"Oh Lord, open me up, so that I can shine upon the world."

Atrium prayer, 8-year old child. 

Mission Alive!

Each week, we share an aspect of our mission as it takes shape in the lives of the children.  This week, pre-primary teacher Julia Damico looks at the key attribute of concentration.. 

Concentration: The Cornerstone for Learning

By Julia Damico, Pre-Primary Teacher

Independence and concentration are common and important parts of a Montessori classroom. Parents often enquire about things they can do at home to help facilitate learning for their young children. Usually, they expect to hear "work with numbers," "help them learn their sounds," or some other academic endeavor. It may surprise parents when it is suggested they let their children do for themselves.

Maria Montessori writes, "In order to learn the child must first be able to concentrate...but no one can force concentration upon him. He develops concentration by fixing his attention on some task he is performing with his hands." The best way to build concentration is to allow children the independence to choose activities that interest them and that require the use of their hands.

Recently, a pumpkin face drawing work has been placed on our shelf. This work has simple steps. Draw a face on the pumpkin, wipe off with a sponge, dry pumpkin with cloth, repeat if desired.   Also in our classroom we have a very busy young girl. She enters the room skipping and greeting all her friends and would happily spend her morning chatting and causing mischief in her wake. Recently she chose this pumpkin work. She was observed drawing and cleaning the pumpkin 15 different times. Children came to visit and talk to her, but still she persisted. Water spilled, the room got loud, kindergarten children lined up and left the room, but still her attention did not waver. Finally, after 20 minutes, she cleaned the pumpkin, folded her cloth and skipped to the library to sit down and read.

Mentally, her teachers were applauding this milestone. This period of concentration will lead to others and over time become longer. This was an occasion when independence allowed for the opportunity of concentration. This child was drawn to the work, chose the work without having to wait for an adult and was able to complete the work without help. She encountered no interruption on her path to concentrating.

So what can parents do at home to help facilitate learning? Simple things that their children like to do and that require the use of their hands. Let them wash the strawberries and put them in a bowl. Put the toppings on the pizza. Fold the wash cloths and hand towels. Sort the laundry -  any task that interests them and requires the use of their hands. This will help build the levels of concentration necessary for learning.   

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OCSAA Parent Survey

All GSCM families are asked to assist us with our school self-study by completing an on-line survey.  Our self-study process begins a new six-year cycle in our continuous improvement plan.  A self-study gathers large amounts of data and involves all the constituents of the school - students, staff, and parent.   This data is analyzed to understand the school's strengths and identify areas of needed improvement.

The on-line survey can be found at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D86UKEFDW. 

The survey will be active until Thanksgiving, but we would greatly appreciate it if you could complete it earlier rather than later.

Thank you for helping provide important feedback as we analyze our school's strengths and areas for improvement.  The self-study process takes two years, and we are looking forward to sharing our findings with you as we move forward.

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PTO News  

Box Tops for Education - Please send them in by Thursday

You should have received Boxtop information via backpack mail last Friday.   Please check the expiration date on your box tops and then send them in an envelope or Ziploc bag with your child's name, teacher and the total number of box tops.  There will be a collection bin on the bookshelf outside the office and anotherone on the lower level.  The classroom that collects the most box tops by this Thursday will win an extra 15 minutes of recess!   Also the 5 students who send in the most box tops will get to eat lunch with Mr. Teller!  If you have any questions please feel free to contact Kim Gates.

Support Our School Through the Use of goodsearch.com!

Did you know you can raise money for our school by using goodsearch.com as your search engine?  Every time you do a search you raise money for our school.  It gets even better...if you make an online purchase via goodsearch a percentage of your purchase goes back to our school.  Need a new uniform?  Land's End donates back 2%.  Need some new music?  I Tunes donates 2.5% back.  Your teen is just dying for that scarf from J crew....5% comes back to the school.  Christmas shopping...Nordstroms will donate 2.5-12% back.  It's easy, just download the tool bar from goodsearch.com.  Set your homepage to goodsearch and all those searches will generate money for our school.  Currently there are 15 people who have downloaded the tool bar in support of our school.  Let's see how many more we can get!  Spread the word to all your family and friends.

