Annual Fund Update To date, 25% of GSCM Families have participated in our annual fund. Whether in prayer, financial support, or volunteer help, we are aiming for 100% participation. Please consider an Easter prayer for the school, as well as a donation of any size.
Please send in your pledge today! No gift is too small!
Donate online at www.gscmontessori.org/giving
Kroger and Remke biggs Cards
Please use your Kroger or Remke biggs reward card. Every purchase earns 4% for the school. Funds support PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT and FINANCIAL AID.
Consider giving cards to your extended family members as well!
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SOUNDING BOARD
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"The groups preceding Him as well as those following kept crying out: 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' " -Matthew 21:9
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We are in "Holy Week." The Lord wants this week to be unlike any other week in our lives - a week of grace, sorrow, repentance, and love. The week begins with the praises of Palm Sunday, changes into the screams of the crucifixion, and ends with the dead silence of the tomb. Throughout the week, we hear the sounds of crying, whipping, hammering, and blaspheming. The sounds of Holy Week are piercing and thunderous. "Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and then gave up His spirit. Suddenly the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, boulders split, tombs opened" (Mt 27:50- 52).
Eventually the roar subsides, and it's our turn to join the choir. What sound will we make? Will we be sound asleep? (Mt 26:43) Or will we betray Jesus with a quiet kiss? Will we cry: "Crucify Him"? (Mt 27:23) Or will we make an act of faith and say: "Clearly this was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:54)
The Lord God will give us a well-trained tongue to speak to the crucified Jesus a word that will proclaim His resurrection and His divinity (see Is 50:4). Dare to hear the sounds of Holy Week. Make the sounds of loving praise and faith-filled commitment. Jesus listens for you.
Palm Sunday Meditation from Presentation Ministries' booklet, "One Bread, One Body"
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Upcoming Dates
Holy Week Schedule
Wednesday, April 4 Stations of the Cross (4th/5th graders lead lower el)
Middle School Seder Celebration
Thursday, April 5 Pre-primary Last Supper Celebrations
Friday, April 6 GOOD FRIDAY, No School
Sunday, April 8 Happy Easter! He is risen!!!
April 9-13 Easter Vacation
Thurs., April 19 Liturgy of Light Celebrations (see below)
Wed., April 25 Last PTO Meeting 7:00 p.m.
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Mission Alive: Holy Week at School
The atrium provides a gateway for the child into the life of the Church. During Holy Week, we contemplate the most important moments in the life of Christ. The great events of the Passion and Resurrection lend themselves to be celebrated with the children.
Last Supper and Seder Meal Celebrations:
Reading Sofia Cavalletti's description of our Last Supper celebrations with the 3-9 year olds, one can readily see how the moment captures the entire Paschal event - the entire Easter Triduum, so to speak - in one compact moment:
"A small group of ... children gathers around a table; each child chooses the name of an apostle. One child is entrusted with the task of saying the words of Jesus, which are written, depending on the age of the children, more or less according to the structure of the Jewish paschal banquet. When the supper is concluded, another child reads an abbreviated account of the death and resurrection. The actualization follows immediately afterward: Crucifix and lighted candles are brought to the table, transforming it into an altar; the circle of children widens to include all who are present. The children often linger for long periods of time around he improvised altar and express their prayer spontaneously."
For the older (9-12 and middle school) students, we provide a Seder Meal as the context for an historical understanding of the Last Supper. The children experience the traditional foods, prayers, and rituals that Jesus celebrated with his disciples at the Last Supper, and contemplate the institution of the new, eternal covenant of the Eucharist that Jesus instituted at this meal.
Stations of the Cross
Elementary and middle school students will walk the way of the cross with Jesus by praying the stations of the cross. To make the prayer more meaningful and intimate, this is done in small groups with older students leading younger students in the liturgy. Groups of 4th/5th graders will lead small groups of lower elementary students in praying the stations in church and singing of the traditional hymn, 'Stabat Mater' with student xylophone accompaniment.
