Association Registration & Tryout Schedule
New Canaan Sports Council 2010 Summer Camps
New Canaan Youth Cheerleading Registration is Now Open
New Canaan Youth Football Registration Now Open
Pura Vida Food Packing Event,  May 15 and 16, NCHS
Saxe Middle School Spring Squash Developmental Program, April 12 - May 26

Upcoming Events

5/3 PTC Executive Board Meeting (9:15am)
5/6 Teacher Appreciation Day
5/12 Final PTC General Meeting (9:30am)
5/13 Panoramic Picture Day
5/19 7th-8th Grade Choir Concert (7:00pm)
5/25 7th-8th Grade Band Concert (7:00pm)
5/27 Grades 5-8 Strings Concert (7:00pm)
5/31 No School (Memorial Day)
 
6/2 5th - 6th Grade Band Concert (7:00pm)
6/7 PTC Executive Board Meeting (9:15am)
6/8 5th - 6th Grade Choir Concert (7:00 pm)
6/10 5th Grade Field Day
6/11 Raindate: 5th Grade Field Day
6/11 8th Grade Dinner Dance
6/14 6th/7th Grade Fun Day
6/15 6thGrade Fun Day (Rain Date)
6/21 8th Grade Bagel Breakfast, Yearbook Distribution, and Spring Spirit Competition
6/22 8th Grade to Lake Compounce
6/23 8th Grade Picnic and Advisory Activity
6/24 8th Grade Promotion @ NCHS Aud. (10:00am)
6/24 Last Day of School - early dismissal