Upcoming Dates

Wed., Feb. 22               Ash Wednesday, 8:15 Mass

Thurs., Feb. 23              Box Tops Turn-In Deadline

Thurs., Feb. 23              Cub Scouts, 3:15-4:15

Fri., Feb. 24                  Progress Reports sent home 

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

Fri., Feb 24                   GSCM Fine Arts Fair 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at The Barn

Tues., Feb 28                PTO Business Meeting 9:15 a.m.

Thurs., Mar. 1                Parent Conferences, 2:00 DISMISSAL (no bus service)

Fri., March 2                  NO SCHOOL, Parent-Teacher Conferences

Mon. March 5                PSAS Financial Aid Deadline

Sat., March 10              HATS OFF TO GSCM SPRING GALA

March 16-23                  Unplugged Week

Wed., March 21             Mom's Knit Night, 6:30-8:00 p.m. (Hyde Park)

Thurs., March 22            Family Supper/Games Night

 

Cub Scouts:  Thursday, Feb. 23, 3:15-4:15

Our new Cub Scout Troop will be meeting again on Thursday, Feb. 23.  First grade scouts must have either a parent or parent-designate present to assist with supervision.  Scouts in 2nd through 4th grades may stay after school (we provide supervision and a snack), attend the meeting, and be picked up from the atrium at 4:15.  New members are welcome!

 

The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori Fine Arts Fair this Friday, Feb. 24 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. 

at The Barn (Woman's Art Club Cultural Center), at 6980 Cambridge Ave. in Mariemont. Come see our 9-12 and Middle School student's artwork and hear the GSCM Children's Choir!!

 

All 9-12 & Middle School students have been practicing to perform during this event, singing a few favorite songs learned during music class so far this year. The music performances will begin at 6:30 and end at 7:30 with a different group performing every 15 minutes. Please let Barb Blasch know if your 9-12 or Middle School student(s) will not be attending (for planning purposes). Also, if anyone has a full size keyboard that we could borrow for thei event, please contact Barb Blasch.  She can be reached at 390-7221 or bblasch@gscmontessori.org.

 

The Art "Barn" is a large gallery room which will display the student's art pieces for viewing.  There is no stage and this will not be a "sit down" event.  Instead the students will perform in one area of the gallery at the same time as attendees roam about viewing the art.  We hope to have a good turnout for this event, so hope to see you there!  

 

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Unplugged Week (March 16-23):  A Sneak Preview!

Unplugged Week returns to GSCM March 16-23.  What a wonderful reminder to turn the screens off and stop and smell the daffodils.  Last year, children all over the school enjoyed taking the time to turn off the TV and other screens, and as a reward earned lots of fun prizes at school.

 

Gently Used Items Wanted

This year we will incorporate spring cleaning into our rewards for going unplugged.  As you notice them around your house, begin setting aside gently used books, games, puzzles and stuffed animals to bring in with your media-free passes during Unplugged Week. 

 

Family Dinner and Game Night:  Thursday, March 22

On Thursday, March 22 we will host a Crockpot Supper and Family Game Night and children will have the chance to shop our treasure trove of donated items as part of their reward for going unplugged.  Items will be available for shopping Friday, March 23 as well.  Whatever remains we will donate to a nearby charity.  Declutter your home, declutter your mind as GSCM goes Unplugged!  Watch the newsletter for more information coming soon.

 

GSCM Moms' Knit Night:  Wed., March 21

Wednesday, March 21, bring your knitting and get together with other GSCM knitters at Hank Yarn Boutique on the corner of Edwards and Observatory in Hyde Park from 6:30-8:00.  RSVP to Alicia Wilhelmy at alicia@seemlessdesign.com by March 5.

 

Unplugged Parents:  A Lenten Opportunity

As we stand on the threshold to Lent, what better way to begin your journey than considering the impact of technology and the media on your family?  The next few weeks we will feature some sources for parents to consider on this topic.

