The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori is dedicated to providing an outstanding education to children ages three to fourteen in a Catholic atmosphere faithful to the Magesterium of the Church. Using the philosophy and techniques of the Montessori approach, including religious education through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, our goal is to enable each child to develop as a well-integrated human being: spiritually, intellectually, socially, physically, and emotionally Register for Kroger Community Rewards Program Create an account here. You willl need an email, password, zip code, then enter your Kroger Plus Card number. Then go here to register for the Community Rewards Program and select The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori (#80140).
Over the next two weeks, you will receive more information about registering in this program. Please help us reach our goal of increasing participation by 60 people.
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"One of the greatest mistakes of our day is to think of movement by itself, as something apart from the higher functions ... Mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it. It is vital that educational theory and practice should become informed by this idea.
Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
(For more on movement, please see Mission Alive!)
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Upcoming Dates
Thurs., Sept.20 Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening 7:00 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 20 After-School Soccer Clinic, 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Sept.17-20 Middle School Odyssey Trip to Hico, West Virginia
Sept. 19-21 Upper Elementary Trip to Camp Kern
Tues., Oct. 2 First Communion Parent Meeting, 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 2 Lower Elementary Parent Education Evening, 7:00
Thurs., Oct. 11 WALKATHON, 9:00-11:30 a.m.
Fri., Oct. 12 Staff In-service, NO SCHOOL
Oct. 15-19 Book Fair
Fri., Oct. 19 Grandparents/Special Friends Day
2012 Walkathon: "Step into the Year of Faith!"
Dear Parents,
This year's Walkathon on October 11 is the very first day of the Church's Year of Faith, which Pope Benedict has declared for the universal Church. And our guest walker will be Fr. Kyle Schnippel, vocations director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. What a great day to walk for our school!
Faith is at the heart of our school's mission, and what better way to elevate our Walkathon than to unite it with the Year of Faith which we begin on that day? Keep in mind that all of your efforts to support this event are like little pebbles in the water of the world - rippling out to touch not only the children here, but through them and through the work of our school, people we will never know or meet; members of a world so strongly in need of faith.
You are receiving Walkathon materials this week, and next week we are speaking to the children about the event. We need your support! Please:
- Consider being a sponsor, or asking a friendly business to sponsor our event
- Purchase a "Walkagram" for your child
- Help your child get pledges for our event
For complete Walkathon information, go to
www.gscmontessori.org
Pope Benedict said, "The mission of the Church, like Christ, is essentially to speak of God, to commemorate His sovereignty, reminding everyone, especially Christians, who have lost their identity, of God's right over what belongs to Him, which is our lives."
Let's dedicate this Walkathon to the sovereignty of God, and let's support it with the spirit and enthusiasm that we would want to give to such a noble effort!
Sincerely,
Dan Teller
Principal
THIS THURSDAY ...
Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening
Practical Life and Sensorial Exercises: How Do They Help My Child?
Thursday, September 20, 7:00-8:30 p.m. (parents only)
Why is my child scrubbing tables?
What is the purpose of basic Practical Life activities, such as pouring water from one small pitcher to another and twisting a screwdriver?
How do I support the independence of the Montessori environment in my own home?
What are the sensorial materials? Why are they important for the preschool child?
If these questions resonate with you or if you have similar questions about our curriculum, please mark your calendars for Thursday, September 20 at 7pm. The Pre-Primary teachers will give an overview of the Practical Life and Sensorial Areas of the classroom. This will include presentations, explanations of the direct and indirect aims of the lessons, as well as an open format for questions.
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Mission Alive!
Practical Life: More than Spooning Beans!
In Montessori education, everything we do springs from an understanding of the child's developmental needs. Everything is oriented towards the child's development into a fully-integrated human being (see our mission statement in the sidebar).
This Thursday, our pre-primary parents have an excellent opportunity to learn how the Practical Life Exercises promote the child's harmonious development. Also, Practical Life is an area of Montessori that is easily incorporated into the life of the home.
Montessori trainer Margaret Stephenson gives us a deeper understanding of the Practical Life exercises. Please join our teachers on Thursday evening to learn more!
From Montesssori: An Unfolding - The Child from 3-6
By Margaret E. Stephenson, Association Montessori Internationale © 1971 (emphasis added)
The child from three to six has need of self-control and coordinated movement... The child of three, entering an environment which he has to explore to make his own should find motives of activity that will engage his hands in the same type of tasks he sees around him in the home. The prepared environment for the child from three to six needs those exercises of practical life which will enable him to develop as a being adapted to a way of life that is essentially human on the one hand and particular to a group on the other.
The exercises in practical life have a further aim besides that of making possible for the child the adaptation to his environment through his own activity within it. They allow the child, because of the movements to be carried out within the scope of the exercise, a continual possibility of repeated steps which will permit him gradually to perfect his performance. As the interest of the child becomes centered on an exact technique, the will is given repeated opportunities to act in order that the child may arrive at a gradually increasing degree of self-control. As the action of the body becomes more and more consciously controlled, the child who is in the process of formation of himself as man, becomes a more and more fully integrated person.
This, then, is the purpose of the exercises of practical life - they afford the child an opportunity of become one with the environment of his family and society and they aid him in the acquisition of conscious self-control.
