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"Hail the Lord,
He has been good to me. He has food for me when I need it. He gives me shelter when I want it. But most of all He wants nothing in return but our LOVE."
Atrium prayer, 8-year old child.
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Upcoming Dates
Wed., Oct. 26 Confessions, gr. 3-8
Tues., Nov. 1 All Saints' Day Mass and Eucharistic Procession, 8:15 a.m.
Sat., Nov. 5 FALL JAMBOREE! 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Tues., Nov 8 PTO Business Meeting (following mass)
Thurs., Nov. 10 Parent-Child Evening, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 11 NO SCHOOL, Teacher Records Day
Wed., Nov. 16 Preschool Informational Coffee, 9:00 a.m.
Sun., Nov. 20 GSCM Community Boutique 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Sacrament of Reconciliation; Wed., Oct. 26
Next Wednesday, October 26, students in grades 3-8 will have the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the school day.
All Saints' Day Mass and Eucharistic Procession:
Tues., Nov. 1, 8:15 a.m.
Please join us for Mass on All Saints Day, followed by a Eucharistic Procession led by Fr. Ruffino Ezama. We will process behind the Blessed Sacrament around the school, representing the members of Church Triumphant who are continually praising God in heaven, sing a litany of saints at the lower entrance, and conclude with benediction in the church.
Fall Jamboree: Sat., November 5, 6:00-8:30 p.m. Save the date: Saturday, November 5 is our 2nd Annual Fall Jamboree 6:00-8:30 pm at Moeller Knights of Columbus Hall in Anderson (across from Turpin H.S.).
The Fall Jamboree is an evening of friendship and good, old-fashioned fun (including children's activities and square dancing with live music)! This is a social family gathering and does not cost anything. A great way to relax and enjoy our wonderful community!
Click here for details and to RSVP
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=udr4yyhab&oeidk=a07e4yhh2s963aacf6f
Parent-Child Evening: Thurs., Nov. 10, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Pre-primary and elementary parents are invited to spend an evening in the classroom with their child during our upcoming Parent-Child Evenings. One of the most relaxing and enjoyable parent education opportunities, this is an evening for listening to your child and exploring the fascinating Montessori environment together. Please come and experience the interest and joy of your child's learning in the Montessori classroom.
Although our teachers will be on hand, the focus is on parent-child interactions and the evening is not intended as a time to conference with teachers.
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Informational Coffee for Prospective Preschool Parents
Wed., Nov. 16, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Please invite friends and co-workers who have young children to learn more about our preschool program at our upcoming Informational Coffee. It will be in the Atrium on Wednesday, November 16th from 9-11 am.
Volunteers Needed:
We are seeking volunteers to post flyers in various parts of town (churches, libraries, bookstores, coffee shops, etc) and to help greet families at the coffee.
Please email Susan Fisher at scfisher@mac.com if you would like to help. Flyers will be available in the office.
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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, lower elementary teacher Donna Leopardi shows us the practical benefits of "following the child."
Follow the Child
By Donna Leopardi, Lower Elementary Teacher
A foundational tenet of Montessori Education is Maria Montessori's advocacy to "follow the child". Children are naturally curious and interested in discovering more about the world around them. When given the freedom to explore their interests, it is amazing how much focus and excitement they exhibit about learning!
In our 6-9 classroom, we constantly see the benefit of "following the child". For example: Several of our first-level students are keenly interested in making maps and learning about the countries and geography of the continents. After completing their "daily work" (math, language and reading) they are free to choose map work. They independently find books about each continent, trace, color and label the countries and find facts about each. Because they have chosen work that appeals to them, they remain attentive to detail and learn a great deal about the subject. They are proud to present their work to the rest of the class.
Another example is when a younger student observes a lesson given to  older students and expresses a desire to be able to do that work as well. The directress might give that student a mini-lesson, and then allow her to do the work.
On many occasions, a cultural study will lead students to do independent research. Our study of the desert biome prompted many students to learn more about animals of the desert. They did in-depth research, collected facts and made beautiful posters. This was not an assigned work, but work chosen by the child. It is a marvelous experience.
