Gratitude:  The virtue that pushes us

to recognize the good things we receive

and to reciprocate.    

From "The Virtues" atrium material

Mission Alive!

Each week, we share an aspect of our mission as it takes shape in the lives of the children.  This week, upper elementary assistant teacher Mary Rieke discusses practical ways that we use to encourage healthy social development among our students.

Social Development in the Upper Elementary:  Community Day

By Mary Rieke, Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher

The more acquainted I become with the work of Maria Montessori, the less I understand why her methods and practices are not more widely used.  The following quote is a case in point.

"If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future.  For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual's total development lags behind."  Maria Montessori

As teachers we are working on your child's academic, spiritual, social and emotional development.  What better way to do that than in a multi-age classroom?  Any parent of a 'tween' knows that there is a big gap in the maturity of a 10- and a 12-year old.  Though all children in this age group are working through the same social/emotional stages, some have progressed further than others.  The multi-aged classroom allows students to participate in life with children of different ages and learn from their actions and behaviors rather than being told how to behave.

In the upper elementary environment, the students learn social cues from each other and the teachers continually work social lessons into our routine.  One way we do this: "Community Day."  On Fridays, teachers assign students to lunch tables.  This way everyone gets to know each other on a personal level.  We foster conversation topics and try to mix students in ways they wouldn't naturally mix on their own.  The students really enjoy trying to figure out how we grouped them and that topic alone can have everyone at the table talking. We also have community game on Fridays at the end of the day.  Students really look forward to this and don't realize that we are doing it as part of their education.  The games are cooperative in nature, usually without a "winner" and enabling participation among all students, regardless of athletic or coordination skills.  The games do not involve picking sides.  During community games our students learn about playing fair, being honest, working together, and being a good sport.

Sometimes, though, being a good sport still has to be taught.  Maria Montessori is our guide for these lessons as well.  When recess or community games stop being fun for all involved, the upper elementary class will come together and problem-solve.  Teachers do not tell students to 'play fair' or 'be good sports.'  Instead, students brainstorm about why the game was not fun and come up with new rules or solutions to make it fun for everyone.

"The things he sees are not just remembered; they form a part of his soul." Maria Montessori

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:  The Cardinal Virtues 

In the level three (9-12) atrium, we have a work called "The Virtues."  The four 'cardinal' virtues take their designation from the Italian 'cardini'¸ which means "hinges."  Just as a door only operates well with good hinges, so our life operates well with the smooth functioning of our own 'hinges ' - the cardinal virtues.  Three of these virtues "push" us forward; one "pulls" us back.  They are:

• Justice:  the virtue that pushes us to give everyone that which is rightfully theirs.
• Prudence:  the virtue that pushes us to act wisely by choosing the right paths.
• Fortitude:  the virtue that pushes us to face any difficulty for a just cause, to the point of sacrificing one's life.
• Temperance:  the virtue that keeps us from excessive desires and actions.

There are many 'sister virtues' that go with these main cardinal virtues.  For example, patience and constancy are sister virtues to fortitude.

The children are very interested in these virtues, because they easily apply to our own lives and many situations that we experience or observe.  Frequently, they will create little skits to enact these virtues in action (or absent) in the characters of Jesus' parables or the events of His life

Focus on Volunteers:Christmas Boutique

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PTO News

Boxtops for Education

caption

Keep clipping those box tops and sending them in to school.  Put them in a Ziploc bag or envelope and remember to include your name, class and number of box tops.  The class sending in the most box tops in November will earn a cider and doughnut party.

Fulfill Your PTO Volunteer Obligation! Sign up to help with this year's school yearbook. All work is done online/on the computer with premade templates. We just need one more body to help take/collect photos from parents, and help insert them into the preselected format. Please contact Dinese Young if you can find time to help! dyoung5281@gmail.com

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As winter approaches, please check Channel 12 media (TV and website) for any school closing announcements.  The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori will be listed by name.  We will also send out an email message to all families and leave current school closure information on the school's voice mail message.

If Cincinnati Public Schools declares "NO YELLOW BUS SERVICE", or "SCHOOLS CLOSED", the Forest Hills School District will not provide bus service to schools located within that public school attendance area even if Forest Hills Schools are open.

Shampoo Collection for IPM 

Last week our families donated 66 bottles/tubes of shampoo to Inter Parish Ministry's food choice pantry. Once again your generosity is very greatly appreciated.

The next collection will be Thursday, December 15th.  The item we will be collecting will be in the next newsletter. 

If your child is doing home jobs to earn money for these collections, he/she may want to try a new job this time. Keep encouraging their generosity, especially when giving thanks this Thursday.

If you are a frequent Target shopper you can make money for our school.

It's Simple

1. Learn how to apply, get approved and get your REDcard^® (if you don't have one already).
2. Enroll. Sign up for Take Charge of Education and designate an eligible K-12 school.
3. Shop. Target will donate up to 1% of your REDcard purchases to your chosen school.*

Get Started Here's how to sign up for the Take Charge of Education program:

Target Credit Card^® and Target Visa^® Credit Card holders

• Enroll online
• Call 1-800-316-6142
• Enroll at an in-store kiosk  

Scrips Program

Christmas is right around the corner ...

Are you looking to purchase gift cards for birthdays or the upcoming holidays? Consider the scrip program. The scrip program is an easy to use fundraising program that costs you nothing but benefits the GSCM staff and students. Monies raised through the scrip program provide funding for staff professional development and tuition assistance for students. Please take a minute to see how you and our school may benefit from this program.

What is scrip?

In its simplest form, scrip is equivalent to gift cards that are purchased at a discount through Great Lakes Scrip. You can use them for your own use or give them as gifts. If you know you want to buy Dad that $100 jacket from L.L.Bean, why not buy the gift cards first and redeem them at L.L.Bean to get the gift? This one simple transaction could put $7.50 towards GSCM professional development and $7.50 towards student tuition assistance.

So how does it work?

The GSCM website has a link to the scrip form. In addition, the school participates in Kroger and Remke's neighborhood reward programs.

Scrip Order Form:

Print off and complete the form

Return it to the office with a check for the face amount made out to GSCM

Orders are collected each Friday and processed

Gift cards are returned to you via backpack mail Thursday or Friday of the following week

Does the Scrip Order Form list all participating retailers?

There are hundreds of retailers who participate in the program through Great Lakes Scrip. We try to list local or web-based retailers and keep it to one page, but we can order gift cards from any participating retailer. The whole list as well as any specials can be found at www.glscrip.com. Ex: Do you know someone who wants Giant Eagle gift cards - NO PROBLEM. Just write on the Scrip Order Form what you need at we will take care of it.

What does it cost to participate?

NOTHING! There is no cost to you to participate in this program. Shop and eat where you want, pay with scrip and help raise money for GSCM at the same time. No need to ask neighbors to buy anything or order magazines you don't need! Painless fundraising.

Book Club

The next book club meeting will be on Wednesday, December 7th at Jen Cavill's house to discuss Confederacy of Dunces by Tooles. If you are interested in joining us for some nice visiting, please RSVP to Dinese Young, dyoung5281@gmail.com. No homework involved, and you can come even if you haven't finished the entire book!