Gratitude:  The virtue that pushes us

to recognize the good things we receive

and to reciprocate.   From "The Virtues" atrium material

Nov. 27-29       NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Break  

Mon., Dec 2    Poinsettia pick up (see PTO news for details)  

Tues., Dec 3    Catechesis of The Good Shepherd Parent Night 7pm  

Tue., Dec. 3     Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Parent Night, 7pm

"Help Me Come Closer to God by Myself"

Encountering Jesus through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

December 3, 2013, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Childhood is the time for a spiritual life marked by wonder, joy, and a personal relationship with Jesus.  How does the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd respond to these capacities of the child and nurture a joyful, genuine relationship between the child and Jesus, our Good Shepherd? 

Dan Teller will present a series of beautiful atrium presentations, and offer insights as to how you can nurture your child's spiritual formation.

Thanksgiving

As we gather with our families and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, it is a good time to count our many blessings.  The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori is very grateful for the individuals who make this school special and we want to say "thank you" to:

·         Our students and their families - who bless us with their presence at our school.

·         Our staff who dedicate themselves to educating our students.

·         Our benefactors - those who give $5.00 and those who give five figures, each according to his ability.

·         Our volunteers - those you see and those you don't - the ones who set up and clean up for events, the ones who weed the flower beds, the bakers, the graphic designers who put in hours on our publications, the photographers, the classroom volunteers, the sacristans, the coaches, the field trip drivers.

"I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you."  Philippians 1: 3

Montessori Moment

The Rich Montessori Environment

By Donna Leopardi, Lower Elementary Directress

Dr. Montessori wrote, "The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences."

Keeping the classroom environment "rich in motives" is a daily challenge of every Montessori teacher.  It requires knowledge of materials and subject content, but mostly it requires creativity.  "What can I provide in my environment that will inspire our students to explore independently?"  It is a never-ending quest, but one that has valuable rewards in terms of student growth.

I have witnessed this motivation many times in our 6-9 environment.  Recently, I gave a lesson on the five classes of vertebrates in the phylum Chordata.  We have a lovely work on our zoology shelf which has laminated photographs of many species within each class.  The follow-up work was to make a poster of the five classes.  The students were asked to label each class, draw four animals in that class and label each animal.  For third-level students, this is a fairly simple work.

Several third-level boys, however, were inspired to take this assignment to a new level.  They were motivated to find out more about the specific animals within each class.  They poured through encyclopedias, doing research into four specific animals in each category of the phylum Chordata.  They carefully rendered each animal on their posters, then wrote several interesting facts about each one.  Often, the students exclaimed "Wow!  Listen to this!" They would then share a fact. This work required several days, but the result was breathtaking. The students were excited to present this project to their classmates at Friday Forum.

Inspired by the above-mentioned children, a second-level student chose to do further research into several specific chordates.  He is currently compiling these research papers into his own book.

These are just two examples of how providing a rich environment can stimulate and motivate children to make their own discoveries.  Nothing is more rewarding to a Montessori teacher than to observe a student independently exploring his world.

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An Atrium Moment

 "Children ...  contribute to the growth in holiness of their parents."

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, Par. 2227)

Enjoy these songs and prayers composed by Maureen Burns (age 7) during atrium:

Come to the Kingdom of God

We love the Lord as he loves us and we keep the faith of God.

The Lord is our Shepherd and he loves as who we are and He made us.

The Lord is the best of people.  He never quits loving us.

Love the Lord as he loves us.  Be a saint!  And love God as He loves you!

Everybody Clap for the Lord

Everybody clap for the Lord.  The Lord died for us.

Ale, ale, ale luia

Clap for the Lord our God for He died for us.

Stomp for the Lord Our God for he is righteousness.

Amen for the Lord our God for the end of this song.

Advent:  A New Church Year Begins

Sunday, December 1:  First Sunday of Advent

When we return from Thanksgiving Break, we will be in the season of Advent.  It is time to get ready, so when the first Sunday of Advent arrives on December 1, we are ready to make this season all it can be for the children!

The Advent Wreath

 "Advent for children should rightly be a very busy time, starting with the making of the Advent wreath.  This is a sacramental in which the whole meaning of Advent is symbolized - and symbols are a language children understand very easily. 

A lovely practice in the home is the light the Advent wreath each night.  Place the wreath by your dinner table or another prominent place in the home.  In the atrium, we light the Advent wreath regularly with a lovely simple song that accompanies the lighting of the wreath and expresses the vision of the prophecies we give to the children.  Our song for the first week of Advent is below.  Returning students will know this!

Light the Advent candle one

Now the waiting has begun

We have started on our way

Time to think of Christmas day.

(Refrain)

Candle, candle burning bright

Shining in the cold winter night

Candle, candle burning bright

Fill our hearts with Christ, the Light.

