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“We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble.” St. Teresa of Avila (Feast Day Oct 15th)

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, Oct 15     Theology of the Body for Teens: Parents of 8th Grade Students Info Session 7:00 – 8:00 p.m..

Monday, Oct 19        No School for students — Staff Retreat at Sacred Heart Church

Tuesday, Oct 20       First Choir Rehearsal
Wednesday, Oct 23  Mass of Intention, 5:30 pm – Parents and Children
preparing for First Holy Communion

Friday, Oct 23          Grandparents’ DayMonday, Oct 26

Monday, Oct 26      VIRTUS Training 6:00 pm

Friday, Oct 30         Mass and Eucharistic Procession, 8:15 am
Nov. 2 – 6                 GSCM Book Fair
Wednesday, Nov 4    Middle School Parent Information Night, 7-8:30 pm

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) Moments
Liturgical Colors
By Carrie Bucksath, Level I Catechist

“Purple and green, and red and white, are the colors of the year.

Purple and green, and red, and white, remind us of the Light.

Purple is for preparation, white is for celebration,

Green is for ordinary time, Red is for Pentecost.

Purple and green and red and white, are the colors of the year,

Purple and green and red and white, remind us of the Light.”

Preschool parents may have heard all or some of this song in the past few weeks. One of the many introductory lessons the children are given at the beginning of the year in the Atrium is the Liturgical Colors lessons, both with Introduction of the Colors/Chasubles lesson and with the Liturgical Calendar lesson.  In the Liturgical Colors/Chasuble lesson, the children learn about what the priest wears, what it is called, Chasuble, and why the color changes throughout the year. In the Liturgical Calendar lesson, the children learn about the Church calendar, which is shaped as a circle, rather than by months with squares for each day. The colors on the Liturgical Calendar relate to the seasons in the Church year. Christmas and Easter are white, Advent and Lent are purple, Pentecost is red, and the rest of the year is green. We relate the white to celebrations as the time of joy and the most important times of the Church year. Every important celebration takes some time to prepare. Purple, Advent and Lent, are the times we take as a Church to prepare for the important celebrations that follow. Pentecost is it’s own special celebration right after the Easter season. Finally green, after a celebration, we often need time to rest and reflect…time to grow, which is called Ordinary Time. The children often begin to observe at Church on Sundays what color the priest is wearing, bringing them more focused and engaged in the Mass.

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Montessori Moments
Creation of Self
by Nicole Filer, Lower Elementary

           I scrapped my Montessori Moments article… the one I had written before walking intoTuesday’s staff meeting. This is not the article I had written before I heard Julia read from Montessori’s Education and Peace (the book we are discussing at our monthly staff meeting). In my Montessori Moments articles I tend to try to pull from my memory something great: the warmest act of compassion or the brightest “lightbulb” moment. I wish to give a window into the world I am blessed to be a part of everyday. However, many of the truly great moments are small… quiet.
“The child’s goal might be summed up in the word incarnation;”
Those were the words Julia read, which I had already read, but yesterday struck me differently. The creation of self by the child can easily go unnoticed…
           Last week I reviewed the “Magic e” rule with the first level students. Wanting to assist the children in finding what they were learning in the larger world, we read stories and looked for words following this rule amongst the pages. After presenting this work, I was approached at mid-morning by two first-level boys.
           “We wrote 19 words!” they stated, proudly raising their notebooks.
           Needing only to write seven words, I was surprised to find rows of words covering the page. These boys had decided to write them all- every “Magic e” word they found in their book.
           “…And we found a sentence!” they added, their words bursting forth.
           I knelt quietly beside them as they pointed to three of the words recorded on their page: Kate came home. Yes, they had found a sentence too.
           This moment is what came to mind when I heard Julia repeating Montessori’s words; the work these boys did was not only created in their notebooks, it added to the creation of themselves. What if I had just given a worksheet? Given them a paper with only 7 blanks? What if they had not been sitting by each other or I had not allowed them to work together today?
           Just the week before I had seen one of these boys during his atrium time. He was working outside of the classroom, a long work stretching down the hall. While another child set out a few objects, the first boy moved to the side of the hall, sitting below a large statue of the Good Shepherd,  resting at his feet and gazing up at him. As the other boy finished, the first rose, and looking at the statue, leaned in, wrapping his arms around his Shepherd’s legs. Embracing Him, the child turned with a little skip and joined his friend back by the work.
           As with the formation of that sentence, I do not know what happened in that moment, but I do not doubt its significance. I believe that the most profound moments that take place in the life of a child as well as within our environment cannot necessarily fill an entire page. They occur in the quiet, deliberate movements of a child forming his being, creating himself through his mistakes and successes, where he constructs not only a work, but his very being. These are the moments I want to share. These are the moments the children grow from, and if we are to let them continue in this journey, we must learn from as well.

