At the last school assemblies we announced the Year 11 House Captains and Year 6 House Leaders as well as the Class Representatives for Primary and Secondary. Congratulations to our Year 11 House Captains: Olivia Guy (Brindabella), Apolonia Romanowksa (Diamantina), Maria Zamora (Menindee), Linda Cai (Tanami) and our Year 6 House Leaders: Rochelle Anastacio (Brindabella), Chloe Leggatt (Diamantina), Emily Abacum (Menindee) and Evie Paris (Tanami). I know they will do a fine job leading their peers and strengthening school spirit in the coming months.

On Foundation Day we formally welcomed all our new students to Montgrove College. We were very excited to be welcoming our fourth Kindy class. The Foundation Day Ceremony is a lovely event where the new and current students promise to look after each other and do their best. I hope all our new students have settled in well after their first few weeks at the school.

Congratulations to Janice Arul-Selvan (Yr 11) for her participation in the Lion’s Youth of the Year competition. After winning at the club level, Janice competed at the Area finals in Windsor and won the Public Speaking award. This was the first time Montgrove has entered this competition. It has quite a challenging format, which includes an interview, impromptu questions as well as a prepared speech. We also have three students competing in the Rostrum Public Speaking competition next week. We wish them the best of luck.

It is great to see the girls taking the opportunity to improve their public speaking. All the girls who ran for the leadership positions in the school had to deliver a speech before the students voted. Well done to all the girls who prepared and delivered their speeches. Public speaking can be very nerve-wracking and it was good to see so many girls plucking up the courage and taking the risk to be nominated for a leadership position. Whether they received a leadership position or not, the fact that they were willing to take the risk is a valuable leadership trait in itself.

Last week, the 2022 NAPLAN results were published on the My School website. Montgrove continues to perform well and many of you would have seen The Daily Telegraph article, which reported that Montgrove came 10th among the Secondary schools in Western Sydney, and 49th in NSW. This is a fantastic result for a comprehensive school and testament to the hard work of the staff, parents and students. This year the NAPLAN tests have been moved forward to Term 1 and we wish the girls all the best as they sit their tests from 15 to 23 March.

Next week we have Open Day on Wednesday. There seems to be a growing interest in the school and we are expecting a large number of people to attend, and we will be relying on our Year 6 and 7 students to be our tour guides on the day. Our Cross Country event for Years 3 to 12 will be held on Thursday 9 March. Parents are welcome to come to cheer on our brave runners.

Lent has started and this year, we are focusing our Lenten almsgiving on raising funds for Turkey and Syria. Both countries have suffered immensely as a result of the recent earthquake and many families continue to struggle to survive and get back on their feet. It is a good opportunity for the students to grow in empathy and to give from the heart. For the younger students, perhaps you can encourage them to do jobs around the house in exchange for some money that they can put into Project Compassion. It could be a very practical way of teaching them to be generous and to think of others.

At our Whole School Assembly on Tuesday 21st February our 2023 Year 11 House Leaders were announced.  Congratulations to:

• Olivia Guy - Brindabella 
• Apolonia Romanowksa - Diamantina 
• Maria Zamora - Menindee 
• Linda Cai - Tanami 

Then at our Primary Assembly on Thursday 2nd March 2023 the Year 6 House Leaders were announced.  Congratulations to:

• Rochelle Anastacio - Brindabella 
• Chloe Leggatt - Diamantina 
• Emily Abacum - Menindee 
• Evie Paris - Tanami 

At our Secondary Assembly on Tuesday 28th February our 2023 Class Representatives were presented with their badges.  Congratulations to: 

Year 7B

• Ava Doherty
• Nia Jimmy

Year 7G

• Grace Farah
• Sienna Pham

Year 8

• Hannah Buen
• Madalena Portelli

Year 9B

• Adelaide Mackenzie 
• Susanna Romanowska

Year 9G

• Gianna Salem
• Lucy Ciappara

Year 10

• Adriana Badrov
• Caroline Elias

At our Primary Assembly on Thursday 2nd March 2023, our 2023 Primary Class Representatives were also announced and presented with their badges.  Congratulations to:

• Elizabeth Gil

• Michelle Yu

• Victoria Heo

• Angel Jobin

• Chloe Goes

At our recent Primary and Infants Assemblies the following students received the Principal's Award: 

• The Infants Orchy was awarded to Dominic Ciappara (1W) for helping another student who had injured himself and making sure he was alright.
• The Primary Monty was awarded to Amy Nibu (2B) for looking after a Kindergarten student who was upset, and staying with her until class started.