Preparing a Soft Bed for Jesus with Acts of Love

Here is a concrete way to help your child prepare his or her heart for the coming the Christ Child:  Place a small basket in a prominent, child-visible place in your home, and next to it place a container of straw.  Each time a child does an act of love, he or she may place a piece of straw in the basket.  The basket represents Jesus' manger.  The straw represents our acts of love.  We prepare a soft bed for the Christ Child through our Advent acts of love.  On Christmas day, place a small model of baby Jesus in the basket on the straw.

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Development News

Coming Soon to your Mailbox ...

GSCM Annual Fund: "Ask Our Father"

As we reflect on our many blessings as a school, we are so very thankful for the board members, staff, parents and friends who so generously supported last year's Annual Fund.  The 2012-13 Annual Fund raised a record $42,000 as we united our giving appeal with the Church's "Year of Faith". 

Sunday's Feast of Our Lord Christ the King brought the Church's Liturgical Year and the "Year of Faith" to a close.   Now, as we enter the new year with the First Sunday of Advent, we turn our attention to this year's Annual Fund and its theme to "Ask Our Father" for all that we need.

In the coming weeks, you will receive a beautiful mailing thanks to the design efforts of pre-primary parent Cathy Lipps.  Please prayerfully consider how you can participate in this year's Annual Fund.  No gift is too small.  Everyone can play a part as together we "Ask Our Father."

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Program News

Book Fair Results

The 2013-2014 school year Independent Book Fair made $1232.04 and the Usborne sale yielded an additional $956. 

Many thanks to GSCM parent Rachel Friemoth for once again organizing our independent Book Fair.  The fair started several years ago as an alternative to the other commercial book fairs.  Rachel has developed an appealing selection of a wide variety of books and gifts that support our school's mission.  Thanks to her initiative and commitment, and the support of numerous parent volunteers who helped to staff the Book Fair, we are blessed to offer this unique opportunity to our students and families.

Will You Help Us Win "Preschool of the Year 2013?"

We are excited to announce we have been nominated & are participating in "Hulafrog's Preschool of the Year 2013 ~ Parent's Pick" contest! We would LOVE to win & need a little help from our friends to earn the prestigious title! The contest is simple & running via Facebook from Mon, Nov. 18 at noon - Tues. Nov. 26 at noon.

Voting is easy! 

1) Follow this link https://www.facebook.com/HulafrogCincinnatiEastsideOH 

2) Click on the "Preschool Contest" box (next to "likes" at the top of the page), 

3) Enter your email address to subscribe for free to Hulafrog's editorial "Our Picks" (local, can't miss family & kid-friendly events) 

4) Write "The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori" in the voting box to cast your vote for your favorite preschool program. 

You'll be stepped through the process, once you are on the preschool contest page. Please be assured that Hulafrog keeps your email address private & never shares your information.

If you are not familiar with Hulafrog, the site has quickly become the go-to resource bridging parents & caregivers with the best family & kid-friendly events, goods, services & organizations, including schools. Parents love to check their jam-packed events calendar to find all sorts of up-to-date, local, family events including park or library affairs, festivals, open houses, open studios, story times, open play... anything fun they can get out & do (lots of them are free too)! Hulafrog's comprehensive biz directories are used to search for classes, camps, birthday party venues, schools plus so much more!

And even more important, this contest will be a GREAT way for us to spread the word locally about our wonderful school. Your endorsement alone speaks volumes when prospective parents are deciding where to send their little ones to school.

Thank you so much for giving The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori your vote of confidence in this fun contest!  If we win, we will receive a free marketing campaign on Hulafrog to promote our upcoming open house to thousands of local parents, PLUS a donation from Sea of Smiles Pediatric Dentistry in Anderson that we can use for a pizza party & of course exclusive bragging rights to being named "The Preschool of

the Year ~ 2013!"

GALA NEWS:

March 8^th, 2014

Where will you be on Saturday evening, March 8th? (Hint: it could involve a Tellertini or new this year, a Toontini!) If you aren't sure, well, we have a great suggestion: GSCM's gala at The Redmoor in Mount Lookout Square! The 2014 gala theme is ... drumroll, please ... "Our Backyard." Yes, you see a trend here from the 2013 event of "Our House" - and, perhaps, you can guess that our lovely outdoor space will be enhanced with funds raised from this event. The Gala is Co-chaired by Rachel Sabo and Susan Thomas who invite anyone (it takes our collective efforts to make all of this work!) who'd like to join them for a planning meeting at The Redmoor on Wednesday, December 11th from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. The live and silent auctions are under the direction of Karen Aust and Mary Beth Escamilla and sponsorships by Katie Kerrey, so if you have items or suggestions, please let them know. This fun event is a fantastic way to show your support for our wonderful school while visiting with other parents, so please mark your calendars ... and stay tuned for further updates on Our Backyard!