We have come to the end of a busy and long term and I am sure everyone is looking forward to a break and less hectic schedule. The weather at the moment is so conducive to outdoor activity, I hope you are able to enjoy the great outdoors with your family during the holidays. As we all know spending time outdoors and away from devices has great benefits for all of us, and especially children. It can improve their mood, their sleep and their social skills, as they learn to relate and problem solve with their siblings and friends.

Thank you to all the staff and students who were involved in the Easter activities last Wednesday. The Infants students were so proud of their hats, they had them on all day. The Primary and Secondary students did a great job with their fundraisers, Easter egg hunt and games. What a wonderful way to remind us of the joy of Easter!

The Year 9 girls had a great time at camp last week. They didn’t let the rain dampen their spirits and were able to complete their hike with plenty of energy to spare. We also had a good number of girls representing Montgrove at the Hills Zone Triathlon. They were also unperturbed by the wet weather and many teams came in the top 5 for their age group. This was the first time that a duathlon was held for Years 3 & 4 students, and it was good to see some of our young girls take on the challenge. Congratulations to all competitors, especially Chloe Leggatt (Yr 7) who came 2^nd in the individual triathlon and to Maria Lepan (Yr 3) and Olivia Giles (Yr 3) who also came 2^nd in their duathlon race.

A notice was sent out recently regarding a new pedestrian crossing that is going to be constructed on Bringelly Road in front of the school. All going well, construction should be completed before the students return. From the beginning of next term, cars will only be able to turn left out of the Montgrove driveway between 8.15am and 9.15am, and between 2.45pm and 3.45pm. This should also help with the traffic flow during carline.

Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable break and looking forward to seeing the students in their winter uniform in Term 2.

Congratulations to: 

• Pia and Jonathon Barreto on the arrival of Benjamin Paul, brother to Frances (2B)

I'm sure I can speak for all our Pared chaplains, and especially for myself, as to how gratifying it has been to see the daily Mass attendance in our schools. It surely is  the greatest blessing, and a tremendous sharing in the Easter joy of the risen Jesus. 

Please pray for our sick and injured family and friends:

Charles Rafanan, father to Jiannah-Marie (8B); Nikita De Souza, girlfriend of Michael Carrington (PARED Maintenance); Fr John Flader, Tangara Priest; Amelia Acasio, grandmother to Renae (12) & Regine (10G) Bernacer; Victor Sciberras, father to Raelene Pirotta (Registrar); Benjamin Santiago, father to Agryna (11); & Emmanuel Hanna, brother to Cecilia (9B) & Lucia (6G) Hanna.

Please also remember those who have passed away:

Antonio Singson, grandfather to Marina Fahkry (KS); Jeannette Azzi, grandmother to Maria (7) and Jane (4) Azzi; ReginaldSantos, uncle to Santiago Santos (1G); Peter Ruhl, grandfather to Mary (10), Clare (8) & Lucia (7) Ruhl; Antoine Scoulou, grandfather to Mona-Maria Scoulou (3B); Victor Asdiollo Tuballa, father-in-law to Sarah Tuballa (Religion teacher), grandfather to Charlotte (9B) & Felicity (3G) Tuballa; Priscilla De Leon Yabut, grandmother to Samantha Magat (12); Aurea Ingco, great grandmother to Mila Kottatis (2G); Aiyana Cabanero (Yr10 2019) sister to Amara (9) Cabanero.

If you would like to add any intentions to the Prayer Board, please send them to melanie.merriman@montgrove.nsw.edu.au. Please also let Melanie know when your intentions can be removed. 

Mass

Mass is held Monday to Friday at 12:15pm.  Parents are welcome to attend Mass in the Chapel.

Chapel Visits

Parents are welcome to visit the Chapel from 2:30pm for prayer. 

Confessions

Fr Anthony Khoudair is available for confessions on:

• Tuesdays from 2:45pm to 3:30pm
• Wednesdays from 2:45pm to 3:30pm 

*** On Wednesday 10th April, the afternoon confessions with Fr Anthony will be slightly shortened to 3:00pm - 3:30pm ***

 Fr Felix Navarro is available for confessions on:

• Thursdays from 3:00pm to 3:30pm
• Fridays from 3:00pm to 3:30pm 

During the upcoming school holidays the council will be installing a crossing at the front of the school on Bringelly Road. This will assist with the safety of pedestrians crossing Bringelly Road. 

