Advent Mediation

Design by Caroline Widmeyer  

Christmas is coming ...

...for the children the most wonderful time of the year.  And for the children of Light it should be the most wonderful, wonderful time of the year, because to the Church it is the year's beginning.  No one but God could have made such a beginning, so full of beauty and glory and sheer magic as this.

But you cannot just walk into such a blaze of glory without preparation, to be ready for that sharp sweet moment when an Infant's cry cut the night...:  You must creep up to it, think about it, count the days, watch the signs and prepare.  A child can never know the whole ecstasy of Christmas unless he knows its meaning; unless he takes its meaning into his own two hands and examines it closely and finds its mystery for himself.  It must be made of his own experience and delight and love.

Mary Reed Newland, The Year and Our Children

Upcoming Dates

Mon., Dec. 8             Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate  

                                Conception, 8:15 a.m. 

Fri., Dec. 12              Regular School Mass (8:15 a.m.) - Our Lady of  

                                Guadalupe    

Dec.22 - Jan. 2          NO SCHOOL, Christmas Vacation

Thurs., Jan 8             Christmas Epiphany Celebration, 7:00 p.m.  

                                (see below)

Note:                        No Advent Celebration/Christmas Caroling on 12/18

                                 (see below)            

 Back to top 

Christmas/Epiphany Celebration

Thursday, January 8, 7:00 p.m.

We have rescheduled and redesigned our December 18 Advent Celebration/Christmas Caroling event.  Instead, we will gather in our church on Thursday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m. to celebrate the Christmas and Epiphany season with our students and to unveil the new sanctuary doors for Our Lady, Queen of Angels Chapel. 

All of our students and families are invited to participate with songs, readings, and carols.  Our students will be preparing their songs during this Advent season, so all children can help lead this celebration.  Please join us to celebrate the joy of Christmas and the Epiphany and to celebrate the installation of a stunning, unique piece of art at our school.

The Queen of Angels Chapel Doors

These doors are no ordinary doors.  They are a series of ten doors, replete with etched glass depicting a host of angels, that will enable us to reserve the sacred space of our sanctuary from other uses in our multi-purpose building.  Most importantly, our new partitions will enable us to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in our chapel tabernacle, so that we can adore Jesus and enjoy His Eucharistic presence among us.

The door design and etched-glass art are the original work of a local Catholic artist, Nancy-Carolyn Smith, along with help from GSCM carpentry artisan Mike Widmeyer; local fine woodworking shop Art Woodworking and Manufacturing; and local art glass manufacturerGlenny Glass and Affordable Glass and Mirror.  Mrs. Smith's art is featured in sacred and secular spaces around our country.  Inspired by the sacredness of the space they are facing and the name of our chapel, her door design will depict a series of adoring angels in various gestures of prayer before the Lord.  The angels' postures, along with the translucence of the glass, will give a hint of the sacredness of what lies behind them when they are closed.

Mrs. Smith has not only assisted us with our chapel design, but has graced our space with the beauty, power, and inspiration of her art.  We want to make our unveiling of her work worthy of the gift she has provided to our school.  Please join us for this wonderful moment of celebration and an opportunity to meet and thank our wonderful artist, Nancy-Carolyn Smith.

Back to top 

Advent Offerings

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. 

The circle is a symbol of eternity and the never-endingness of God, and the evergreen is a symbol of eternal life and the never-changingness of God... The four candles in the wreath are for the four weeks of Advent... Purple for penance, but it is a different kind from the penance of Lent. .. The emphasis is on our longing, our need - not only for the great graces of the feast of His Nativity ... but our need to be ready for the glorious moment of His Second Coming." [from The Year and Our Children, by Mary Reed Newland]

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

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.

Light the Advent candle two

Think of all the people who

Lived in darkness, hoped for light

And it came on Christmas night.

(Refrain)

St. Nicholas Day:  Saturday, December 6

This Saturday, December 6, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Nicholas.  The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in what is now Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra.   He was known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need and his love for children.

One story of St. Nicholas tells of a poor man who had no money for dowries for his three daughters. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window by Nicholas, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.

On the eve of his feast day, children still leave shoes or stockings for St. Nicholas to fill with candy or other small gifts.   You may want to incorporate this custom in your family's observance of Advent.

Back to top 

Atrium Insights:  CGSUSA Parent Newsletter

The national office of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has initiated a parent newsletter.  This inaugural issue focuses on celebrating the coming season of Advent with children.  It is short and easy to read.  Check it out!

http://www.cgsusa.org/UserFiles/file/Parent%20Resources/All%20About%20the%20Atrium%20-%20November%202014.pdf

Back to top 

Virtues in Practice:  Home Project

 Enjoy these comments about our home projects on the virtue of reverence.  We hope you enjoy sharing the virtue of generosity with your child through the December home project!

Kindergarten children and parent comments:

·         "We walked through the church after Mass and talked with the kids about showing reverence, as well as various aspects of the cathedral.  We also talked about why bowing is a sign of reverence.  Both of our kids expressed prior knowledge from what they have learned at school.  (Parent)

·         "My favorite part of the church is the tabernacle because it has God in it."  (Child)

·         "When I am respectful to God, it makes me feel happy." (Child)

Teacher comment: 

·         "It's great to have the home projects and see how the students are bringing the virtues work at school into the home.  This is an opportunity for families to spend time together and be more aware of their mission to grow in holiness."