The middle school students will lead the 6th graders in a contemporary application of the stations that focuses on images of suffering in the world today, and helps the students recognize how we can unite our suffering to the salvific suffering of Our Lord. Several examples of these contemporary stations:
- Jesus meets His mother ... as a Bangladeshi woman cradles her dying son
- Veronica wipes the face of Jesus ... as a woman strokes the head of a dying man on the street in India.
- Jesus is buried ... as two men place a pauper's body in an unmarked grave in Africa
Liturgy of Light Celebration: Thursday, April 19 (see schedule below)
The Liturgy of the Light is a beautiful celebration of the Resurrection that is designed especially for children. The celebration includes readings by the children, plenty of singing, and powerful signs from the Church's Easter Vigil: the paschal candle leading us with its one light through the darkness, the spreading of this light to each of us, and the brightening of the dark room as the light of Jesus spreads.
Parents are invited to join us for this beautiful celebration of the Lord's Resurrection.
Thursday, April 19: Liturgy of Light Celebrations
8:30 3-6C and 9-12C
9:30 3-6B and 9-12G
10:30 3-6D and 6-9S/L
11:30 6-9S/O and Middle School
From school to the church ...
The effectiveness of our work with children flows directly from the beautiful and powerful signs that the Church provides us in our worship during this wonderful season of grace. Sacramental signs, the washing of feet, images of the Passion, the link between the Old Testament covenant and the eternal covenant with Christ, the spreading of the Easter light ... atrium experiences simply borrow all of these wonderful signs from the Church.
But the atrium experience is only a gateway to the real life of the Church. Please help your child pass through that gate. According to the age and maturity of your child, help them experience the profound liturgy of the Church during the upcoming Easter Triduum. The silence, awe, and joy of the atrium experience will serve your child well in preparing him or her to enjoy these greatest of all realities in the timeless liturgy of the church.
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Congratulations 'Wizard of Oz' Cast and Crew
Congratulations to the entire cast and crew for a wonderful presentation of the 'Wizard of Oz' last week. This project was initiated last summer by 8th graders Lizzie Lotterer, Megan Griffin, and Katie Guarasci. Later, Lucy Schroder joined the team as the student director and provided superb leadership. Rhonda Hamall served as the parent guide, and was instrumental in enabling the students to lead the p roduction to its completion (including procuring the temporary stage and curtains).
Thank you, leaders, cast, and crew for providing such a joyful experience to our school community!
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Summer Camp News
Please visit our website www.gscmontessori.org for a current summer camp brochure. Camps are offered the weeks of June 11-14 and 18-21:
- Nature Trail: Instructor: Jeanne Speier, M.F.A., Music Instructor at GSCM
- Let's Go Outside! Instructor: Jeanne Speier, M.F.A., Music Instructor at GSCM
- Drama for the Young Child: Instructor: Rhonda Hamall, Associate of Arts, Founder and Director of the Backyard Theatre Company;
- Drama for the Older Child: Instructor: Rhonda Hamall, Associate of Arts, Founder and Director of the Backyard Theatre Company;
- Ultimate! (Frisbee, that is): Instructors: Evan Conrad, University of Cincinnati Ultimate Frisbee Team; Jack Teller, starter on 6-time
- Sculpture for the Elementary Child: Walking with the Gargoyles: Instructor: Shannon Treier, BFA, fine arts teacher at GSCM
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Great Gala Items Still Available for Purchase
We have some great items that are still available from the Gala auction. This is your chance to support GSCM and scoop up a great deal! Stop in the office to make your purchase - first come, first served.
Item #605 Kennedy Heights Arts Center - Gift Certificate for One Month of Art Classes. Gift Certificate good for a month's of classes at the Kennedy Center for Art Education. Choose from an array of interesting, fun and educational classes. A $150 value, available for $75.