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Please don't forget our collection of canned meat (tuna, chicken, etc.) 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 very much.

Grab a book! The GSCM Parent Book Club's next book is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. We will meet the first week of December (date and location TBA), so you'll have six weeks to read this book! The book club is designed to allow parents an opportunity to get to know each other better while reading for fun. One can join us from month to month without committing to an entire year. Each book meeting will be held at a different location (homes, coffee shops, bookstores.) If interested in joining the discussion for this book, please email Dinese Young, dyoung5281@gmail.com.

Sophia Young, 9-12 C, will be a Baby Mouse in this year's Nutcracker by Cincinnati Ballet. As a perk to being a cast member, she is given a 20% discount code and encouraged to share with anyone. She is a member of Blue Cast, and her discount will apply to any of her performances (see below.) If you or anyone you know would like to use her cast discount, just use code G1112CAST online under "promotions" in the checkout, or call the Cincinnati Ballet's Box Office at 562-1114 and use the code. Her performances are: December 16, 7:30 PM, December 17, 2PM, December 18, 5:30 PM, December 20, 7:30 PM, December 22, 2 PM, December 23, 7:30 PM.

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SMC/SJV Turkey Dinner:  You are Invited

The members of St. Margaret/St. John Parish would like to invite you and your families to a delicious turkey dinner on November 6, 2011.  The dinner will be held at St. John Vianney Church, 4448 Berwick St. 45227.  It will run from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Everything from the entrée to the dessert is included for the low price of $9.00 for adults and $5.00 for children.  If you have any questions please call Maryann or John Heitker at 271-6808. 

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Sports News

Calling all GSCM Girls Grades 3-8!!
St Cecilia needs basketball players to fill their girl teams.  St Cecilia is located in Oakley. Practices will begin in November and games in December. Want to join the team?  Pick up a form from Nancy in the office.  Please return forms ASAP.  Need more details?  Call Mike Muse at 641-8335.

GIRLS CYO VOLLEYBALL   

In the last few years, our girls have developed an enthusiastic volleyball program together with Prince of Peace school. This year, Prince of Peace will be joining with a different school, so we are left without a partner. We absolutely want to continue to provide a vibrant volleyball program. Our plan this year is to field at least three teams: 8th Grade, 6-7th Grades Joint Team, 4-5th Grades Joint Team. We also want to know whether there are enough 3rd graders interested in playing.  
If you're on the fence, jump right in. This has been such an enjoyable, community building time, not just for the girls, but for the families, who get to bond in gyms all over Cincinnati most Saturdays in winter! There's even the occasional pizza party! 
Please email one of the following individuals if you are interested in joining one of these teams.
8^th Grade: Shannon Lotterer (shannon.lotterer@fuse.net)
6-7th Grade: Mary Rieke (mary.rieke@gmail.com)
4-5th Grade: Jennifer Cavill (tomjencav@gmail.com)

WE ARE IN NEED OF A PRACTICE GYM! If you know of a gym that might be able to provide practice times for us during the week, please inform one of the individuals listed above. 
WE ARE IN NEED OF COACHES. Please let us know if you can help coach or if you have an older sibling, niece, neighbor, who can help coach.    

Futsal League Registration Has Begun at Nothin' but Net!

Registration has now begun for this year's Futsal Leagues at the Nothin' but Net Sports Complex! 
 The leagues (U8-U18 for boys and girls) begin on Sunday, Dec. 4, and all games will be played on Sundays this year.
There is a 10 game regular season followed by a one day tournament (new this year!!) for the top finishers in each league.
The registration deadline is Nov. 20, but don't wait until the last week as space is limited.
You can get all the details and the registration form on their website www.nbnsportscomplex.com

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