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
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"Virtues are not mere thoughts
but habits we develop by performing virtuous actions."
Aristotle
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Upcoming Dates:
Wed., Feb. 13 Ash Wednesday, 8:15 Mass
Fri., Feb. 15 End of Second Trimester
Mon., Feb. 18 NO SCHOOL, Teacher Records Day
Feb. 18-22 Parent-Teacher Conference Week
Thurs., Feb 21 Canned fruit collection for IPM
Fri., Feb. 22 NO SCHOOL, Conference Make-Up Day
Thurs., Feb. 28 Parent-Child Atrium Evening, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Sat., March 9 "Our House" SPRING GALA
Fine Arts Fair Postponed
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Mission Alive: Virtues Education
By Dan Teller, Principal
"Virtues are not mere thoughts but habits we develop by performing virtuous actions."
Aristotle
On February 8, ten staff members from GSCM attended a full-day workshop entitled "Character-Building in Catholic Schools: What Works" with Dr. Thomas Lickona, international presenter on character education and director of the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (which are respect and responsibility).
What is character education? Dr. Lickona described it as three-fold:
- A deliberate effort
- To develop moral and performance virtues
- Through every phase of school and classroom life
We learned many broad concepts and many specific best practices gleaned from schools and teachers around the country. We learned that we are doing many things well already, and that there are many other ways in which we can lift character education to a higher level at our school. We are eager to develop this important facet of our mission. In fact, our staff has identified "Virtues Education" as the focus of the Catholic Identity component of our upcoming four-year school improvement plan.
Parents are the first and most important character educators. Since character education begins at home, the school's job is to reinforce the character virtues being taught at home. The school can also encourage parents in their challenging task to raise virtuous children. To this end, we will share ideas and concepts of virtues education with you, our parents, from time to time, starting today!
Virtues Education: Repetition Matters
"Children develop character by what they see, what they hear, and what they are repeatedly led to do. Directed practice is the most important part." (James Stenson, Compass: A Handbook of Parent Leadership)
Coach Phil Caruso cites the importance of repetition as coach of a collegiate baseball team: After winning a national championship, Caruso told his team, "What I'm most proud of was that we sent the entire season without a thrown bat, a thrown helmet, or a profanity outside the dugout." On his approach, Caruso said: "That didn't happen because I said once at the start of the season, 'No thrown bats, no thrown helmets ...' I said it before every game. I congratulated them at the end of every game. If you want something to be important to kids, you need to repeat it over and over."
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Prayer for Pope Benedict XVI
The universal Church sends out its gratitude for the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. Please join our students and staff in praying this novena for our Holy Father:
Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
V. Let us pray for our Pope Benedict.
R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.
V. Thou art Peter,
R. And upon this Rock, I will build My Church.
Let us Pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy upon your servant, Benedict, our Sovereign Pontiff, and guide him in your goodness on the way of eternal salvation; so that, with the prompting of your grace, he may desire what pleases you and accomplish it with all his strength. Through Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.
V. Mother of the Church.
R. Pray for us.
V. St. Peter.
R. Pray for us.
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Office and General News
Seeking a Walkathon Coordinator 
Are you athletically inclined? Do you like to have fun? Want to be the most popular person around? Willing to take on a project with lots of helpers and all the step-by-step details already in place?
If you are intrigued by these questions, perhaps you would like to help coordinate next year's Fall Walkathon. Maybe you and a friend could do this together. That could be a lot of fun!
The Walkathon is probably THE favorite event for students at GSCM. Each October, our school dedicates a morning to a fun and easy way to raise important funds for our school. Donors, parents and children alike enjoy this event.
If you are interested or want more information, contact Jana Widmeyer or Dan Teller.
Canned Fruit Collection Thurs., Feb. 21
Our next collection for Inter Parish Ministry's food pantry will be on Thursday, February 21st. We will be collecting canned fruit, of any kind.
Even more personal care products were donated to last month's collection. The final total for that collection was 224 items, quite a generous amount. Thank you!
Lands End Friends & Family Event If you are in need of uniform attire, Lands End Spring Friends & Family event begins Thursday, February 21st and ends Tuesday, February 26th. You'll save 30% on everything - including School Uniforms, Sale & Clearance items - and enjoy Free Shipping on $50 orders. Our preferred school number is 900041674.
Additionally, this Friends & Family event will be available in stores giving you 3 ways to shop - online, in stores and by phone.