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Office and General News
Food Allergy Policy Change
Starting Monday, September 24, our pre-primary environments will be nut-free, including snacks, individual lunches, and class celebrations. This also applies to the pre-school extended care program (11:30-3:00 p.m.). We have notified our pre-primary parents about this change in a letter that was sent home yesterday.
The elementary, middle school, and after-school programs will remain unaffected by this policy change. Nut products are still permitted there.
Please note that, as before, no products containing peanuts or tree nuts will be served at all-school events. Here is the complete version of our revised food allergy policy, which is now posted in our School Handbook:
Food allergies can be life threatening. The foods most likely to cause allergic reactions are peanuts, tree nuts, dairy products, eggs, wheat and shellfish. Peanut and tree nut allergies are becoming more common and severe. School policies regarding food allergies are as follows:
The school is not equipped to serve children with severe, life-threatening air-borne allergies.
No products containing peanuts or tree nuts will be served at all-school events. The school will communicate this to the broad community, staff, volunteers, and event organizers through various measures (newsletter, individual instructions and memos, standing planning and implementation instructions for events, etc.).
- Pre-Primary Program (Preschool/Kindergarten)
The Pre-Primary program is "nut-free". No nut products are permitted in pre-primary classrooms for classroom snacks, celebrations, or individual lunches and snacks. The teacher will communicate this to the class community before the start of the school year.
The family of a child with other food allergies, such as dairy, eggs, wheat, etc., will need to provide snack and special foods for classroom celebrations for their child. The family and teacher will work together to develop a plan and avoid exposure to these foods that may be present in the classroom.
- Elementary and Middle School Programs
brations.
The elementary and middle school programs are not "nut-free" and do not prohibit foods such as dairy, wheat, etc. in student lunches. Parents, staff, and students work together to manage the student's allergy needs and maintain a safe environment for the student. Special foods may be stored at school for use during celebrations.
Dress Code Reminder
A few clarifications on the dress code:
Bracelets and nail polish are not permitted.
Shorts must be 3" or less above the top of the kneecap.
Girls' skirts must be 2" or less above the top of the kneecap.
GSCM Parent Book Club
Do you love to read, get new book ideas, and get to know other GSCM parents in a social setting? The GSCM Parent Book Club is just right for you! We select books recommended by our readers, meet about every six weeks and meet (outside of school) to enjoy light book discussion and visiting. If you are interested, please email Dinese Young to be put on our email list: dyoung5281@gmail.com.
2011-12 Yearbooks
It is not too late to purchase a yearbook or an extra copy! Yearbooks are $25 for one, $44 for two or $60 for three. If interested, contact Dinese Young, dyoung5281@gmail.com. Extras will be sold first-come, first-served.
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Program News
Professional Development News
LANGUAGE ESSENTIALS IN TEACHING READING AND SPELLING (LETRS)
GSCM, in conjunction with Mayerson Academy (the training affiliate for CPS), is offering a 21-hour training course in LETRS (Language Essentials in Teaching Reading and Spelling). All of our lead teachers will take LETRS training this year.
This professional development opportunity is partially funded by earnings from the Kroger Community Rewards Program (see sidebar). Please enroll in this program, listing GSCM as your sponsored organization, so that we can continue to offer top-notch professional development opportunities to our staff.
Educators from other schools may register for this training course. For more information, go to www.gscmontessori.org
LETRS Summary: Teaching reading, language, spelling, and writing requires us to know a lot about the structure of language so that we can explain sounds, words, sentences, and discourse to students. We also need to know why some students have difficulty and how literacy skills are acquired through experience and direct instruction. LETRS® provides reading coaches, reading teachers, and regular classroom teachers with a comprehensive, practical, and fad-free knowledge base for implementing instruction for all students. Years of research and a lifetime of experience in education went into the development of LETRS. The evidence-based LETRS modules address every component of effective reading instruction-phonological and phonemic awareness; phonics, decoding, spelling, and word study; oral language; vocabulary; reading fluency; comprehension; and writing-as well as the foundational concepts of language that link all of these components. With LETRS, teachers return to the classroom knowing about the mental processes of reading and the field-tested instructional strategies that work for every type of learner. Back to top
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Sports News
Boys Basketball and Girls Volleyball Sign-ups.
Winter Sports Teams are now being formed! If your 3rd-8th grade child is interested in playing Boys Basketball please email Bridget Kaufman bridget_kaufman@yahoo.com or Girls Volleyball, please email Mary Rieke mrieke@gscmontessori.org by Friday, September 21. This is to give us an idea of how many teams we can field for each sport at the various grade levels.
GSCM Girls Basketball 
The GSCM Girls Basketball team has played two games so far this season. Made up of mostly first time players, these 3rd and 4th grade girls and their Coach Kevin Tankersley have been practicing hard.Special thanks to Bridget Kaufman for helping set up the team and to KC Stagaman who made it possible for the girls to practice at the Cincinnati Sports Club. The team has back to back games this weekend -5:30 Friday at St. Susanna and 7:30 Saturday at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Come out and cheer for our GSCM Falcons!
Pictured after their first game: Ayden Cavil, Trinity Tankersley, Cecilia Wilhelmy, Ximena Vermilion, Rian Cardenas, Caroline Widmeyer, and Maya Chambers with Coach Tankersley. Not Pictured: Danielle Hogan and Elise Stagaman.
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Thank You, Family!
We appreciate your taking the time to read our newsletter.
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