 

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Program News

GSCM Student Ambassadors

We are excited to announce that our GSCM Student Ambassadors for this year are
Natalie Blackburn, Mary Gruber, Katie Koenig, Laney Olszewski, and Ben Sabo!
A Student Ambassador at GSCM is a Middle School student who will represent our school positively and help build community within our school. Student Ambassadors are asked to participate in the Gala, Open Houses, and other school-wide community functions. They are also asked to provide new students with an introduction to GSCM by giving them a tour of the school, helping them with their locker, introducing them to their teachers, and providing them with a familiar, friendly face at school.


Choir Program

Attention parents of 4th – 8th grade students.  You should have received a letter regarding the start up of our choir program. Click here to view the letter.  If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Clune atkclune@gscmontessori.org.

Monday Scripture Meditation Group

Come learn how the Doctors of the Catholic Church meditated on Sacred Scripture in order to grow and deepen their relationship with the Lord.  We will learn and study St. Francis de Sales, St. Alphonsus, St. Ignatius, St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross and actually practice their ways of meditation with Scripture each week.
Monday afternoons 1-3pm
Beginning October 26th 2015
In the “Upper Room” of the St. Joseph house conference room
Let us meditate in the “upper room” waiting for the Holy Spirit to breathe through our lives and bring us into deeper unity with our Lord. Come and see what the Doctors prescribe for total transformation and oneness with Jesus Christ! Any questions, email co-facilitators Karen Guilford at ekguilford@fuse.netor Annie King at annking@cinci.rr.com

Lunch at the Modular!

Centerpieces of  pumpkins and squash, spice candles, festive place cards, doughnut holes and popcorn- this was the setting for Lunch at the Modular! Last Monday the MS students hosted the 6th graders for lunch. The 7th grade had made personal invitations the week before,and the day of the event everyone pitched in to set the tables and prepare a warm welcome.  Every grade was represented at each table so that students could enjoy the company of all ages, including the teachers. Finally, an extended MS recess time on our beautiful campus allowed more time to celebrate Fall with our 6th grade friends.

VIRTUS Training Class, Monday, Oct 26  6 – 9 p.m.  

If you haven’t attended a VIRTUS session and you are interested in ever volunteering in any capacity with the children, please consider signing up

to attend the training class that we are offering here at GSCM.
To register for the session, click here and then click on registration on the left side.  If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Toonntoon@gscmontessori.org or Jana Widmeyerjwidmeyer@gscmontessori.org.

 

GREAT JOB GSCM!!

Thanks to everyone who donated time, talent and money to the Walkathon.  Together, the students at GSCM met their Walkathon fundraising goal of $8,000!  All students won a “Fall Field Day” which will take place on Grandparents Day beginning at 11:15am.  Group activities will go from 11:15am-noon.  Students will then bring their lunch outside (weather permitting) so all students can eat together beginning at noon.
Students had several incentive awards during the Walkathon. Below is a list of winners:
Students who showed the most Walkathon Spirit from each class- won lunch with Ms. Dohmen:
  • St. Michael-  Shane Chance, Mika Ferguson
  • St. Raphael- Liku Ferguson, Josephine Adams
  • St. Gabriel- Rory McLinden, Owen Lairson
  • Our Lady of Lourdes- Lily Sanborn, Molly Fisher
  • Our Lady of Fatima- Nathan Sabo, Josh Paulin
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe- Caroline Widmeyer, Wyatt Myers
  • Queen of Angels Middle School- Ayden Cavill, Joey Sodergren
  • Class who raised the most money overall- Our Lady of Fatima
  • Student who showed the most school spirit overall- Emma Olszewski
  • Student who had the most number of donations/pledges- Heidi Gruber
  • Student who raised the most money overall- Shepard Standridge (raised $798)
  • Student who walked the most laps- Dominic Todd- 38 Laps!!
  • Middle School students met their goal of $2,500 to earn a class Limo Ride!!
  • Total number of laps walked by all students 2594, almost 650 miles!
Total amount raised will be published in the next week or so!

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NEWS

Volunteers Needed

Fall is a busy time and we have some additional volunteer needs over the next few weeks.  Volunteers are still needed for Grandparents Day (morning of Oct. 23).  The children earned a “Fall Field Day” which will also take place from 11:-00 -12:00 on Oct. 23.  We need parents to help supervise.  We also need folks to send in picnic blankets.  Finally, we will be having our Book Fair the week of November 2.
Follow the link below to sign up to help with any of these wonderful GSCM activities.
Thanks again for donating your time!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
GSCM PTO Volunteer Coordinator


Two Spiritwear Items for Sale

We have two items available for sale currently, a purple t-shirt size 14-16 with “Confidence, Independence, Creativity, Montessori” logo and a size 2/4 (as in toddler) uniform style zippered hoodie.  The T-shirt is $13 and the hoodie is $26.  If you are interested in purchasing either of these items, please contact Jeana Olszewski jolszewski@gscmontessori.org.

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Facility News

Free Plants

We are replacing plants on the back (east) side of the St. Joseph House (facing the garage).  If you wish to dig these up for your home garden, please do so by Wednesday, October 21.  Plants available include:  lambs’ ear, liriope, rose bushes.