Each day, we are privileged to witness the value of Maria Montessori's encouragement to "follow the child".
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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. We will analyze survey data 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.
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Atrium News: Working in the Kingdom with Kingdom Timelines
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Second grader Lucas Valle works with first grader Madeline Fisher on an atrium timeline: The History of the Kingdom of God, The Gifts. "The Gifts Strip" portrays salvation history from the perspective of a continual history of gifts from God, gifts which continually increase in intensity until the greatest of all gifts - God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
Lucas and Madeline have worked through the gifts of planetary bodies and rocks and minerals, and are here exploring the gifts of the sea.
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First grader Nick Bucksath, after working on another Kingdom timeline called 'La Fettuccia', wrote and illustrated a summary of the three 'great moments' in God's plan (some of NIck's text is cut off here): "The first great moment was the beginning of the earth. The second great gift is Jesus. And the third great present is Parousia." Parousia is the Greek term for the 'final coming' of Christ, when God "will be all in all." Nick drew images of each of these moments.
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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.
Through the use of Kroger and/or Rempke/biggs cards
If you shop at Kroger and/or Rempke/biggs are you using the Neighborhood Reward card? Four percent of your purchases are credited back to our school. If you do not have a Kroger or Rempke/biggs Neighborhood Reward card, please contact Theresa Conover at 300-0917 or tervinconover@gmail.com for a complimentary card.
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Volunteer News
Grandparents/Special Friends Day
Many thanks to so many people for a joyful Grandparents/Special Friends Day last Friday. Special thanks to Amie Bressert for coordinating many details and volunteer efforts that made this annual event more enjoyable than ever. It is a real pleasure to see the love among the children and their grandparents and guests, and to be able to share our school with family and friends.
Book Fair!
Many thanks to Rachel Friemoth for organizing and offering our Book Fair
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Rachel Friemoth and Maria Lang
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last week. Between Rachel's collection and Usborne Books, our students, parents, and grandparents had a plethora of high-quality books and products from which to choose.
Many parents assisted with staffing the Book Fair throughout the week. Special thanks to Maria Lang, who spent many hours helping students and parents shop at the fair.
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Office News
Archdiocesan Tuition Sweepstakes
If you currently have children in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati Catholic schools or plan to have children in the system for 2012-13, then now is your chance to enter "The Great Tuition Giveaway on Facebook. The Archdiocese is giving away $17,500 in tuition credits and other prizes. Go to: http://on.fb.me/nCif6L
Poinsettia Sale to Benefit Middle School Trips
The middle school is selling Christmas poinsettias for $13. Orders are due by November 5th. The poinsettias will be delivered to the school during the first week of December. All poinsettia sales benefit the middle school trips. Please e-mail Loewen Cavill ( cavill.oz@gmail.com) if you would like to purchase a poinsettia. Please indicate the color you would like. Available colors include: red, pink, white, marble (pink & white), novelty (red & yellow).The money will be collected when the flowers are picked up
Save on Tickets to Cincinnati Ballet's New Nutcracker!
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.
Parent Book Club Update
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.
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Our Problem of Hunger: Building a Child's Awareness
Submitted by Ken and Beth Bronsil, Inter-Parish Ministries. Ken and Beth spearhead the monthly food collections that assist IPM's Food Pantry. This article introduces a project they are suggesting to help the children become more personally aware of their contributions to the hungry.
Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori students contributed 94 canned meat and other items for Inter Parish Ministry's food pantry last week. When it was brought to the pantry, there were four cans of meat on the shelf. You helped fill an immediate need in many people's lives. Thank you!
By the end of this week, kindergarten and elementary children will bring home a letter explaining a way they can be involved more directly in feeding the hungry. Briefly, this project enables children to earn the cost of the food you donate each month by doing specific jobs at home. Please be on the lookout for this letter. Middle School students will hear about other possibilities more appropriate for their age next week.
If you don't receive this letter by this Friday, please contact Ken Bronsil: email kbronsil5@aol.com. If you have a 3- or 4-year old and wish to have this information, please email Ken. This is not an assigned project: It is entirely voluntary on your part.
Our next collection will be on Thursday, November 17th. You'll hear more information about that soon.
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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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