Back to top 

Montessori Moment  

Their Hands Reveal Their Minds

By Donna Leopardi, Lower Elementary Directress

"The hands are the instruments of man's intelligence."  

"The human hand allows the mind to reveal itself."  

These are two quotes from Maria Montessori.  Every beautiful material in the Montessori environment speaks to these firmly held beliefs of hers.  The materials invite the child to "reveal his mind" through use, exploration, and discovery.  It follows, then, that one's hands should create beautiful work.  One such work is the child's penmanship.

Currently, there is controversy surrounding the importance (or lack thereof) of teaching penmanship.  Some "experts" argue that, in this age of technology, it is no longer relevant to instruct children in neat, legible handwriting.  They propose that keyboarding has replaced handwriting as an important skill.  Most states have recently adopted the Common Core standards, which only require teaching of legible writing at the kindergarten and first grade levels.  Proficiency in keyboard skills becomes the focus after first grade.

However, new research data does not confirm such beliefs.  On the contrary, new evidence suggests that direct writing instruction actually helps students learn to read more quickly.  It is also suggested that writing by hand - as opposed to keyboarding - allows students to better formulate ideas and retain information.   In an article titled 'What's Lost as Handwriting Fades', recently published by The New York Times, validation for teaching handwriting is given.  One study found that when students write letters, the areas of the brain used for reading and writing in adults shows increased activity over the same areas in children who typed letters.  The results of another study suggest that cursive handwriting "may train self-control ability in a way that other writing modes do not, and some researchers argue that it may even be a path to treating dyslexia."

At The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori, instruction in cursive handwriting begins at the pre-primary level.  This is because the developmental plane for movement is between birth and age six.  Letter formation is refined and connection of letters is reinforced at the elementary level.  

Why do we teach cursive penmanship?  There are many reasons.

• Cursive is natural.  Straight lines are uncomfortable.
• Cursive involves fluid movements which reinforce the left-to-right directionality of our language.
• Cursive tends to decrease reversals.  In print, the 'd', 'b', and 'p' are all the same.  In cursive, they look nothing alike, therefore they are easily identifiable.
• Reading fluency is reinforced with cursive writing because the words are self-contained.  Cursive provides a natural division between words with no spaces within words.
• In cursive, the writing utensil stays on the paper until the word is complete.  Each time the pen or pencil is lifted from the paper, concentration is broken.  Cursive minimizes these interruptions and increases speed and efficiency.
• Cursive is easier on hand and arm muscles, especially when doing a lot of writing (research reports, etc.)

In our 6-9 environment, cursive writing is expected to be used once all letters have been practiced in handwriting lessons.  It is amazing to see how beautifully a 6-year old can write!  The pride that the students take in their handwriting increases their self-confidence.  Our students are truly using their hands as instruments of their intelligence.  I believe that Maria Montessori would be quite pleased.   

Back to top 

A Moment from Mass

Fr. Joe Bragotti, a Comboni missionary, is one the beloved priests who celebrates Mass with us on Fridays.  Recently, Fr. Joe celebrated a Mass in which Joey Sodergren, Mary Gruber, and Trinity Tankersley were the altar servers.  In the sacristy following Mass, Fr. Joe quipped, "How could we go wrong today?  We had Mary, Joseph, and the Trinity!"

Please feel free to join us on Fridays at 8:15 a.m. for our Mass.  Come, worship the Lord!

Back to top 

LOVE US, PLEASE... 

Everyone, we have the opportunity to win a free playset for our playground at The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori.  To do so, we need to be "loved" on hulafrog.  

So far, we only have 81 loves on the Hulafrog list of best loved pre-schools.   Come on, GSCM families, love us, please.

Not only will your vote help us spread the word about our wonderful school to other parents, it can ensure that we are included in Hulafrog's 2014 Most Loved Edition and may win us a free playset for the GSCM playground. Please  Click Here  then click on the heart, and pass the word!

Hulafrog strives to connect parents to the best local events and businesses in our community. The Love It! button is a super easy way for parents to show their support for the businesses and activities they love most!

It's easy. It's quick. It's mobile. You can love GSCM in a second with the click of the mouse or a tap on the phone.

The preschool with the most loves over all Hulafrogs on Dec 31 at midnight will win a $15K playset from Grounds for Play (with installation included).

One vote per person throughout the entire contest.  So we need as many different people as possible to LOVE US. 

Back to top 

PTO News

Volunteers Needed for Staff Christmas Lunch

Interested in spreading some Christmas cheer while showing appreciation for our wonderful GSCM teachers and staff?  If so, please consider volunteering to help with the GSCM Staff Christmas Lunch sponsored by the PTO.  We need three volunteers to help on the day of the lunch, Friday, December 12, 10 a.m.-1:00 p.m.  Volunteers will assist with making this a fun and festive day for the staff by helping with set-up, welcoming and serving, and clean-up.  While it may be easiest to have volunteers help with the whole event, we also would appreciate anyone who could spare just an hour or so.  Please contact Kathy Restle at mknjfamily@gmail.com if you can help.