The Junior Secondary students celebrated the end of their Half-Yearly exams with a sausage sizzle and some games. A great way to end a week of study and exams. Well done to all the girls for working hard to the very end of the week, especially our Year 7 girls who wrote exams for the first time, and thankyou to Mrs Grobler, Mrs Nassif and the Student Council for organising the afternoon activities.

We were very blessed to be able to have the Eucharistic Procession led by Fr Inigo Martinez-Echevarria, the Vicar of Opus Dei in Australia and New Zealand. The flower arrangements and singing were very conducive to prayer and reflection. The procession was held on the feast day of the Visitation of Our Lady, and Fr Inigo spoke about how he felt like Our Lady would have felt carrying Our Lord around, and encouraged all of us to bring Jesus to other people by having him in our hearts and reflected in our actions.

The COLA flooring is now looking great with the new flooring and ‘Montgrove College’ and ‘Inter Medium Montium’ painted around the edges. We are just waiting for the Montgrove crest to be added, and the flooring will be complete. It will be great to finally see it finished. Thank you to all those who donated and helped fundraise this project over the past few years.

Cross Country season is now over for this year. Well done to those girls who represented Montgrove at the Hills Zone, AICES and CIS levels. It is always tough competition, and 5 Secondary girls qualified for AICES and 6 Primary girls competed in CIS. Congratulations also to Amelia Guy (Yr 10) who was selected to represent Hills Zone at the AICES Netball competition, finishing 3^rd overall.

Well done to Janice Arul Selvan (Yr 12) who was runner up at the Regional Finals of the Plain English Speaking Award run by NSW Department of Education. I was very impressed with the standard of public speaking that each of the competitors displayed, so being awarded runner up was a great achievement.

Montgrove’s Band Night is coming up next Saturday starting at 6.30pm. If you would like to book tickets, please use the QR code that can be found on the flyer featured later in this newsletter. There will also be a few refreshments on sale during Band Night.

Congratulations to:

• Philip and Evita Kelly on the arrival of Patrick, brother to Maximillian (KS)

In the wake of the month of May, so full of blessings, what with all those pilgrimages and expressions of love for the Blessed Virgin, I thought we might go a little down memory lane... Those of us who were present in Montgrove, way back in September 27, 2014, would fondly remember our Mass of Thanksgiving, on the very day of the beatification of Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, the successor of St Josemaría, at the helm of Opus Dei.  The tenth anniversary of that event is fast approaching.

It was Blessed Alvaro himself, who, while on Earth, had heartily recommended that, in our regular praying of the Rosary, especially in the family setting, we might remember the family all over the world, wracked as it was (and still is) by challenges and threats to marriage, the family, the newborn and (now we can add) the elderly. He was obviously encouraging us to use the Rosary to do true and lasting good to all people. The praying of the Rosary in the family is such a powerful resource! As most of us well know, “the family that prays together, stays together”.

St Josemaría recommended that, whilst for the youngest children it would be onerous to expect them to join in on the full Rosary, they might at least be asked to say a few Hail Mary's, in front of a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All of these prayers will surely be well received, and acted upon, by Heaven.

Please pray for our sick and injured family and friends:

Zenaida Oringo, grandmother to Aiesha (Secondary Teacher) & Kara (12) Oringo; Charles Rafanan, father to Jiannah-Marie (8B); Tom Gelevski (PARED Maintenance); 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:

Ruben Oringo, grandfather to Aiesha (Secondary Teacher) & Kara (12) Oringo; Fortunato Meduri, great-grandfather to Alessandra Agius (KW); Melanie Khoury, great-grandmother to Catherine (2B) & Alyssa (KB) Mattar and Adelaide-Rose (3G) & Catilin (KG) Mowad; Dorothy James, grandmother to Eliza (12) and Lucy (7) James; 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 

 Fr Felix Navarro is available for confessions on:

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

As you are aware a new pedestrian crossing was installed on Bringelly Road over the holidays and as a result, a change was made to the exiting traffic from Montgrove: Between the hours of 8:15 and 9:15am and 2:45-3:45 pm all traffic turns left when exiting Montgrove. 

We would like to thank everyone for their assistance in adjusting to the new traffic conditions. The traffic in our carline and along Bringelly Road seems to be flowing more steadily as a result. The feedback has been very positive. 

We would like to take this opportunity to remind parents to please not park your car in the Medical Centre carpark next door or use this area as a pick up or drop off point.  If the Montgrove car park is full please use Oag Crescent and the surrounding streets to park your car. You are able to use the pedestrian crossing on Bringelly Road to safely pick up your children.   

The annual Athletics Carnival for girls in Years 3 – 12 will be held on Thursday 27th June 2024 at Harold Corr Oval, Cambridge Park.

The carnival will commence at 8.30am SHARP. All students (Years 3 to 12) will need to arrive no later than 8.30am. It is a school day, and as such, attendance and participation is compulsory. Students are required to find their class teacher at 8:30am and before they leave the carnival at 3pm to have their name marked off.