Book Drive:
Do you need to clean out your bookshelves and make room for new interests? Donate your gently used children's books from now through the end of March. A local community center is collecting used children's books to be given away in May at a "Kick-off Summer Reading" event. They will be giving away free books to local kids who do not have easy access to a Cincinnati Public Library. We would like to get books into the hands of kids for the summer season. Books can be dropped off in a bin at the end of the upper hall. Thank you!
Fish Fry at St. Margarey-St. John
Every Friday (except Good Friday) during Lent from 5:30 - 7:00 pm St. Margaret-St. John Parish will be having a Fish Fry in the cafeteria of Prince of Peace school. Dinners include fried fish dinner, Alaskan baked fish dinner or crab cake dinner. All dinners are $8.00 (includes 2 sides)
Other a la carte items available.
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Sports News
Junior Ultimate Frisbee League
When: Fridays, April 5 - May 31, 4:00-5:30 p.m.
Where: Riverside Park (in old Milford, off Water St.)
Who: Children ages 8-13 (must be eight years old by 4/1/13; must turn fourteen after 6/1/13)
What: Ultimate Frisbee is a fast-paced sport that combines skill, quickness, and teamwork. This will be our fourteenth season of Junior Ultimate. The children will be assigned to teams (separate boys' and girls' teams). Each team will be coached by an experienced high school player. Each week will have two parts: the first part will consist of 30-45 minutes of practice, drills, and conditioning, and the second part will consist of teams playing games against one another. We will have a tournament on our final day.
Registration/Cost: $15 per player. For more information and registration information, contact Dan Teller (dteller@gscmontessori.org). Registration deadline is March 8.
Easter Baskets Needed!
The GSCM Sports Booster's are looking for donations of Easter Baskets for a special fundraising event. If you have any Easter baskets that are no longer needed or shop thrift stores and find some in good, like-new shape, please consider donating to the school's Sports Boosters for an exciting Easter fundraiser. Thank You!
Contact Bridget Kaufman with questions. bridget_kaufman@yahoo.com
513-696-9011
Track Opportunities
Track season is right around the corner and GSCM has 2 great opportunities for students who want to join a track team. St. Gertrude for the second year has invited anyone in K-8th grade at GSCM to join their spring track team. You can register by clicking on http://sgsbulldogs.org/sports/track/ If you are not a member of St. Gertrude boosters you must pay the boosters fee (30.00 per family) in addition to the track fee. They are also looking for coaches for the 5/6 and 3/4 grade teams. Please contact Gretchen Finniff at 288-5033 if you can help coach.
Mariemont Recreation Assoc. also sponsors a track club that our students are welcome to join. See www.mariemonttrack.org for information on that track team. I have experience with both programs and would be happy to talk to you about them. Please contact me if you have any questions. Mary Rieke mrieke@gscmontessori.org
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PTO News:
New Used Uniform Policy: The GSCM PTO and the Used Uniform committee have implemented the following changes: - Only clean uniforms in like-new or gently used condition will be accepted: (items must meet current uniform standards)
- Spirit Wear sweatshirts may be donated but no t-shirts please.
- Bring used uniforms into the office
- PTO will sell the used uniforms from St. Joseph's Workshop, located in the basement of the St. Joseph house.
- Proceeds will go directly to the GSCM PTO, families will no longer be paid for their used uniform items.
- St. Joseph's Workshop will be open one day per month after school for about 30 minutes.
Box Tops for Education Two boxes of Hershey truffles will go to the class collecting the most box tops by the end of February. Throughout the month the prize along with a current class ranking will be displayed near the front entrance of the school. Valentine's Day collection sheets will be available for February submissions.  Drop your box tops into the collection bin just inside the office. Remember to check the expiration date on your box tops and send them in an envelope or in a Ziploc bag with your child's name, teacher and the total number of box tops. It is important to include identification with your box tops so that each class can get credit. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mary Beth Escamilla at mbviv@hotmail.com.
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Financial Aid Application Process for 2013-14 School Year
The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori offers a financial aid program for current and incoming students. To apply for financial aid for the 2013-14 school year, parents must submit a financial aid application to Private School Aid Service by Friday, March 4. By mid-April, GSCM will notify parents of the amount of aid (if any) they will receive from the school. Financial aid applications are available from Lynette Rosati Shim in the school office and can be downloaded from our website, www.gscmontessori.org. Go to "Admissions/Financial Aid." If you have any questions, please contact Lynette Rosati Shim in the school office.
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Thank You, Family!
We appreciate your taking the time to read our newsletter.
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