Item #108 A Guided Tour of the Athenaeum of Cincinnati, April 19. For students in grade 4 and older, this is a unique opportunity to tour one of Cincinnati's religious art treasuries. Jana Widmeyer and Annette Lustenburger will take a group of 10 children, to the Athenaeum for a guided tour and will sweeten the outing with an ice cream treat afterwards. $20 per student.
Item #2004 University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Tickets. Enjoy 2 lower level tickets to a mid-December 2012 UK home game at Rupp Arena. Seats are located in Section 24 row VV. Go Wildcats! $80.
More items available - see the entire Second Chance Auction listing: Click here.
Framed student photos available for purchase too!
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Office News
"The Barn" Offering the Production of River Rat & Cat
The Woman's Art Club Cultural Center (The Barn) is offering Playhouse off the Hill's production of River Rat & Cat this Saturday, April 14 at 10:00 am. Adults (12+) are $2 at the door, children are free. To reserve seats, please call 272-3700.
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PTO News
Last Meeting
Mark your calendar for the last PTO meeting of the school year on Wednesday, April 25 at 7:00 pm. As part of our continuing Speaker Series, the GSCM PTO is excited to announce that our speaker will be GSCM parent and clinical psychologist Dr. Andrew Sodergren. Plan now to attend Dr. Sodergren's talk and find out what is "the second most important gift you can give your children."
Box Tops
We will be collecting box tops for the month of April. The class that sends in the most box tops will win an ice cream party! Please turn in box tops in an envelope or Ziploc with your name and class. If you prefer a box top collection sheet there are extras in one of the box top baskets. This will be the last collection for the school year so please turn in all your box tops.
Order Your Yearbook
Don't wait until the last minute to order your 2011-12 GSCM yearbook. The GSCM PTO and Yearbook Club will be taking PREORDERS ONLY for this year's book. No extra books will be ordered and resold. Yearbooks cost $25 for one, $44 for two and $60 for three. Make check payable to GSCM PTO. Yearbooks will be delivered to students in the fall of the following school year. Non returning families may pick up their books in the fall or pay to have the yearbooks mailed. Order forms available in the office.
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Book Club Get-Together
Wednesday, April 25, 7pm at Shea Lawrence's House 1555 Wild Cherry Drive, Milford. Come discuss our recent reads and weigh in for the next get together - Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Author of Seabiscuit), Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Even if you haven't read the books, come for some great topical discussion and good books. RSVP - Shea.Lawrence@gmail.com or 673-2972
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Check Out Architecture Club Projects at Downtown Cincinnati Public Library
GSCM's first student Architecture Club will submit their entries for the 2012 ABC (Architecture by Children) competition sponsored by Cincinnati's chapter of AIA on Saturday, April 7th. Stop by the downtown Cincinnati library from April 7-13th to view the GSCM entries as well as entries from students across the city. Judging will take place during our Easter/Spring Break, so say a little prayer and wish of good luck for our students: Aiden Laskey, Nicodemas Kaufman, Michael Kaufman, Sophia Young, Finnegan Huxell, Alliah Bell, Renee Stieby, Clara Conover, Catherine Stuebbe, Miriam Lawrence, Grace Harris.
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HHS Insurance Mandate News
Many may have heard of "The Parable of the Kosher Deli" in testimony given by the Most Reverend William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport on behalf of the USCCB before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Following are the closing two paragraphs of his written statement:
"This story has a happy ending. The government recognized that it is absurd for someone to come into a kosher deli and demand a ham sandwich; that it is beyond absurd for that private demand to be backed with the coercive power of the state; that it is downright surreal to apply this coercive power when the customer can get the same sandwich cheaply, or even free, just a few doors down.
"The question before the United States government-right now-is whether the story of our own Church institutions that serve the public, and that are threatened by the HHS mandate, will end happily too. Will our nation continue to be one committed to religious liberty and diversity? We urge, in the strongest possible terms, that the answer must be yes. We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to answer the same way."
If you would like to read "the rest of the story", please Click Here
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