Advent Mediation

   Design by Quinn Galocy      

Lord, let me seek you in longing,

let me long for you in seeking;

let me find you by loving you

and love you in the act of finding you.

St. Anselm

Upcoming Dates

Tues, Dec 16 - Fri., Dec 19   Secret Santa (see below)

Thurs., Dec. 18                     Peanut butter collection for IPM

Fri., Dec. 19                         Christmas Clothing Day (see  below)

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 December 18, (see below) 

Christmas/Epiphany Celebration and Sanctuary Doors Unveiling 

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

• ·         Opening Procession
• ·         Songs:  Kindergarten and elementary students will lead us in various songs.
• ·         Readings:  Older students will narrate and proclaim Scripture readings.
• ·         A procession with gift offerings to the Christ Child from all children (including preschoolers).  Please bring a canned good for InterParish Ministry or a dollar to donate to Hands Together Haiti.
• ·         Songs for everyone

Please join us on Thursday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m. to celebrate the Christmas and Epiphany and the unveiling of the new sanctuary doors for Our Lady, Queen of Angels Chapel. 

Student Government: Secret Santa  

Secret Santa has started! The main idea is for the school to come together and get to know each other.

• From today through Thursday, students should bring a small ($1-2) gift or treat each day to the person for whom they are a "Secret Santa."   
• On Friday, they will bring up to a $5 gift and reveal who they are. 
• Students are encouraged to give a hint as to their identity each of the days to see if the receiver can guess who they are. 

Merry Christmas from the Student Government! 

All students are invited to wear out-of-uniform Christmas clothing this Friday (our last day of school before Christmas break).  However, there is a "cost".   Any student who comes to school in Christmas clothing should be prepared to recite all or part (even just a small part!) of the gifts from the "Twelve Days of Christmas," either in song or simply recited.  So here is a good excuse to start singing a fanciful Christmas song together!

12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords a Leaping
9 Ladies Dancing
8 Maids a Milking
7 Swans a Swimming
6 Geese a Laying
5 Golden Rings
4 Calling Birds
3 French Hens
2 Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree  

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Advent Offerings

Make Space for God:  An Advent Meditation with St. Anselm  Insignificant man, rise up! Flee your preoccupations for a little while. Hide yourself for a time from your turbulent thoughts. Cast aside, now, your heavy responsibilities and put off your burdensome business. Make a little space free for God; and rest for a little time in him.

Enter the inner chamber of your mind; shut out all thoughts. Keep only thought of God, and thoughts that can aid you in seeking him. Close your door and seek him. Speak now, my whole heart! Speak now to God, saying, I seek your face; your face, Lord, will I seek.

Look upon us, Lord; hear us, enlighten us, reveal yourself to us. Restore yourself to us, that it may be well with us, yourself, without whom it is so ill with us. Pity our toilings and strivings toward you since we can do nothing without you.

Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me when I seek you, for I cannot seek you unless you teach me, nor find you unless you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking; let me find you by loving you and love you in the act of finding you.

The Advent Wreath

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

Light the Advent candle three

Wonder who this child can be,

Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace,

Mighty God, Emmanuel.

(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 four

Think of joy forevermore

Christ Child in a stable born,

Gift of love in Bethlehem. (refrain)

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Annual Fund:    

A $600 Difference?

Did you know that the gap between tuition and the cost of educating each student at GSCM is $600?

Bridging that gap is the primary goal of the Annual Fund.  You can help make the ends meet through a gift to The Good Shepherd Catholic Montessori Annual Fund.  Please make your gift today via cash, check or credit card.   You can even contribute online at https://gscmontessori.ejoinme.org/AnnualFund2014-15.

A Tax Deduction?

Make your donation to GSCM before the end of the year and take advantage of a tax deduction.  Most people do not want to think about taxes during the holidays. However, when we ring in the New Year it will be too late to take advantage of many 2014 tax breaks. It definitely is worth your while to take a little time before Dec. 31 to squeeze in specific tax reduction strategies that will save you money when you file your return in 2015.

Own Stocks or Mutual Funds?  You can boost your charitable contributions by donating stock or mutual fund shares instead of cash. By doing so, you get to deduct the fair market value of your shares and permanently avoid income tax on the capital gain.  In turn, the organization or charity you contribute to will receive the full amount. You need to have owned the stock for more than a year in order to deduct the fair market value and you can deduct only up to 30 percent of your adjusted gross income.

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Montessori Moment

Music Instruction at GSCM

By Barb Blasch, Elementary/Middle School Music Teacher

Singing, sight-reading, playing instruments, dancing, listening and viewing videos - through this variety of musical experiences, all students actively participate in our music classes.

For example, the upper elementary children, divided into groups of 5-6 students, were given pitched plastic tubes and asked to prepare a song to perform for the class.  The students led and devised their own performance routine, which included who would play which tube and when.  The groups had to figure out the timing of when to play each tube and how they would recreate the tune, performing it in the correct order and time.  In typical Montessori fashion, they discussed, experimented and worked together to complete the task.  All performances were "Bravo"!

As the music teacher, I include the use of percussion and pitched instruments as often as possible to really allow the child to feel immersed in music.   If music class only involved singing and listening to music, like some schools who have cut back on their programs, the children would miss out on opportunities to explore their musical talents. The satisfaction one finds when performing music on an instrument and hearing the beautiful sounds produced together as a group creates a sense of team work, achievement, satisfaction, and overall happiness.  

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We Need More Love!

Your vote will help us spread the word to other parents and hopefully be included in Hulafrog's 2014 Most Loved Edition.  

Please love us and pass the word!  We could even win a $15,000 playset for our playground. The competition ends on December 31.  LOVE US, now!   Ask your family and friends to LOVE US, too.

http://hulafrog.com/cincinnati-eastside-oh/the-good-shepherd-catholic-montessori-school-madison-place-641:business-detail/ 

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Classroom News

Christmas Sale in Lourdes and Fatima Classrooms

Each year the lower elementary teachers prepare a "Christmas Sale"  the last week before Christmas break.  The sale allows the students to look beyond receiving and learn more about the season of giving to others.  At the sale they will have the opportunity to buy for mom, dad, and other family members 

We are asking for donations of, new, gently used, or "re-gift" items that you might have in your closets.  Teachers will also be purchasing small dollar items for the sale, but we would appreciate any items that you may have to contribute.  We will also be in need of wrapping paper/gift bags, tape, and gift tags.

Drop items off in  the middle room between the two lower elementary classrooms.  Thank you.

PTO News

Box Tops December Contest

Our December Contest for Box Tops is winding down! 

So far, the classroom with the most Box Tops collected is Our Lady of Fatima.  Closely following Fatima are St. Michael and St. Raphael (tied).  There is still time to turn in your Box Tops!  Your homeroom could win out of uniform passes, extra recess or a special treat!!

Thank you for participating and helping our school raise funds for our teachers.

Here's a recipe for delicious Peppermint Swirl Cupcakes, enjoy!

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/4286/peppermint-swirl-cupcakes

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