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"One of the greatest mistakes of our day is to think of movement by itself, as something apart from the higher functions ... Mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it. It is vital that educational theory and practice should become informed by this idea.
Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
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Upcoming Dates
Thurs., Sept.22 Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening 7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Sept 22 Pasta collection for Inter Parish Ministry
Wed., Sept.28 Child Protection Orientation Session, 8:15 a.m.
Sept.26-29 Middle School Odyssey Trip to Hico, West Virginia
Sept. 28-30 Upper Elementary Trip to Camp Campbell Gard
Tues., Oct. 4 Lower El Parent Education Evening, 7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 6 WALKATHON!
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Montessori News
"Help me to help myself," a child said. And it was in answer to that request, and based on long observation of the child and his life, that Dr. Montessori came to realize that he must be given 'liberty in a prepared environment.'
Margaret Stephenson, Montessori trainer
Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening
Thursday, September 22, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Mathematics and the Young Child:
Building Concrete Foundations for Future Abstract Thought
Please join our pre-primary team - Anita Calo, Carrie Bucksath, and Julia Damico - for a view of your child's sensorial exploration of the world of mathematics. Enjoy the 'aha' moments provided by the extraordinary Montessori math materials.
Maria Montessori's genius is appa rent in the design of these materials. Imagine introducing children to concrete materials for concepts such as squared and cubed numbers, addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division of numbers up to one thousand. All of this before they leave kindergarten, and all begun in the sensorial area at age three.
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to learn more about the value of a Montessori education for your child. Hope to see you on the 22nd!
Lower Elementary Parent Education Evening
Tuesday, October 4, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
A Day in the Life of Your Child in the Classroom
Please join our lower elementary teachers for a  parent education evening designed to inform you about the wonderful, everyday experiences in the 6-9 classroom. You will learn more about the expectations of daily work and how your child's work is assessed. You will also be presented with several language lessons in order to give a closer look at the Montessori materials. We will also touch on this year's biome curriculum. Hope to see you there!
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Mission Alive!
Each week, we share an aspect of our mission as it takes shape in the lives of the children. This week, Carrie Bucksath write about the cultivation of concentration in the pre-primary environment.
The Development of Concentration Through Table Scrubbing
By Carrie Bucksath, Pre-Primary Teacher
The beginning of the school year is very busy in a 3-6 classroom. The children are learning to be independent, making new friends, and learning many new skills necessary for life. A major focus in a 3-6 environment is to help the child develop concentration. This occurs in a variety of ways. One popular work in our classroom that helps the child develop concentration is table scrubbing.
Table scrubbing is a long, involved work with multiple steps, and the children seem to be drawn to it daily. To carry out this process, the child must get an apron, set up the work, get water, open the soap and scrub the table (and chairs if they choose), wipe the soap off the table with a sponge, dry the table, dump out the water, clean up the work, and put the apron away - a big process!! This year, we have a little three year old girl who does this work daily, including scrubbing both chairs at the table.
What is the importance of scrubbing a table? ON an adult level, the obvious  answer is to make it clean. However, for the young child the benefits of table scrubbing are developmental, not practical.. One benefit is the development of a child's ability to engage in a long work cycle, which will be beneficial and necessary in the future for more academic lessons and activities.
Another important benefit is the development of concentration. When the children are involved in this long, water work, they tend to be very focused. The child mentioned earlier often misses most of group time to complete her work. She gets so involved in the process that she doesn't often notice that everyone else is sitting at group together. This is amazing to see of a child at such a young age.
Even the children who move busily from one work to the next tend to slow down when it comes time to table scrub. There is something soothing about it for the children, not to mention the long-term benefits of concentration, coordination, independence, and a real sense of dignity and purpose as an individual. It's the best of both worlds when the children learn and develop without realizing they are!!
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Atrium News
Consiglio Gathering in Rome, by Dan Teller
Many parents kindly asked about my trip to Rome, so I thought I would share a little about it. The International Consiglio of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a body composed of 20 representatives from seven national associations: Italy, Mexico, Colombia, United States, Australia, Germany, and Canada. The Consiglio met for four days and discussed various topics pertinent to the current state and future development of CGS around the world.
Some of the topics we discussed were: formation (including formation leaders and courses for catechists), doctrinal content of atrium materials, work with adolescents, work with toddlers, translations of texts, communication among the international community, and formation within the Missionaries of Charity worldwide. We also had time for prayer and celebration, including celebration of Mass at Sofia Cavalletti's home and atrium. This was a particularly moving moment, especially for those who had known Sofia for 20, 30, and even 40 years.
This is certainly a poignant time in the work of CGS, as we enter a new era when the founders are no longer with us. At the same time, the work has spread to five continents since it began in 1954, and it continues to spread to new places, such as Singapore and Vietnam, as well as continuing to grow within nations where "seeds have already sprouted", such as our country. This time of growth offers great hope and joy, and also particular challenges to stay true to the spirit and characteristics of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
It was a very rich time of discussion and discernment. Much wisdom was brought by many people. It was certainly a privilege to be part of this gathering, and to be able to bring the wisdom, ideas, and insights from it to my work with the national membership of CGSUSA, as well as to my work in our own little vineyard here at GSCM.
There was also time at either end of the meeting for a little sightseeing, including Bernini's incredible sculptures at the Borghese Gallery; Mass at St. Peter's; adoration at St. John Lateran; a walk past the Coliseum and through the Palatine Hill (ruins of ancient Rome), and a visit to the catacombs of St. Priscilla. Rome is an incredible city - full of people, history, the Church, and life!
