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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SOUNDING BOARD
The groups preceding Him as well as those following kept crying out: "Hosanna to the Son of David
We are in "Holy Week." The Lord wants this week to be unlike any other week in our lives - a week of grace, sorrow, repentance, and love. The week begins with the praises of Palm Sunday, changes into the screams of the crucifixion, and ends with the dead silence of the tomb. Throughout the week, we hear the sounds of crying, whipping, hammering, and blaspheming. The sounds of Holy Week are piercing and thunderous. "Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and then gave up His spirit. Suddenly the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, boulders split, tombs opened" (Mt 27:50- 52).
Eventually the roar subsides, and it's our turn to join the choir. What sound will we make? Will we be sound asleep? (Mt 26:43) Or will we betray Jesus with a quiet kiss? Will we cry: "Crucify Him"? (Mt 27:23) Or will we make an act of faith and say: "Clearly this was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:54)
The Lord God will give us a well-trained tongue to speak to the crucified Jesus a word that will proclaim His resurrection and His divinity (see Is 50:4). Dare to hear the sounds of Holy Week. Make the sounds of loving praise and faith-filled commitment. Jesus listens for you.
Palm Sunday Meditation from Presentation Ministries' booklet, "One Bread, One Body"
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Wednesday, March 27 Middle School Seder Celebration Thursday, March 28 Pre-primary Last Supper Celebrations Friday, March 29 GOOD FRIDAY, No School Sunday, March 31 Happy Easter! He is risen!!! April 1-4 Easter Vacation Thursday, April 11 Vision Screening Friday, April 19 GSCM Moms' Retreat Easter Celebrations: Liturgy of Light Wednesday, April 10 Liturgy of Light Celebrations (parents invited!) 8:30 3-6 St. Gabriel and 9-12C 9:30 3-6 St. Michael and 9-12G 10:30 3-6 St. Raphael and 6-9 Fatima 11:30 6-9 Lourdes and Queen of Angels GSCM Moms' Retreat: Friday, April 19 All Moms of GSCM, a (much-needed) day of Christian renewal will be held for you at our church at GSCM on Friday, April 19th. The retreat has been conveniently scheduled during school hours from 8:00 a.m.to 3:00 p.m. This day of reflection will help you discover what's missing in your life and answer questions like, "Where is the joy or peace?" Fr Benedict O'Cinnsealaigh, an *amazing* and world-renowned speaker, will lead our day of reflection. We will also enjoy a testimony from a local Catholic mom who has seen the hand of God in her vocation, The retreat is being generously sponsored by the GSCM PTO, so it is FREE for all mothers of the school. Delicious coffee and yummy snacks will be included. A catered lunch will be provided for $5.00 or you may bring your own lunch. Seriously consider taking the day off and/or getting a babysitter for your younger children (nursing infants are welcomed). Make it a great Friday that will help lead you to spiritual renewal or bolster your life as a mother. Please RSVP to Bridget Kaufman by email, phone or text. Bridget_Kaufman@yahoo.com Local-513-696-9011 or Cell- 317-313-7887. Back to top
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Welcoming Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ into the Church!
We rejoice and pray for our GSCM brothers and sisters in Christ who will receive the Easter sacraments:
- The Koehn Family: Alex and Jeff (parents) will come into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Cecilia, and will receive the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation Gretta (kindergarten) and William (preschool) will be baptized the following week.
- Amie Bressert (mother of Makenzie and Mikaela, pre-primary students) will come into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Thomas More, and will receive the sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation
- Ed Kaake (2nd grader in 6-9Fatima) will be baptized at St. James Church. Then, during the Easter season, Ed will celebrate his First Reconciliation and First Holy Eucharist.
Jesus said, "Come unto me." We celebrate our brothers and sisters listening and responding to His call!
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Mission Alive: Recess Joy
By Mary Rieke, Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher
I came in from recess yesterday with tears of joy over the beauty that some of our students exhibited toward their classmate.
Recess for upper el is always interesting to watch. I relish that our mixed age classrooms play in mixed age groups as well. Whether it's tag, 4 square, 9 square, swinging, musical cups or whatever game they have made up to play, the students are almost always in mixed age groups. Yesterday, some 4th and 6th grade girls were playing 4 square together. I had already noticed that the 6th graders were models of grace and courtesy when they got out; they never argued a call or made an excuse for why they shouldn't be out, they just took their out and let the game continue. These students were clearly having fun together.
Then, one 4th grade girl got out, was frustrated by "always getting out" and stomped off. The older girls noticed her frustration and followed her and asked her to rejoin the game. The younger girl didn't want to and went off by herself again. the older girls went back to their game but when they saw the younger girl standing nearby with a ball they left their game and went to her and asked if they could join her. This didn't seem to satisfy the younger girl who continued to show sadness and frustration. But just as Jesus does not give up finding his lost sheep, the older girls did not give up on helping their classmate. These 3 lights of Christ continued to watch and watch out for the younger girl, offering to play another game with her, talking to her and sitting down with her. The younger girl must have felt God's love working through her classmates and she began to smile and lose her frustration.
I'm sure there are many things that contributed to the kindness these three girls showed toward their classmate not least of which is good parenting, but I believe the Montessori environment also played a part. These girls are the leaders in our environment and they take that responsibility seriously. They have also learned to treat others as they want to be treated. I'm pretty sure they had no idea that I saw this series of interactions, their kindness came naturally. Thanks be to God.
