Upcoming Dates

April 30-May 18             OAC Arts Residency with Debbie Brod  

Thurs., May 3                First Communion Parent Meeting, 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Wed., May 9                 May Crowning (see below)

Tomorrow Night's PTO Speaker Series

Don't miss tomorrow night's PTO Speaker Series with special guest speaker Dr. Andrew Sodergren.

Dr. Sodergren, a parent of two GSCM students and a clinical psychologist will provide practical parenting advice for today's families. Dr. Sodergren, whose doctoral dissertation is entitled Attachment and Morality: A Catholic Perspective, will speak from his experience as a husband, father, and psychologist.

Do you know what is "the second most important gift you can give your children"? Come tomorrow night and find out. See you at 7:00 pm at GSCM.

Discounted school spirit wear will also be on sale following the meeting (see more about it under PTO News below).

Kroger Rewards Program

Starting May 1, the Kroger Reward program is changing. Parents will enroll their Kroger Plus Card in the Community Rewards Program, indicate GSCM as the charitable organization of choice, and then every time that family's Plus Card is used at a Kroger store, GSCM will receive a percentage of every purchase.

We urge all GSCM families who shop at Kroger to enroll, and to ask extended family and friends to enroll and list GSCM as your donor organization.   We utilize these funds for Staff Development and Financial Aid.

To enroll, go to krogercommunityrewards.com and proceed as follows:

• Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.
• If a member does not yet have a Kroger Plus card, please let them know that they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
• Click on Sign In/Register
• Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the 'New Customer?' box.
• Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
• You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
• Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
• Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
• Update or confirm your information.
• Enter our NPO number 80140 or the name of our organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.
• To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization's name on the right side of your information page.
• REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
• Do you use your phone number at the register?  Call 800-576-4377, select option 4 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
• Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.

Mission Alive: Reflections from a Student Intern

By Colleen McHugh, 3-6 Xavier Intern

[Ed. Note: Frequently, our teachers serve as supervising teachers for Montessori interns from Xavier University's Montessori Teacher Training Program, the Greater Cincinnati Center for Montessori Education, and other training sites. Colleen McHugh is currently an XU intern in Carrie Bucksath's 3-6 class, and wrote the following reflection about her experience.]

As an intern from Xavier in Carrie Bucksath's 3-6 environment, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank her for supporting me in the classroom and share a bit about my student teaching experience.

We learn best through doing. This statement is one of the cornerstones of the Montessori philosophy. Not only is it true for children, but for people of all ages. My experience as a 3-6 intern has proven just that. I spent three years taking course after course on how to present the Montessori materials, how to manage a classroom, and how to incorporate things like literature, multiculturalism, and play into lesson plans. While these courses provided me with a great foundation leading into my intern experience, never did I expect I would learn quite as much as I have over the past seven months.

I spent my first semester of student teaching at Pleasant Ridge Montessori in a public school environment before coming to Good Shepherd in January. Teaching in a public and private setting has given me a wide range of insights into the Montessori classroom. I have had the opportunity to lead group circles, create a variety of materials, practice classroom management techniques, and develop methods of observation. Working with a cooperating teacher has allowed me to receive valuable feedback on my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher. Carrie can see first-hand how I operate in a classroom setting and has guided me through the process of becoming a successful teacher.