Sir Thomas More was a professional in the field of law, a a magistrate, or judge, of great integrity. On one occasion, it is told how he had sent to him, by a suitor (someone being sued in court, I suppose), two silver flagons, apparently a bribe...  When these items were presented to him by the gentleman's servant, Thomas said to one of his men: "Have him to the cellar and let him have of my best wine”.  Turning to the servant, Thomas declared: "Tell your master, friend, if he like it, let him not spare it."

At home, he had a great sense of humour, and it seems his wife did too, which he would have taken quite well. Her name was Alice Middleton (a surname no doubt familiar to many of us). One day, after she had just been to confession, she announced to her husband: "You can be merry, for I have finished with my past nagging, and now intend to start afresh.” (This last anecdote was taken from "Born for Friendship", page 94.)

I am sure we can admire such married couples, and the usually small sacrifices they perform every day, to make life more pleasant for others. In a similar vein, many of us can ask that wonderful couple, St Joseph and his wife, Holy Mary, to teach us integrity at work, and a healthy sense of humour, always and everywhere.

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 

 Fr Felix Navarro is available for confessions on:

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

Unfortunately there will be NO confessions at Montgrove on:

• Wednesday 8th March
• Tuesday 14th March and
• Wednesday 15th March 

Please pray for our sick and injured family and friends:

Candido Valenton, grandfather to Elyssa (6G), Marcela (1W) & Daniela (KW) Valenton; Benjamin Santiago, father to Agryna (10B); Kathrin Triantoplous mother to Nektaria (12B) & Irene (9B); & Emmanuel Hanna, brother to Cecilia (8B) & Lucia (5B).

Please also remember those who have passed away:

Rajko Ivanac, Great-Grandfather to Angelina (12B) Adriana (10B) and Natalia (8B) Badrov; Aiyana Cabanero (Yr10 2019), sister to Anthea (12B) & Amara (8B) 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. 

• The office door will be locked from 9:00am
• Mrs Merriman will unlock it remotely when she sees you
• To enter please wait for the click before pulling the door towards you gently
• If reception is unattended please ring the door bell and a staff member will let you in

Kindergarten to Year 6

Start:            8:50am

Finish:           3:00pm

Kindergarten and Year 1 students may be picked up at 2:45pm from their classroom. Please note that this is only applicable for parents who ONLY have children in Kindergarten and Year 1.

Kindergarten to Year 6 students arriving after 8:50am will be required to sign in at the office.

Year 7 to Year 12

Start:            8:30am

Finish:           3:15pm

Year 7 to 12 students arriving after 8:30am will be required to sign in at the office.

• If you have children in both Kindergarten and/or Year 1 AND a primary student, please collect them after 3:00pm. 
• If you have children in both Primary and Secondary school please collect them between 3:15pm and 3.30pm. 

Under the NSW Adolescent Vaccination Program the HPV vaccination along with the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) vaccines are made available for students in Year 7.  Under the program these vaccines are offered to all girls in Year 7 free of charge.  

Year 10 students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine free of charge. From 2023 the consent forms are online. Please see the information provided by NBMLHD Public Health Unit.

The dates for the vaccinations at the School have been scheduled as follows: 

Friday 10th March:            

• Year 7  dTpa and HPV  
• Year 10 Meningoccal 

Monday 13th September: 

• Year 7 and 10 catchups (those who were absent or registered after 10th March).

Parental/guardian consent is required for students to be vaccinated. 

Students will be administered the vaccination only if parental consent is given.  

Online consent for school vaccination information from NSW Health.

If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 this year, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations. 

In Year 7, students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV). In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine. 

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received. 

How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school 
2. Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one. 
3. Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required. 
4. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:  
   • Enter your child’s personal details 
   • Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child  
   • Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement 
   • Provide consent  

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.

