"Our hearts were made for You, O Lord,

and they are restless until they rest in You."

St. Augustine,

The Confessions

Upcoming Dates

Upcoming Dates

Sun., Sept. 7         Natural Family Planning Course, 3:00 p.m.  

                            (1st of 3 weeks)

Mon., Sept. 8         Blessed Mother's Birthday (wear blue)

Tue., Sept. 9          First Communion Parent Meeting, 7:00-8:00 p.m.

Thurs., Sept.18       Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening 7:00 p.m.

Sept.15-18             Middle School Odyssey Trip to Hico, West Virginia

Sept. 17-19            Upper Elementary Trip to Camp Kern

Fril, Sept 19           Cub Scout Meeting, 3:15 p.m. in the Atrium

Tue., Sept. 23         Picture Day:  Pre-primary and Upper El

                             (out of uniform)

Wed., Sept. 24       Picture Day:  Lower El and Middle School

                             (out of uniform)

At Mass on Friday we learned that the Church only celebrates three birthdays in the liturgical year:   Jesus' on December 25; John the Baptist's on June 24, and the Blessed Mother's on September 8.

On Monday, September 8, along with the Church we will celebrate the birth of Mary, Mother of God.  To honor the Blessed Mother, children may dress in blue out-of-uniform clothing on September 8.  This is to honor Our Lady, so please - not sports clothing or clothing with prominent logos.  We will celebrate at school with special classroom prayer celebrations and a birthday treat!

Pre-Primary Parent Education Evening

Thurs., September 18, 7:00 p.m.

Practical Life and Your Child's Development:  How Does Scrubbing Promote Spatial Awareness, Sequential Thinking ,and Problem-Solving?

Spend an evening with the pre-primary teachers and learn about this unique area of the Montessori pre-primary classroom.

• Why does my child  pour beans and wash dishes at school?
• What does table scrubbing have to do with reading and math?
• How do polishing and sewing enhance physical and cognitive growth?

These and a host of other practical life activities prepare your child for future learning by promoting sequencing, problem solving, and critical thinking. The practical life exercises are indispensible for helping the child develop independence, concentration, and a sense of order.  They are fun for the children and urgently needed for their development.

For more about the importance of practical life exercises In the Montessori classroom, see

http://www.montessoriworld.org/praclife/pintroim.html

For more on the integration of practical life exercises and family life, see http://www.michaelolaf.net/newsaugust2012.html

School Pictures:  Sept. 23 and 24

Weather permitting, Debra Shepard Photography will be taking school pictures on these dates:

Tue., Sept. 23      Pre-Primary and Upper Elementary classes

Wed., Sept. 24    Lower Elementary and Middle School classes

Students may be out-of-uniform on the day they are photographed..  An order form for pictures will be coming home soon by backpack mail. 

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Virtues Education

What is a Virtue?

(From Virtues in Practice, Grades 3-5,  © 2013 St. Cecilia Congregation) 

If we practice thinking about what is right and opening our hearts to grace, we make good choices and develop virtues.  If we often do things that are wrong we develop bad habits, or vices.  Vices can trap us.  Virtues free us to be our best selves, which makes us happy and holy.

There are three virtues that are called theological virtues.  These virtues are given to us by God, lead us toward God, and open our hearts for God to live within us.  We receive these virtues in baptism and develop them as we grow in holiness.   They give life to all the other virtues.  The theological virtues are faith, hope and charity.

There are four virtues that are called cardinal virtues.  "Cardinal" is a from a Latin word that means "hinge", like the hinge on a door.  All the other virtues rely on these.  The cardinal virtues are prudence, justice,  fortitude, and temperance.

Home Projects for September:  Faith

Home projects were sent home via classroom teachers on August 29.  They will also be posted on our website home page:  www.gscmontessori.org  and shared through your classroom Schoology account.

Program News

Check Schoology

Your child's teacher is posting important information and will continue to post exciting news and photos about the great learning happening in the classroom.  Be sure to check your Schoology account so you are up-to-date!

