Christ, who came once in the flesh, is prepared to come again.  When we remove all obstacles to his presence he will come, at an hour and moment, to dwell spiritually in our hearts, bringing with him the riches of his grace.

St. Charles Borromeo

Advent Offerings

The  Advent Wreath

If you are enjoying lighting your Advent wreath with your children and singing our accompanying song, "Light the Advent Candle," here are the lyrics for the second and third weeks of Advent:

Light the Advent candle two

Think of all the people who

Lived in darkness, hoped for light

And it came on Christmas night

(Refrain)

Candle, candle burning bright

Shining in the cold winter night

Candle, candle burning bright

Fill our hearts with Christ, the Light.

Light the Advent candle three

Wonder who this child can be

Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace,

Mighty God, Emmanuel.

(Refrain)

Thursday, December 8:  Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Mass at SJV, 8:15 a.m.

This Thursday, Dec. 8, the Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a holy day of obligation.  Our students will celebrate Mass at 8:15 a.m.  Pope Benedict XVI helps us meditate on the greatness of this feast:

The Eternal Goodness of the Creator Shines Forth in Mary

Today, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  It is a day of intense spiritual joy when we contemplate the Virgin Mary, "high beyond all others, lowlier is none ... the consummation planned by God's decree", as is sung by the great poet Dante (Paradise, XXXIII, 3).

In Mary shines forth the eternal goodness of the Creator, who chose her in his plan of salvation to be the Mother of his only-begotten Son; God, foreseeing his death, preserved her from every stain of sin.  In this way, in the Mother of Christ and our Mother the vocation of every human being is perfectly fulfilled.  All men and women, according to Saint Paul, are called to be holy and blameless in God's sight, full of love (cf. Eph 1:4, 5).

Looking at Mary, how can we, her children, fail to let the aspiration to beauty, goodness and purity of heart be aroused in us?  Her heavenly candor draws us to God, helping us to overcome the temptation to live a mediocre life composed of compromises with evil, and direct us decisively towards the authentic good that is the source of joy.

Mission Alive!

Each week, we share an aspect of our mission as it takes shape in the lives of the children.  This week, catechist Dan Teller shares the impact of prophecy work in the atrium.   

Isaiah's Prophecy of Light

By Dan Teller, Catechist

During the season of Advent, we enter with the whole Church into a reflection on the mystery of the Incarnation.  Yet, for both adults and children, we face the challenge of going beyond the familiarity of the Christmas story and images to re-kindle and deepen our wonder at God becoming man.  With children, we also have to overcome the strong cultural images of Santa and other seasonal trappings to fix our gaze on the mystery of the Christ child.

In the atrium, one way that we do this is by turning to the Old Testament prophets.  Even for the very youngest children, the prophets offer striking images and language that help young and old alike to contemplate the person of Jesus with ever new eyes.  Names such as "Might God," "Wonderful Counselor," "Prince of Peace," "Emmanuel" provide, in a flash, rich food for meditation on the central question of the season, "Who is this Child?"

Perhaps the most powerful of these prophecies - one that sinks deeply into the heart of the very young children and then stays with them as they mature through the years - is also the most succinct.  It is from Isaiah 9:1:  "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light."

In the atrium, we read the text slowly, solemnly, and then present it to the children on a beautifully calligraphied card.  After the solemn reading, and a brief period of silence, we ponder the message through meditative questions:

• The people really did feel like they were waiting in the dark for the Messiah.  How do you think they felt upon hearing God's promise through Isaiah?
• Do you think they looked forward to this light?
• How do we feel when we are in the dark and we see light?  Isaiah tells us this is no ordinary light, but a GREAT LIGHT.
• How much hope the people must have experienced!
• Isaiah gives us just a hint of what - or who - is coming.  He does not name the light.  What, or who, do you think this light is?
• Is there a time when you encounter this light?
• What can we say to God about this light?

 Try reading this simple prophecy with your own family in the soft glow of the Advent wreath on a dark winter night.  Enjoy the imminent coming of Christ as light!

Here are other prophecies that resonate with children:

• Isaiah 7:14        Prophecy of Immanuel (Who is the 'maiden,' and who is this child who is named 'Immanuel,' God with us?)
• Isaiah 9:6          Prophecy of Names (Who is this Child with such magnificent names?)
• Micah 5:1          Prophecy of Place (Why did God choose such a tiny place, Bethlehem, to bring forth the Messiah?)
• Numbers 24:17 Prophecy of Star and Scepter (Who do the images of star and scepter point to?  Who is Jesus in the eyes of this prophet?)

Focus on Volunteers: PTO Leadership

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Holiday News

Lower Elementary Christmas Family Sale,

6-9 students will have the opportunity to shop for their family members during their annual Christmas Family Sale December 19-21 organized by the Lower Elementary Team .  This provides a great opportunity to learn and participate more in the season of giving. 

Thank you to those of you who ordered poinsettias.  If you did not pick them up yesterday, please come get them as we have limited space to store them.  Make checks payable to GSCM for $13 per poinsettia.  Stop in the office and give the check to Nancy or Lynette.  

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Canned Fruit Collection Thurs., Dec. 15

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.

For Forest Hills Families:

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.

New Stacked Logo Available

If you are looking to buy Christmas gifts, or just need some new school attire, our logo is now available in the "stacked" version from Lands' End as well as the round version. The logo number for the new stacked logo is 1192492k. To view both logos and our approved dress code items, go to www.landsend.com and click on school, then go to "dress code guidelines"  

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 tomorrow, 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!