The Gatekeeper
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Level II September 26, 2014 - Level 2 |
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| Dear CGS Level II Parent | 
Our second session of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) was held back at the beginning of this week with a presentation on the Good Shepherd and the Found Sheep. We are now kicking off our e-newsletters. The catechesis e-newsletters are intended to help parents connect with the topics and concepts which children are experiencing in the Atrium (the CGS term for our rooms). You can read more about the timing and design of newsletters in the last couple articles below.
We hope you and your child have a very positive experience at St. Teresa of Avila this year and welcome your questions and feedback. Peace, Lina Hilko (editor)
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The Good Shepherd & the Found Sheep
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We begin our presentation to the children with the Good Shepherd parable from the Gospel of John. Children who received the presentation in the past (e.g., Level 1 and/or 2) will naturally help our newcomers to Atrium discern qualities of the Good Shepherd. The children will recall that the Good Shepherd loves and takes great care of his sheep. After review, we will introduce another parable about the Good Shepherd, this time from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 15:4-6).
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' "
We hear and explore a new characteristic of the Good Shepherd: He diligently looks for the Lost Sheep that has wandered from the flock and feels such joy upon finding it. Sophia Cavalletti, the founder of the Catechesis, eloquently writes about the Found Sheep in The Religious Potential of the Child:
"The Good Shepherd's love is such that He cannot bear to know that even one of His sheep is alone and unprotected. So He goes in search of it, calling for it until His voice reaches the sheep and sheep and Shepherd are together once again; even more, now the sheep is on the Good Shepherd's shoulders, now the sheep can go where He goes, and who could harm a sheep in the arms of its Shepherd?"
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On Presenting Parables
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One of the harder things a catechist must do is to stop themselves from interpreting, explaining, or defining parables - to simply proclaim and facilitate the children's joyful discovery of meaning and purpose. Parables speak uniquely to each individual. The same parable can provide a different message at different points in one person's life. But the power of a parable can only work within a person if the catechist steps down and leaves space and silence.
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About E-Newsletters
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Newsletters are often level-specific (like this one) because CGS presentations are often specific to the child's particular developmental stage. However, we will send combined newsletters when the topics being covered across levels are related. Newsletters are not issued weekly; rather, they are issued as new topic groupings begin for a given level.
Sometimes we include Level II articles called "Walk the Talk" that suggest particular ways to connect Atrium to home. These suggestions should never limit you; hopefully, they inspire you. You can read more about this choice of title, "Walk the Talk," below.
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Walk the Talk
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The main goal of these newsletters is to help parents connect with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is very different from the traditional CCD that most of us grew up with. Parents are the first and best teachers of the faith to their children. We seek to support parents in that role.
Just as there are unique newsletters for each catechesis Level, there is unique advice given to parents by Level. CGS Levels are not randomly selected. CGS is founded on the educational principles of Maria Montessori. Montessori groupings are consciously created based on children's developmental stages in order to support and utilize their specific sensitivities, interests, and abilities.
The articles on parental connection and support for Level III are entitled "Continued Conversation," based on one parent's comment that the newsletter, "... will enable us to continue conversations at home." The 9-12 children are at a very conversational stage. Level III works tend to revolve around research, reading and writing. Presentations involve a lot of debate and discussion.
The "stay connected" articles for Level I are entitled "Feed My Sheep." Level I presentations are not very conversational. The 3-6 child is still developing speech and vocabulary. Nearly all the work in Level I is manipulative. Hands-on materials exist to provide the 3-6 child, who often cannot yet read or write, the means to continue reflecting on the presentations. So, the parent can support their Level I child through activities, much more so than through conversation. The "Feed My Sheep" title underscores action over conversation.
What about Level II? It's interesting that Level II is very clearly a transition zone between Level I and Level III. Level II is like an estuary, the area where a freshwater river flows into a saltwater sea. I looked that up in Wikipedia and learned that: "Estuaries are often associated with high levels of biological diversity." That sounds about right. Level II is full of bio-diversity. It has readers and non-readers, writers and non-writers. It has children who are still quite satisfied to work with hands-on, physical materials and still crave repetition. And it has children that are ready to "move on."
So, it may come as no surprise that parents of a Level II child best support the child through a mix of hands-on activity (Level I involvement) and conversational wondering (Level III involvement). Hence the title "Walk the Talk."
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Please provide comments about this newsletter to Lina Hilko, the editor, at LHilko@aol.com, and/or Kate Lynch, St. Teresa's Director of Religious Education, at kolynchdre@gmail.com.
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