Extended-Preschool Care (11:30-3:00) and After-School Care (3:00-6:00) Use

If you need to use either the extended preschool care or the after-school care program on a 'per diem' or occasional basis, please note the following:

• Notify the office to make a reservation for that day for use of either program.  (The extended care preschool program has a limit of 15 children and we are occasionally at that limit.)
• Notify your child's teacher, so that s/he is aware of the dismissal procedure for that day.
• Fees must be paid the day of use.  You can pay in the office or give a check directly to the extended/after-care staff.

These guidelines only apply for 'per diem' use, not for those who have regularly enrolled in these programs.

Lost and Found

The school lost and found is located at the end of the upper floor hallway.  Please label all of your children's belongings so we can return misplaced articles to the right person.

Occasionally children leave backpacks, lunchboxes, and outer garments outside after school.  Our after-care staff will do their best to retrieve these items and secure them in the St. Joseph House, where you can look for them the following day.

Lunch Helper Needed for Extended Preschool Program

Hours:                          11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Days:                           M/W/F  or five days/week

Compensation:            $18.00/day (can be directly applied to tuition)

Assist our Extended Care Directress with the lunch process for extended care preschool children, If interested, please contact Dan Teller:  dteller@gscmontessori.org or 271-4171.

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Hopefully you have logged onto the GSCM Portal for this school year  

and confirmed/updated your family information, emergency contacts, children's allergies, etc.  It is critical that we have updated information on your student(s)! If you have not done so, please do so TODAY as we will be running the information to give to the classroom teachers tomorrow.   

ALL FAMILIES should "Verify" (date stamp with digital signature under the "verify" tab) their information after they have checked each tab, Please contact Nancy: ntoon@gscmontessori.org if you need your user name and password for the GSCM Portal.  These updates are, of course, for the safety of all of our children here at GSCM.

Family Directory: 

Also on the GSCM Portal is a draft of this year's Family Directory (go to "Download School Forms").  If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to check your information and email any corrections to Mary Beth Escamilla at mbviv@hotmail.com by Wednesday, September 10th.

Please Register for Kroger Community Rewards

The Kroger Community Rewards program is one way you can support GSCM simply by doing what you are already doing - buying your groceries at Kroger.  It does not require an extra card, just scan your Kroger Plus card as you normally do and a percentage of your purchase will be donated to the non-profit you have designated.

In the past, GSCM received nearly $900 per quarter from this program with only 32 families participating!  Our goal is to increase participation three-fold, and we need your help!  Tell your friends and family and extended family.  Proceeds benefit staff development financial aid

If you have not already done so, you will be asked to "create an account" click here.  You'll need an email, password, zip code, then enter your Kroger Plus Card number.  

For more detailed instructions go to Click here and scroll down to Kroger rewards program.  The organization number for The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori is (#80140).

It takes a couple of minutes to register and put in another password but I hope you will take the time to add your support to our school.  Thank you.

2013-14 Yearbooks

2013-14 yearbooks have been distributed to all students who ordered and paid for one.  There were a few extra yearbooks that were sent with our order, these will be sold on a first come first serve basis for 25.00.  Please contact mrieke@gscmontessori.org if you would like to buy one of these treasures of memories from your child's 2013-14 school year.

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Volunteer News

2014-15 Family Volunteer Update

The volunteer coordinator positions for 2014-15 are posted on the GSCM website parent page and accessible through this link https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UDXtM4yLN__EVReo6sGSYUfmGqdbPVYoQwOASRERMUM/edit?usp=sharing

You should be hearing from a PTO or GSCM staff member about your responsibilities.

There is also a VolunteerSpot link to sign up for events http://vols.pt/1PdNF8  More shifts will be added as event needs arise.  We ask families to sign up for at least 3 "shifts" over the school year.

If your family has not signed up for a volunteer coordinator position, please view the openings.  Nicolay Walz, PTO Volunteer coordinator, would be happy to discuss positions and help you find something that is a good fit for you!  You can email her at nicolay.walz@gmail.com

Thanks for sharing your time and talents with the GSCM community,

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