The Christmas Woman

Luke's Gospel account of the Christmas event is full of activity...And yet, in the middle of the frenetic action, here is this woman wrapped in mystical silence...She demonstrates the necessity of a quiet place within ourselves at Christmastime-that place where we are most ourselves in relation to God.

William Frebuger, Making Christmas a Saving Event

 

Upcoming Date

Thurs., Dec. 13         IPM canned tuna/chicken collection

Fri., Dec.14              Christmas Giving Tree

Fri., Dec.21              Christmas Clothing Day (see below) 

                               Christmas Caroling/Family Advent Celebration

                                (see below)

Dec. 22 - Jan. 2        Christmas Vacation (NO SCHOOL)

Thurs., Jan. 3           Classes resume  

 

Christmas Caroling followed by Family Advent Celebration

Friday, December 21

Pizza Dinner:                           5:00-5:45 p.m.

Neighborhood Caroling:          5:45-6:45 p.m.

Family Advent Celebration:      7:00-8:00 p.m.

Come enjoy a traditional evening of neighborhood caroling for you and your children! We will gather in the elementary atrium at 5:45, and then take our joy into the neighborhood as we sing carols to our neighbors. Then, we will complete our evening with our Family Advent Celebration in the church, expressing the joy of the anticipation of Christ's coming. The children will lead our celebration in the church with readings and songs appropriate for all ages. Come for the Family Celebration, or come for the entire evening! For pizza dinner reservations,

PLEASE RSVP TO NANCY TOON: 271-4171 or ntoon@gscmontessori.org  

 

Friday, December 21: Christmas Clothing Day

All students are invited to wear out-of-uniform Christmas clothing on Friday, December 21 (our last day of school before Christmas break). However, there is a "cost":

1. Please send in $1.00. This will go towards our purchase of a new Marian statue to overlook our school from the hillside.
2. Any student who comes to school in Christmas clothing should be prepared to recite all or part (even just a small part!) of the gifts from the "Twelve Days of Christmas," either in song or simply recited. So here is a good excuse to start singing a fanciful Christmas song together!

12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords a Leaping
9 Ladies Dancing
8 Maids a Milking
7 Swans a Swimming
6 Geese a Laying
5 Golden Rings
4 Calling Birds
3 French Hens
2 Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

 

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Advent Offerings

The Advent Wreath

Here are the lyrics for our Advent Wreath song for the second week of Advent. Enjoy lighting the wreath with your children at home each night and singing this lovely song!

 

Light the Advent candle two

Think of all the people who

Lived in darkness, hoped for light

And it came on Christmas night.

 

(Refrain)

Candle, candle burning bright

Shining in the cold winter night

Candle, candle burning bright

Fill our hearts with Christ, the Light.

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Make Space for God: Advent Meditation from St. Anselm   

Insignificant man, rise up! Flee your preoccupations for a little while. Hide yourself for a time from your turbulent thoughts. Cast aside, now, your heavy responsibilities and put off your burdensome business. Make a little space free for God; and rest for a little time in him.

 

 

Look upon us, Lord; hear us, enlighten us, reveal yourself to us. Restore yourself to us, that it may be well with us, yourself, without whom it is so ill with us. Pity our toilings and strivings toward you since we c

Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me wh

en I seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor find you unless you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking; let me find you by loving you and love you in the act of finding you.

  Year of Faith Giveaway: Win an Ipad Mini

To celebrate the Year of Faith, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is giving away an iPad Mini that they hope will be stocked with great Catholic Apps that will help you grow in your faith. Participants can earn multiple entries by:

* Answering a Year of Faith Trivia Question

* Liking the Archdiocese of Cincinnati facebook page

* Liking the Being Catholic facebook page

* Following Being Catholic on Twitter

* Tweeting about the Year of Faith Giveaway

* Leaving a comment on the Being Catholic blog post

 

Enter from the Year of Faith page: www.catholiccincinnati.org/being-catholic/year-offaith/

or from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati facebook page: www.facebook.com/CatholicCincinnati

.

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The students were assigned to read two short articles: "Occupy Mars" and "The First Neighborhood on Mars." While the first article was factual, the second, a short story, was pure science fiction. In addition to providing details about living conditions, the futuristic tale raised questions about how we would govern ourselves, the powers and limits of science as well as what a Martian society would be like with its necessarily limited resources.

As the seminar came to a close, I felt as though I had been privileged to witness a moment both beautiful and sacred. The beauty of working with children at Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori is our constant attention as teachers to ways in which one area of the curriculum can touch and expand upon another. This particular Friday, I saw that the students themselves had learned to cross curricular boundaries and synthesize material into a meaningful analysis of science, society, ourselves, and ultimately, God. Deo gratias!

There are many non-speaking roles available that do not require attendance at the practice, such as shepherds and angels.  Please talk with your child and if he/she would like to have a speaking role and can commit to the Thursday practice then email Barb Blasch at bblasch@gscmontessori.org with your permission or any questions.  The roles will be assigned next week.

We are having a problem with late pick-ups for children. Please be prompt in picking up your child at 1130 and 3:00. This is a courtesy for the teacher, the office staff, and your child. Our school handbook stipulates late pick-up fees for repeat occurrences. The office will send home a note before this goes into effect for a particular family. Thank you for your cooperation.

 

SCRIP Program

Christmas is right around the corner... do you have all of your Christmas shopping done? If not, did you know that you can order gift cards though the school's scrip program and GSCM will receive a portion of the card value?   This is a great way for families to support our staff development and student tuition assistance programs. For more information on how to order plastic or eCards go to:

 http://gscmontessori.org/fundraising_partners.php

 

Families can now take advantage of ordering and printing electronic gift cards online from the comfort of their homes. This is a great option for last minute gifts. Note that in order to print from home you must subscribe to PrestoPay. Again, all the information can be found at the school's website above.

The deadline to submit orders for plastic cards to be received before Christmas break is 12/10/12.   We encourage families to place their orders online at  www.shopwithscrip.com.

Questions? Please contact Theresa Conover, Scrip Coordinator, TErvinConover@gmail.com or 513-300-0917.

 

Canned Tuna or Chicken Collection This Thursday,  

Don't forget to bring in a can of tuna or chicken for Inter Parish Ministry's food choice pantry this Thursday.   

 

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