Council has scheduled works to commence this Saturday 13th April and weather permitting, should be completed by the start of Term 2. To complete works safely, temporary traffic lights will be in operation along Bringelly Road while the work is in progress.

As the crossing will be in close proximity to the school’s exit driveway, the exit lane will be a Left Hand Turn only between certain hours. This change will come into effect from Tuesday the 30th April between the hours of 8.15am - 9.15am and 2.45pm - 3.45pm. Cars will not be able to turn right during these times.

We thank you in advance for your support of this change. 

To honour our beautiful mums, Montgrove College warmly invites you to attend a Mother's Day Morning Tea and Blessing on Thursday 9th May.

Please RSVP by Monday 3rd May

SAVE THE DATE!

The 2024 School Photos will be held on Thursday 30th May 2024.     

On Photo day, please ensure that:

• Students wear full Winter uniform with shoes polished
• Hair which is shoulder length or longer must be tied back
• Top knots and multiple braids are not acceptable
• Ribbons and hair accessories must be in school colours
• Any jewellery worn to school must be in line with school policy
• Girls are NOT permitted to wear makeup
• This applies to class photos as well as individual portraits

HOW TO ORDER PHOTO PACKAGES AND SIBLING PHOTOS

To reduce administration and potential security issues related to the return of cash and envelopes on photo day, orders for packages and sibling photographs will need to be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using our school’s unique 9 digit advanced order code. 

Step 1:  Go to www.advancedlife.com.au

Step 2:  Enter school code ZHR 8VP K65 in the “order and download box”.  This will take you to the school’s secure online ordering site. 

Step 3:  Click on “Order Photos” and complete your details.  During this process you can place orders for additional children and sibling photos.   

Step 4:  Pay for your photos using Visa, Mastercard, PayPal or Latitude Pay

PLEASE NOTE:

• Portrait and group package orders can be ordered online right up until photo day
• Sibling Photos must be pre-ordered online up to 24 hours before photo day.
  • Sibling photographs will only be taken if an order has been placed.
  • Only students enrolled at Montgrove can be included in the sibling photo.
• A Late fee will be applied to each package purchased after photo day due to the additional cost of producing these packages separately.

We do have a small number of envelopes available at reception for those families who are unable to order online.  Should you wish to purchase using an envelope, these can be collected from the office no later than Monday 27th May 2024.

Should you have any queries concerning school photographs or online ordering, please direct them via email to enquiries@advancedlife.com.au

Congratulations to Year 4 for the fantastic cake stall that they put on for our Kindergarten to Year 6 students on Wednesday 3rd April.  They were able to raise almost $500 to go towards our new Chapel. 

On Wednesday 3rd March Kindergarten and Year 1 celebrated Easter by having an Easter Hat Parade. There were some amazing creations and decorations on the hats and it was lovely to see so many parents who were able to come to watch.

The Montgrove College Cross Country Carnival was held on Friday 15th March. It was a fantastic day, and it was wonderful to see so many students supporting each other and giving their best effort.

Congratulations to all the girls who participated in this year’s events.

A big congratulations to Sarah Chircop, Jordaine Finianos, Chloe Leggatt and Bethany Dodd for setting new records in their age groups.

The Hills Zone Cross Country Carnival will take place on Tuesday 21st May at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. Students selected to represent Montgrove at the carnival will be given a letter early in Term 2.

Clare Bolton

PDHPE Teacher

Congratulations to Samantha M (Year 12) who was selected to be part of the Joflow Australia U19 Women’s Basketball Team this year. After months of training, Samantha travelled to the Philippines last month with her team to compete in the Manila Live NBTC Tournament from March 15-26. Samantha's team finished in the Top 8, making it all the way to the quarter finals. Congratulations Samantha on this amazing achievement.

The Combined CSSA & Hills Zone Triathlon was held on Thursday 4th April. We had 49 students from Year 3 through to Year 12 compete on the day. Four of our students from Year 7 took on the challenge of the Junior Individual event and we also entered a total of 18 teams. For the first time, Hills Zone offered a Duathlon event to students in Years 3 & 4, and we had three eager teams compete in this event. As the 2023 triathlon was cancelled, all of our students were very excited to participate in this year’s event.