The benefits of providing consent online:

• easily update your child’s details
• receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given 
• faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). 

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination 

If you require information in your language, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx 

SAVE THE DATE!

The 2023 School Photos will be held on Thursday 30th March 2023.   A note will be sent home shortly about the ordering process. 

On Photo day, please ensure that:

• Students wear full Summer 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

Harmony Day is a national event in Australia to celebrate the diverse cultural background that we are fortunate to have in this country.

Montgrove College has been celebrating this event for more than a decade now, and we will be celebrating it once again in Term 2.

Please find attached an information sheet that will give you all the details you need to know about the 2023 Montgrove College Harmony Day.

For further enquiries, please email harmonyday@montgrove.nsw.edu.au

We look forward to your support in making this event a meaningful and memorable one.

Vengie Pangilinan
Harmony Day Organiser

The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely

2023 Challenge dates

Students can include any books read from the end of the 2022 challenge on their 2023 reading record. Key dates for the 2023 challenge are:

27 February 2023 - challenge opens for student entries

Friday 18 August 2023 - challenge closes for student entries

The PRC rules have been updated for the 2023 challenge. Students can now include up to 10 choice books on their reading records, and can count 5 books from an approved series as PRC books.

www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au

Your child’s user id and password for the Reading Challenge will be sent home by their teacher towards the end of this week.

Any questions regarding the PRC should be directed to sarah.tuballa@montgrove.nsw.edu.au

In an effort to teach our students to take personal responsibility and to be accountable for their own items, we do not have a Lost Property box at Montgrove.   

We ask that all personal items be labelled with your child's surname and first initial, so that any items that are misplaced can be returned to the owner immediately.

Absence forms are done through the Engage Parent Portal. The Engage Parent Portal allows you to access your children's reports, complete absence forms and see your account details for both Wollemi & Montgrove. You would have already received your username and password earlier in the year.

On Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th February, our Year 6 classes travelled to Canberra for an educational tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. During their time there, they visited Mt Ainslie, both Old and New Parliament Houses to explore the way our government is run, cast votes during their own preferential election at the Electoral Commission Office and went back in time to visit the ANZAC soldiers at the War Memorial. There was also a special night time outing that you can read about below in the students' reports.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government contributes funding of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Read on below to learn about what Year 6 thought of their excursion - it sounds like they had a fabulous time!

On the 23rd and 24th February, I went to Canberra with all my class 6 Blue, 6 Green and teachers.  On the bus ride we played games, talked and made it fun.  When we got there we went to the War Memorial first where I saw the reflection pool, all the names of soldiers in World War 1 and 2 - you could even see Parliament House from it!

We went to lots of other places too - Mt Ainslie Lookout, Old Parliament House, Questacon and more that I can't remember!  My favourite place was Questacon! We went into a lot of rooms, played with the exhibits and learnt a lot about science.  We had a really nice hotel and the food was really good!  Our bus diver was amazing!!  Chloe L (6B)

Last Thursday, Year 6 went to Canberra. The bus left at 6am sharp so I had to wake up at 5am. 5am! Doesn’t that scream child abuse? The first place we visited was the war memorial. It had many distinctive features such as the Hall of Memories, Wall of Names and the Eternal Flame. The best place we went to on the first day and the whole trip was Questicon. A cool scientific place. My highlight for Questicon was the 6.7m drop slide.

Picture this. Wearing a fluorescent orange jumpsuit, hanging off a slippery, metallic bar with your legs dangling off. Then, you drop. After that we went to Parliament. One word to describe it is marble. So. Much. Marble. We visited the Senate and the House of Representatives. All in all it was very…. Educational. The biggest highlight was Mcdonald’s. French fries. Chicken Nuggets. Apple Pie . Burger. Soft drink! Tell me that isn’t amazing! 

Amount of sleep? We totally slept the whole night. We definitely didn’t go sugar-high on lollies.

