Upcoming Dates

Tues., Jan. 24               Theology of the Body Parent Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

Fri., Jan. 27                   12:00 noon EARLY DISMISSAL

Jan. 30-Feb. 3               Catholic Schools Week (see calendar below)

Jan. 30-Feb. 3               PENNY WAR to support Jose and Preeti

Mon., Jan. 30                Eucharistic Adoration, 1:00-2:30

Tues., Jan. 31               Parent Appreciation Brunch, 9:15-10:30 (atrium)

Thurs., Feb. 2                First Communion Parent Meeting, 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Thurs., Feb 2                  2^nd Annual GSCM Talent Show 7:00 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 3                    All-School Skating Party, 12:15-2:15 p.m.

Mon., Feb. 6                 Pre-Primary Parent Ed. Evening, 7:00 p.m.

Fri., Feb.10                   12:00 noon EARLY DISMISSAL

Fri., Feb.10                   Priority Registration Period Ends

Fri., Feb. 17                  End of Second Trimester

Mon., Feb. 20               NO SCHOOL, Teacher Records Day

Fri., Feb.24                   12:00 noon EARLY DISMISSAL

Mon. March 5                PSAS Financial Aid Deadline

 

Please RSVP to Nancy Toon (ntoon@gscmontessori.org) if you plan to attend one of the following events.  Events will be cancelled if there is not enough interest.

 

Theology of the Body Parent Information Meeting:  TONIGHT., Jan. 24, 7:00 p.m.

Recognizing parents as the primary educators of their children in matters of faith and morals, we invite all parents to a Parent Information Meeting about an excellent new program that we are presenting to our 8^th grade students:   Theology of the Body for Teens: Middle School Edition.

 

Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening

Language and Early Childhood:  Walking with the Child the Montessori Way:  Monday, February 6. 7:00-8:30

 

 "It is the child who absorbs language...We must offer the child the help he needs and be at his service so that he does not have to walk alone" (Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind).

 

Please join our pre-primary Montessori teaching staff for an informative evening of how we "walk with the child" in the development of key language skills during early childhood.  This event will not only give you insights into Montessori's brilliant approach to language development; it will also assist your conscious parenting skills to encourage your child's language development.

 

Like so many areas of Montessori education, the language curriculum provides a true "aha!" moment as to how children develop and how to assist their growth.  Come, enjoy, and learn with our excellent teachers!

 

Annual Fund Update

Special thank you to all who have contributed to our Annual Fund.  We are encouraged by the generous response we have received so far, and we are working towards a goal of 100% parent participation in our 2011-12 Annual Campaign!

 

Our annual fund helps to offset the gap between the actual cost of educating our students and the rate of tuition, and positions us to advance our school. Our goal of 100% parent participation places us in a stronger position to approach outside funders, and for this reason your involvement is so important.  

 

No gift is too small, but please do participate!  Help us attain our goal of 100% parent participation.  And don't forget to pray for the welfare of our school, its students, families, and staff.

 

Gifts can be made conveniently online at  www.gscmontessori.org/giving and can be made in honor of or in memory of someone special.

 

Please contact our Development Office at 271-0205 with any questions or to learn more about our Annual Fund.  Thank you!

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Thank You ...

GSCM is blessed with wonderful parent support, as evidenced by these beautiful examples last week:

 

Hallway Entry Furniture:  Thank You, Verbarg's Furniture!

Many thanks to Verbarg's Furniture and GSCM parent Sheri Mitchell for the donation of a beautiful new hallway entry set, including an area rug, two upholstered chairs, and a bookcase.  Each piece is of the highest quality and very attractive - such a nice way to greet visitors to our school!

 

Staff Refrigerator:  Thank You, PTO!

Thank you to the GSCM PTO for the purchase and installation of a new refrigerator in our staff workroom.  This completes a make-over of the workroom that the PTO, led by GSCM parent Lowelette Lauderdale, initiated last summer.  Thank you for treating our staff so lovingly!

 

Open House:  Thank You, Parents and Students

We enjoyed an excellent turnout at Sunday's Open House, and we thank the many parents and students who gave their Sunday afternoon to showcase our school.  Led by GSCM marketing director and parent Susan Fisher and her Open House team, the event provided a very friendly and informative platform for sharing our school with prospective parents.  Many parents were on hand as helpers and ambassadors, and over a dozen students came to serve as escort/ambassadors.