 

Alone Together - Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other(By Sherry Turkle)

 Reviewed by Alicia Wilhelmy, Unplugged Week Coordinator

 

Technology promises to let us do anything from anywhere with anyone. But it also drains us as we try to do everything everywhere. We begin to feel overwhelmed and depleted by the lives technology makes possible. We may be free to work from anywhere, but we are also prone to being lonely everywhere. In a surprising twist, relentless connection leads to a new solitude. We turn to new technology to fill the void, but as technology ramps up, our emotional lives ramp down.

 

Alone Together is the result of MIT technology and society specialist Sherry Turkle's nearly fifteen-year exploration of our lives on the digital terrain. Based on interviews with hundreds of children and adults, it describes new, unsettling relationships between friends, lovers, parents, and children, and new instabilities in how we understand privacy and community, intimacy and solitude. It is a story of emotional dislocation, of risks taken unknowingly. But it is also a story of hope, for even in the places where digital saturation is greatest, there are people-especially the young-who are asking the hard questions about costs, about checks and balances, about returning to what is most sustaining about direct human connection. At the threshold of what Turkle calls "the robotic moment," our devices prompt us to recall that we have human purposes and, perhaps, to rediscover what they are.

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Sports News

Junior Ultimate Frisbee League

When:   Fridays, March 30-June 1 (no games on 4/6, Good Friday), 4:00-5:30 p.m.

Where:  Sem Villa Fields (on South Milford Road in Milford)

Who:    Children ages 8-13 (must be eight years old by 4/1/12; must turn fourteen after 6/1/12)

What:    Ultimate Frisbee is a fast-paced sport that combines skill, quickness, and teamwork.  This will be our fourteenth season of Junior Ultimate.  The children will be assigned to teams (separate boys' and girls' teams).  Each team will be coached by an experienced high school player.  Each week will have two parts:  the first part will consist of 30-45 minutes of practice, drills, and conditioning, and the second part will consist of teams playing games against one another.  We will have a tournament on our final day.

Registration/Cost:     $15 per player.  For more information and registration information, contact Dan Teller (dteller@gscmontessori.org).  Registration deadline is March 8.

  

Track Opportunities

CYO TRACK

St. Gertrude has invited GSCM to join their track program this year. Any child in K through 8 grades may participate. Practices will most likely be on Tues and Thurs but the times are not yet known. The cost will be $70.00 (includes a uniform that gets turned back in at end of track season). St. Gertrude charges each family a booster fee in addition to the regular sport fees. The booster fee applies no matter how many sports a family participates in. Therefore, if you are interested in running track with St. Gertrude, the fee will be $40 for track plus a $30 booster fee per family totaling $70.   See http://sites.google.com/site/cincinnatitrackcyo/ for more information about CYO track.

 

If you would like to register your child for CYO track go to above web site and print the release form from the forms and documents page and return it to Mary Rieke with a check for $70.00 made out to St. Gertrude Boosters no later than 2/28. NO REGISTRATIONS WILL BE TAKEN AFTER THIS DATE. If you have any questions, contact Mary Rieke at mrieke@gscmontessori.org.

 

**Remember, for grades 1-6 there is a less expensive option through the Mariemont Recreation dept. (see information below)

   

Warriors Track and Field Program

This track and field program is offered by the Mariemont Recreation Association and is open to boys and girls in Kindergarten - 6^th grade.  Our goal is to introduce kids to the basics of both running and field events in a fun environment.   Registration fee is $35 (includes uniform shirt).  Registration deadline is March 5^th.  For more information and to register go to www.mariemonttrack.org.

 

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PTO News

Spiritwear

If you wanted to order one of our Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori women's stylish long sleeved tees, get your order in by this Friday!  These round neck tees come in brown with light blue imprint, black with white imprint and grey with navy imprint and are $20 for ladies sizes S, M, L, and XL and $22 for XXL. Order forms are available outside of the office and can be turned into the office or directly to Amie Bressert.  Order one and show your GSCM Spirit!