Mrs. Gissela Dillow - Kindergarten

The last day of school is always bittersweet! But Beth Mexted and I chose to end it with a hike up to Doc Holiday's grave. We did some hands on math with the help of parent volunteers by locating the earliest birth year of someone buried, the youngest person buried and the oldest. After that, the teachers played the 7th grade in a kickball game in which the 7th grade prevailed! Have a wonderful summer to my beautiful little ones that are ready for 1st grade!

Spring is in the air!


It has been an exciting two weeks! St. Patrick’s Day was filled with excitement when a tricky leprechaun made a stop in Kindergarten! He even spilled some of his loot in the process.

WOW! A new year is about to begin.
Here we are in the 6th week of school and friendships are beginning to blossom. It is always wonderful to see so many beautiful children learning to love each other. 

Catequesis of the Good Shepherd is also taking a life of its own. With the new season of Fall, the Liturgical Colors of the Church have been introduced and making this connection with the liturgy is essential. 

We also had our first outing to Glenwood Springs Public Library. We will be going monthy with our 1st Grade friends. 

Another Year Ends 2015- 2016 

April showers bring May flowers or Reptiles? Learning about the Animal Kingdom is in full swing in Kindergarten. Brealyn's dad was kind enough to bring in his pygmy pythons and geckos to share with the class. It is great to see children not be squeamish towards our friendly reptiles. Real life experiences make learning exciting! The class created habitats for mammals and birds. May brings us diving into the underwater world of fish. 

March has sprung with the celebration of the beloved author Dr. Suess! Kinder through 2nd collaborated in an interactive literacy celebration that brought the joy of Dr. Suess alive!


February brought opportunities to show our love to everyone. This included a service project decorating paper for Valentine's Day for boxes of candy donated to the school to help raise money for scholarships. Truly it was a work of love and paying it forward!

What a fun start to the year! As we continue to have loads of fun, students use these opportunities to have experiences through learning. Who says January is too early to plant seeds? The children learned about the parts of a plant and the life cycle of plants early in January. This lead to planting seeds in pods and boy are they growing beautifully. They were amazed at the sight of the first sprouts and then the leaves appeared. All this from a tiny seed!

Happy 2016!

As 2015 came to an end, Kindergarten through 2nd Grade set out to bring some Christmas JOY around the community. We were able to visit Fr. Bert, Nueman Construction, U.S. Bank, Safeway, Valley View Hospital and Cancer Center, Glenwood Medical Associates, The Woman's Place, Alpine Bank and Mrs. Oliver with Mrs. O'Connor. Special thanks to Nueman Construction for the candy treats which we shared with the whole school and Safeway Starbucks for the yummy cookies and hot chocolate! Most of all we thank the beautiful smiling faces that greeted the children and chaperones as we entered their buildings!

Happy Advent! Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father are proclaimed.

One of my favorite times of the year as a teacher is the Advent Season! Our kindergarten class is centered on the celebration of the Birth of Christ in all we do. Our Atrium lessons introduce the Prophet Isaiah and the foretelling of the coming Savior. We also ponder the messages of the Gospel of Luke with his announcement to Mary and her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. All this goes right on along with the Spirit of St. Nicholas.

Our class is visited by Guest Readers during which they share their favorite Christmas story. Every year I'm blessed to hear new books about this special time of the year!


Fall is here and so are the beautiful gifts given to us by God. His miracles on earth bring smiles to my heart!

The leaves are changing into glorious colors and kindergartener are well into the routine of our classroom. We've graphed our favorite apples and treats after sampling them of cour