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Catholic Identity
"The first and primary educators of children are their parents."
The Religious Dimensions of a Catholic School
In addition to Montessori education and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the third pillar of our school is our Catholic Identity. Here is an excerpt from our Catholic Identity Statement, which can be found on our website, www.gscmontessori.org.
Partnership between the School and the Home
"The first and primary educators of children are their parents." The educational climate of a Catholic school begins with this understanding. Therefore, a close partnership between a Catholic school and the families of the students is paramount. In the Catholic school, this "is not a question of convenience, but a partnership based on faith."
Close cooperation with the family is especially important when treating sensitive issues such as religious, moral, or sexual education, orientation toward a profession, or a choice of one's vocation in life... Every school should initiate meetings and other programs which will make the parents more conscious of their role, and help to establish a partnership.
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PTO News
Pick Up Your School Directory!
Each family receives one free directory as part of tuition and dues. They are ready for pick up and will be available after school today. Extra copies will be $5.
Volunteers Needed
Do your kids love field day? Imagine how excited they would be to have YOU as the field day coordinator! The PTO sponsors this fun filled, end of the year celebration, but we are looking for an enthusiastic parent to coordinate this years event or two parents to co-chair together. We have numerous volunteers already signed up to help, but need one parent (or two) to step up and organize our team of volunteers. Please contact Shannon Lotterer if interested ! shannon.lotterer@fuse.net
Being Yearbook Coordinator has never been easier...with our new software program, all it takes is some time on the computer to input! This is a great position for a parent who wants to volunteer from home, at their convenience! Several parents will support our coordinator by acting as photographers, but we need one computer savy parent to accept the title of Yearbook Coordinator or two parents to co-chair together! Contact Shannon Lotterer if you are willing to help create memories. shannon.lotterer@fuse.n
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Volunteer News
Focus on Volunteers: Meet John and Kim Gruber
A vibrant spirit of volunteerism strengthens the mission of GSCM. We honor and thank one volunteer each week for their energy and enthusiasm for our school.
We are blessed with many volunteers - new parents, grandparents, community members, 'old-time' GSCM families. Among our most long-standing volunteers are John and Kim Gruber. In fact, they were involved with the school even before it existed beyond an idea!
Kim Gruber attended a parent information evening about the idea of a Catholic Montessori school the year before Queen of Angels Montessori opened its doors. Then, her husband John joined our initial Board of Trustees. This was in 1997. Since that time (with a brief hiatus), John has served as an active member of our Board. He has served as President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and currently is active on the Board's Development Committee.
Kim served as one of the school's first PTO presidents when this organization was still in its infancy. She has helped out with other PTO initiatives and in her children's classrooms through the years in a variety of ways. John has chaperoned for the 9-12 Camp Kern (now Campbell Gard) trip several times.
The Grubers have two QAMS/GSCM graduates: Jack is a senior and Max is a junior at St. Xavier High School. Their son Peter is in 7th grade at GSCM, and daughters Mary and Heidi are in 4th and 1st grades respectively. We are blessed to have such long-standing, committed parents and John and Kim Gruber!
Mandatory Orientation Session: Decree on Child Protection
Wednesday, September 28 8:15-9:00 a.m.
All volunteers with regular and/or significant (e.g., 3 or more hours per month) contact with GSCM students must attend a volunteer orientation session about the Decree. Overnight chaperones to the 9-12 Camp Campbell Gard trip must also attend. Please note: If you have already taken the Orientation Session, you do not need to do so again.
PLEASE RSVP TO NTOON@GSCMONTESSORI.ORG
OR BY CALLING 271-4171
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Walkathon
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Office News
Reminder: Pasta Collection This Thursday Please don't forget our pasta collection for Inter Parish Ministry this Thursday. If you want to get it in early so you know it's taken care of, you can bring it in on Wednesday. Thank you! A Message from Ximena Flores Thank you God, for the miracle of life, the wonderful people at GSCM in my path and thank you for giving me the opportunity to keep serving you in this life. Thank you GSCM community, your generosity and kindness will always be appreciated and a reminder that prayers & faith can make miracles happen. Thank you all for your support. God bless! DISMISSAL (from our school handbook) It is important that children be picked up on time. This is important for children's inherent need for order and predictability, and is a courtesy to the school staff. If a parent/guardian or other person designated to pick up the child is delayed, they should call to let the school and the child know what time they expect to arrive. Staff will begin calling the listed emergency contacts ten minutes after scheduled pick-up times if no call has been received. Late fees of $5.00 for the first ten minutes and $10.00 for every fifteen minutes thereafter may be assessed when children are frequently picked up late. Before late fees are assessed, the office staff will communicate the situation in writing with the parent/guardian. When late fees are in effect, a call informing the school of a delayed pick-up will not release parents from the late pick-up fee. Back to top |
Program News
HOP, SKIP AND DANCE A creative dance class for children taught by Jeanne Speier This fun, basic movement skills class for pre-school aged children (3-5yrs) taps into the flow of nature around us as we dance like the wind, butterflies, galloping ponies and shooting stars. A basic warm up will be repeated each week to develop motor skills and dances from Bali and Haiti will be shared.
(Jeanne Speier has an MA degree in Dance Therapy and currently teaches dance at Villa Madonna, The New School and Doherty. She is happy to share her love for dance with the students at GSCM where she teaches Kindergarten music classes.) Classes will be held in the back of the church from 11:30 -12:15pm for 9 weeks on Thursdays, beginning this Thursday, September 22nd. Class fee is $80.00 for the 9 weeks. If not enough students sign up, classes will not be offered. Back to top
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