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Parent Participation Helps GSCM Thrive!
"Volunteerism is an important part of our school culture. It strengthens the parent-school-child relationship, and it provides important services to the school that support its mission and helps to control tuition costs." Dan Teller
The PTO would like to introduce you to some of the volunteer opportunities at GSCM. This week, the focus is the YEARBOOK.
"Yearbook is like a ready-made scrapbook of your child's year at GSCM. I have a daughter who graduated last year and a 7th grader and I can't tell you how many times they go back to our old yearbooks and relive their memories from grades past. I am so very grateful to have the yearbooks from their Kindergarten years for I was so busy during that time that I would not have been able to save all the special things that happened by myself. The yearbooks are my reminder of how much my children have changed and how beautifully they have grown." Mary Rieke
The yearbook cannot happen though, without help from YOU. We need parents who have taken pictures to give them to the yearbook committee so that they can be included. We need people who have time and a computer at home to put names to the faces we have in the yearbook software so we can be sure to have pictures of every student in the yearbook. Finally, we need help laying out pages of the yearbook (MS students are taking on part of this task this year.) If you can help with the yearbook with any of these simple, do-as-you-are-able tasks please contact Mary Rieke at mrieke@gscmontessori.org
If you have any questions about volunteering at GSCM please don't hesitate to ask any PTO board member: Lisa Schmitz, Alicia Wilhelmy, Jane Koenig, Maria Lang, Carrie Ellis, Sheri Mitchell, Rhonda Hamall, Christine Godar, or Nicolay Walz.
Thanks for your volunteer time at GSCM it makes a difference!!
Boxtops for Education
 Parents, teachers and students, during this week before Easter and the last week of March, we are still collecting box tops! There are three simultaneous contests running through the end of April.
- First, any class that has 100% participation (every student submits box tops at least once) during the two month period ending on April 30th will get a ticket which will represent a chance to win a pizza party. The drawing will be held during the first week of May.
- Second, the class that collects the most box tops during March and April will get a trophy to keep for the month following their win, along with a $25 Walmart gift card to be spent for their class at the discretion of the teacher.
- Finally, the student that collects the most box tops during this period will win a $10 gift certificate to Graeters!.
April Showers collection sheets will be available for 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 on the collection sheet, 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 both student name and class with your box tops so that you can get credit! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mary Beth Escamilla at mbviv@hotmail.com.
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Piano for Sale
We are selling our acoustic studio piano, which we obtained new in 2001. It will be available at the end of this school year.
- Baldwin Hamilton brand, serial number 0482032.
- 45 inches in height; satin oak finish
- The body has scratches but the interior is in good condition. This is a high-quality, studio piano. It does need tuning.
- Cost new: $5,000.00
- Selling price: Best offer, $200 minimum.
Please contact Dan Teller, dteller@gscmontessori.org
Vision Screening
Our annual vision screening will take place at school on Thursday, April 11, It is free, and no registration is required. All GSCM students will be screened, unless notified by parents (please email ntoon@gscmontessori.org or call the office 271-4171 if you do not want your child(ren) to be screened).
A clinician from Children's Hospital will be conducting the screening. If your child wears glasses, have them wear them the day of the exam. Afterward, you will only be notified if your child does not fully pass the screening. A letter was sent home via backpack mail last week with the youngest or only child in your family.
Cereal collection
Seventy-seven boxes of cereal were brought in for last week's collection for Inter Parish Ministry. Thank you very much for your generous response.
Our next collection will be Thursday, April 18th.
Last Week to Send in Your Used Books
This Thursday is the last day to bring in children's books that your kids have outgrown or no longer read for a local community center that is collecting gently used children's books to redistribute to kids in time for summer reading. If you or your friends/neighbors would like to help out, drop your books in the book bin located at the end of the GSCM upper hallway .Thank you!
Free Baseball Games for Grade School Students
Attention grade school students. Are you looking for something to do on Spring Break? Head to McNicholas for some high school baseball! The Rockets are home on Saturday, March 30 at noon; Wednesday, April 3 at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; and Saturday, April 6 at noon. All grade school students will be admitted FREE to the above-listed games when they mention at the gate what schools they attend. Tickets for grade school parents are only $2 each.
McNicholas Summer Camp Schedule Announced
Launch into Summer 2013 with the Rockets! McNicholas High School is excited to again offer summer day camps for students entering grades 1-9! Camps run the weeks of June 10, 17, and 24, and July 15 and include our Rocket Athlete Champ Camps and our Blast Off for Fun Camps.
Every camper will receive a t-shirt. For more information, visit www.mcnhs.org and click the Summer Camp icon at the bottom of the home page.
Register by April 30, 2012 and save 10% per camp! Laffalot Camp requires a separate registration form and does not qualify for discounts.. Questions? Contact Director of Communications Angie Noble at 513.231.3500 x5824 or anoble@mcnhs.org
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GSCM Sports News
GSCM Bowling!
Thursdays 4pm-6pm beginning April 11 and ending May 9 in Blue Ash. $6/week pays for everything! Please let Bridget Kaufman know if your 5th-8th grade children are interested!
Bridget_kaufman@yahoo.com. Click here for more info
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Thank You, Family!
We appreciate your taking the time to read our newsletter.
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