All in all, Canberra was a wonderful and memorable experience. There was a lot of commenting, eating and bonding. Definitely the best excursion of primary. Nicole N (6G)

The cabins were nice and the beds were cosy, and the showers were nice and warm.  Questacon was the best!! Especially the SLIDE!! When I first went down the slide, I thought I would break all my bones! But I didn't break my bones. It was so much fun!! Catherine G (6B)

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” screams and laughter echoed off the colourful walls of Questacon as children dropped down a six metre slide. Meanwhile I was at a contraption that measured the force and the speed of your throw. I kept getting 55km/h until one throw where I got particularly angry at the machine and I threw it with all my force and I finally got 66km/h! Then, we went to the weather room, where you could go into a section to feel what an earthquake was like, and there was a section that had actual lightning! (You couldn’t go inside it, of course). Questacon was one of the key moments in our excursion, for me.

Another one of my highlights was visiting New Parliament House. It was so cool to be in the place that the leaders of our country, past and present, the Prime ministers had worked in. We got to go to the place where multiple of Australia’s laws have been made, the High Court. We also did a small roleplay of what would happen in the House of Representatives (a part of High Court)  when a bill is being made into a law. Even though not all of us got a speaking part, most of us enjoyed it very much.

The Canberra excursion was one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had in my life, and I’m sure I’ll be going back sometime soon. Rochelle A (6G)

On the last day of January the class of 2023 were warmly welcomed back for their last, first day of school. The day began with a class mass, an encouraging reminder on how to tackle the year ahead. The HSC year can be very overwhelming and stressful but if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, all things are manageable.

Following this, we were given a warm welcome by our class teachers - Dr Malabanan and Miss Aguilar. Not only did they welcome us back with open arms but also gifts for our common room! Such a nice surprise to come back to.

It was also refreshing to hear the inspirational words of two Montgrove graduates - Shannon Jerome and Alyssa Conejar. These girls reminded us that there is life after the HSC. They showed us that you can work hard, aim high, create fond memories with your class and still manage to come out the other side with your hair intact!

It was lovely to get a chance to ease into things before the year officially began and reconnect with the class of 2023 over a slice of pizza. We know we will face many challenges this year, but we are ready to encourage and champion one another to achieve our personal best.

Looking forward to the adventurous year ahead!

Isabella Doherty
School Captain 2023

Montgrove Basketball Trials for 2023 Winter Season 

Montgrove Basketball Club will be holding Trials for the 2023 winter season which runs from 21 April until 23 September.   

Trials will be held on Thursday 9th March from 5:00 until 6:00pm in the Montgrove COLA.  Registration will then take place from 6:00 – 6:30pm.

If your child is keen to play, is athletic and can handle a fast paced sport, please

• Text 0418 961 626 with your child/children’s names who will be attending the trials
• Arrive by 5:50pm 

What’s required:

• Good attitude
• Quick learner
• Bring a pumped ball of the correct size  
  • Size 5 ball (Ages 7-11)
  • Size 6 ball (Ages 12 and upwards)
• Wear comfortable clothing and proper trainers
• Lots of water

FYI - A basketball camp will be organised a week before the start of the season to enable new players to understand the basketball game/rules before they play their first game. You will be advised of the date after registration with the club.

Look forward to seeing you.

Thank you.

Corine Morgan
President, Montgrove Basketball Club
M: 0418 961 626

Montgrove College Trading Hours 2023

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

Date: Saturday 12th March

Time: 2:00-4:00pm 

Place: Marge's Lookout Walk meet at 1:45pm at Knapsack Reserve, Glenbrook

RSVP: Ian (0410 548 639) or Angelo (0430 199 038)

Date: Saturday 18th March

Time: 11:00am

Place: Mulgoa Park, 358-364 Littlefields Road, Mulgoa

Please bring a plate to share for lunch.  BYO drinks, picnic rugs, scooters and balls. 

RSVP: KS - Jess (0423 132 158); KW - Emily (0403 804 697)

Date: Saturday 2nd April

Time: 11:00am-1:00pm

Place: Jordan Springs Village Oval, 2995 Greenwood Parkway, Jordan Springs

Join us for a Sausage sizzle.  BYO drinks, snacks picnic rugs, scooters and bikes. 

RSVP: Noellyn (0400 017 345) by 26 March for catering purposes

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