Despite some challenging weather resulting in some last-minute changes on the day, the Montgrove team performed very well. We had several teams finish in the top 5 of their events. Congratulations to all the girls who participated in this year’s Triathlon.  

A very big congratulations to Maria Lepan (3G) and Olivia Giles (3G) who placed 2nd in the Primary Duathlon, and Chloe Leggatt (7B) who placed 2nd in the Junior Individual event. Well done girls on your outstanding achievements.

Thank you to all the parents who came to support our Montgrove team. We are looking forward to seeing what our students can achieve at the 2025 Triathlon.

Clare Bolton

PDHPE Teacher

Montgrove College Trading Hours 2024

Mondays: 8:30am to 12:30pm

Ordering online couldn’t be simpler.

 Go to www.midford.com.au

1. Select Montgrove College from the online School Shops tab.
2. New users to click the ‘Register New Account’ button.
3. Start the registration process by selecting Montgrove College from the drop-down menu and add Montgrove unique school pass phrase: Montgrove2007
4. Add your personal information, create a username and password.
5. Order the items you need, select pick up from the uniform shop on Monday's or option of home delivery.

Please book appointments through our online appointment system by using the below link.  https://Midford.as.me/MontgroveCollege

For enquiries please email: montgrove@midford.com.au

Montgrove College Fitting Room will open in the April School holidays by appointment only. 

• Monday 22nd April from 9:00am to 3:00pm 
• Monday 29th April from 9:00am to 3:00pm

Please book appointments through our online appointment system by using the below link

https://Midford.as.me/MontgroveCollege 

Please Note:This is for Fitting’s & Try On Service’s Only. No sales or orders will be placed onsite - all orders need to be placed online. 

For any enquiries please email: montgrove@midford.com.au

During term 1, 1W celebrated a family picnic at Glenbrook Park.  Thankyou to everyone who could make it!

As announced at the end of Term 3, our school has partnered with Edstart to facilitate the payment of your school fees. 

The deadline for setting up an Edstart Plus account has already passed. If you have not already set up your account, please do so as soon as possible by visiting edstart.com.au/pared – it only takes a few minutes to create your account. The friendly Edstart customer success team will be able to assist you should you have any questions, you can contact them at 1300 139 445 or contact@edstart.com.au.

From 2023, all school fees must be paid via your Edstart account where you can opt for weekly, monthly, fortnightly, termly, or annual instalments. Pared will no longer accept direct payments.

As part of our commitment to parents, Montgrove will absorb the administrative fees for your Edstart Plus service, so that this service is free for families to use.

Edstart is a leading provider of payment and technology services for the education sector and currently works with thousands of parents at over 600 schools around Australia, with a key focus on providing personalised service for each family.

What are the benefits of partnering with Edstart?

1. Flexibility:

Edstart provides families with more options and greater flexibility when it comes to paying school fees, at no additional cost. For example, with an Edstart Plus account:

• Choose your preferred day for when payments are made

• Spread your payments over your preferred time frame during the school year

• Option to pay via direct debit, debit/credit card or BPay

• During difficult times, families can be offered flexible payment schedules

• Adjust your payments at any time

2. Paperless & secure:

●      Payment Information will be submitted and stored through Edstart’s secure online platform, so families can be assured of data security.

●      Direct debit forms no longer need to be printed. 

3. Customer Service:

●      Edstart provides Pared parents with a dedicated customer service team who can promptly respond to queries and questions over the phone, email or through their website’s live chat function.

If you haven't already, please set up your Edstart account online at edstart.com.au/pared.

1. PARED will issue the Invoice / Fee Account Statement once by week 2 of every Term 1, 2, 3 and 4.
2. This Invoice includes: Tuition Fees, Curriculum and Technology Levy (CTL) and Building Levy only.
3. The Pared Schools have partnered with Edstart to provide more flexibility and choice with your school fee payments. All school fees must be paid via your Edstart account where you can opt for weekly, monthly, fortnightly, termly, or annual instalments.
4. As it occurs, PARED will issue separate invoices for activities other than those in Item 2 above.  This will include major camps, major excursions, certain elective co-curricular expenses, band program, elective music software,  loss of or damage to laptop, PDHPE workbook, school diary, etc. 
5. These should also be paid via your Edstart account