 

The visitors were particularly impressed with our student ambassadors, and one of our teachers took the time to share the following:

I wanted to take a minute to let you know how very impressed I was with our Middle School Ambassadors today.  Each one that came through my room was personable, knowledgeable, respectful and eager to share their positive experiences at our school. They fielded questions like pros.  I was SO proud of them!  I think they represented our school beautifully!!

Thank You, Servatii's Pastry Shop & Deli!

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Attention all grocery shoppers!

If you grocery shop at Kroger or Remke biggs, you have a significant opportunity to help benefit our school.  Each grocer will give back four (4) percent of gift card reloads to The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori.  To obtain a card, please contact Theresa Conover at TErvinConover@gmail.com. 

 

This is very simple to do.  For example, I shop at Kroger and faithfully load up my card to buy my weekly groceries and gas.  You can add value to the card either at the grocery or fuel center checkout which is very convenient.  Currently there are approximately 14 families that regularly participate in the Kroger program.  Every other month our school receives, between $200 and $250.  Just think how this amount could grow if even more GSCM families would participate.  This is where you can help.

 

Kroger Neighborhood Reward Program:

This card can be loaded at the grocery check out (be sure to do it before the cashier starts to scan your order), at the customer service desk, or at the gas pump.  Kroger provides 4% back to GSCM.

 

Remke biggs Caring Neighbor Program

Each time you reload your gift card, Remke bigg's will track the amount and give 4% back to GSCM. 

 

Proceeds from these reward programs benefit staff professional development and tuition assistance funding for our school.  This is a very simple and easy way to raise money for such important programs at GSCM. 

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Montessori Summer Program at GSCM

We are pleased to announce the new GSCM Summer Montessori Program for 3-6 year-old children.  The Summer Montessori Program provides the best of two worlds for your child:  a wealth of outdoor summer activities on our beautiful 14-acre campus and the wonderful hands-on learning of the Montessori approach.

 

Come experience Montessori in the summer as we extend the classroom to the great outdoors. Guided by a trained Montessori teacher, your child will hike our trails, explore the creek, plant and tend a garden, crawl among the bugs, and fly with the birds. Boots and rain jackets required!

 

Maria Montessori was a strong proponent that experience is the best teacher. There is no better sensory experience for a young child than to spend time in nature, feeling the sun on his face, the breeze in the air, the sound of water running of the rocks or the call of a bird. It builds excitement that drives your child to learn more about the experience.

 

What will my child learn?

Spending time in nature segues easily into the study of so many scientific topics; birds, insects, plants, flowers. Adding the study of specific artists and their techniques also gives your child the opportunity to respond to nature in a creative way. Of course, the full benefit of a Montessori classroom, including practical life, art, sensorial, language and math is also available for your child.

 

Activities include but are not limited to:

• Exploration of birds, insects, plants, water, fossils, and more
• Artist of the week and exploration of artistic expressions
• Author of the week
• Access to all core Montessori materials
• Movement, music, singing        

Who can enroll?

• Children ages 3 to 6 who are entering preschool through first grade in 2012-13.

Instructors

• Instruction will be led and supervised by GSCM pre-primary teacher Julia Damico. 
• Julia will be assisted by two assistants.

Dates, Times, and Fees

• Dates of operation:  Monday, June 18 through Friday, August 10
• Half-day program (8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon):          $110/week
• Full-day program (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.):             $220/week

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Early Dismissal Dates for OCSAA Staff Self-Study

Due to our OCSAA Self-Study, we will have 12:00 noon early dismissal on the following Fridays:

            Friday, January 27

            Friday, February 10

            Friday, February 24

 

Forest Hills will provide afternoon bus service. Milford and Madeira will not provide afternoon bus service.

 

Please note:

• On these dates, students will eat lunch at 11:30. Pizza will be served for those purchasing lunch tickets. Other students should bring their lunches as normal.
• Full-day preschool and after-school care will be available for full-day preschool students.
• After-school care is available for students normally signed up for this service. These students will also have care at school from noon-3:00 on these dates.
• If you have a preschooler to pick up at 11:30 and a grade-school student to pick up at noon, your preschooler may stay for lunch in the classroom. Please let us know if this is the case.

 

Please see last week's newsletter for more information on the Self-Study Process and the reason for these early dismissal days. Thank you for your understanding - we know this poses an inconvenience for some families. We look forward to sharing the fruits of our self-study with you towards the end of the school year or in the beginning of the 2012-13 school year.

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GSCM families contributed 34 jars of jelly or jam to last week's collection for Inter Parish Ministry's food choice pantry. Thank you for your donations.

The next collection will be Thursday, February 16th. Please mark it on your calendars. Item to be sent in will be in a later newsletter.

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