All students must present a note on the day to their class teacher excusing them from participation if they are unfit to participate for any reason.

Parents are invited to attend the carnival to support your daughter/s. For safety and organisational reasons, an allocated area will be made available for parents. All students are to remain in their schoolhouse area unless marshalling or racing. If you are able to provide assistance throughout the day (whole or part of) please complete the slip attached.

The 1500m Secondary event will be marshalled at 8:25am SHARP. Please ensure you are on time if you wish to participate in this event.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

DATE:               Thursday 27th June 2024

VENUE:             Harold Corr Oval, 32 Herbert Street, Cambridge Park

TRANSPORT:    Please organise your own transport to and from the carnival. There will NOT be a bus service organised on the day

TIME:                8:30am morning roll call

                         3:00pm carnival concludes

LUNCH:             Lunch, snacks & water (there will be a canteen available for students throughout the day)

UNIFORM:         All students are to travel in their full Montgrove sports uniform. They may put on their ‘theme/colour’ outfits once at the oval. Students will need to be in the correct sports uniforms when competing. Please be prepared for all weather conditions. It is recommended that all students bring a mat to sit on, warm jumper, raincoat and sunscreen. Students will need to bring enough water for the day.

Students with asthma will need to carry their puffer with them at all times, even when competing.

In the event of heavy or constant rain, parents will be notified the day before if the carnival will be postponed and it will be a normal school day.

If you are able to assist on the day, please send an email to clare.bolton@montgrove.nsw.edu.au or complete the slip on the bottom of the permission note sent home last week and return it by Monday 17th June.

On Wednesday 24th May, Montgrove College participated in the reading of Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker for National Simultaneous Storytime.  The primary classes joined in as schools from all over Australia all read Bowerbird blues simultaneously either online or in person.  Afterwards some classes went 'scavenging' around the school while others finished off the day with some beautiful artworks.

On Friday 31st May, we had our annual Eucharistic Procession. Thankfully, the rain held up for this special event, where Our Lord was brought out of the Tabernacle, and brought around our school grounds to bless all parents, staff and students of Montgrove.

In his homily, Fr Inigo Martinez-Echevarria pointed out that this day coincided with the feast of the Visitation, commemorating the very first Eucharistic Procession, when Mary carried Jesus in her womb as she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. He talked about how the Holy Eucharist is the heart of our school, because this is where Our Lord waits for us, and how He supports us in all the good that we do.

The girls doing their First Holy Communion did a great job of singing a Hymn to Our Lord when He was placed at the Shrine, in front of Our Lady of Montgrove. And the Secondary and Primary Choirs led the whole school with their beautiful singing.

We would like to thank all staff who were involved in organising this year’s Eucharistic Procession. A special thanks as well to all the dads who volunteered their time, to Fr Joe of St Nicholas of Myra Parish, and to Charisse Filamor, Le Mallett and Montgrove alumna, Christina Karam, for the amazing floral arrangements.  

Montgrove College will be hosting Japanese students from 30th July – 3rd August 2024.

Share your lifestyle & home whilst experiencing another culture.

• Students attend school on weekdays and enjoy family life with you on the weekend
• Japanese language is not necessary.
• Students just fit in with your family routines – eat your food, they need their own bed but can share a room.
• Families are paid $50 per night per student 

If you can assist in hosting a student or would like more information, please contact……..

VS Oceania Pty Ltd

Ph: 02 9889 4366  

Email : admin@vsoceania.com

On Tuesday May 21st, 56 students from Year 3 to Year 12 attended the 2024 Hill Zone Cross Country Carnival held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. The sun was shining, and it was perfect weather for the event. 

The races began with the Secondary athletes competing first. We had some excellent results in these events. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top 10 and progressed through to the AICES Cross Country Carnival which took place on Thursday 30th May: Chloe L (Yr 7), Bethany D (Yr 9), Amelia G (Yr 10), Magdalena (Yr 11) and Samantha M (Yr 12). 

At 12:30pm the Secondary races concluded, and the primary races commenced. Our Primary  Montgrove team were excited and eagerly waiting for their races to begin. Once again, we saw some outstanding performances in the primary age groups. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top 15 and progressed through to the CIS Cross Country Carnival which took place, despite some challenging rainy conditions, on Thursday 6th June: Sarah C (Yr 3), Anastasia R (Yr 3), Wing L (Yr 4), Clara C (Yr 5), Jordaine F (Yr 5) and Sophia Z (Yr 6). 

Well done to the 2024 Montgrove Cross Country Team for an outstanding effort at the 2024 Hillzone Carnival and a big congratulations to those students who were selected to represent HZSA at the AICES and CIS Cross Country Carnivals. 

Last term, Amelia G (Yr 10) attended a very competitive Hillszone netball trial and was successful in her selection into the HZSA Opens Girls Netball team. Amelia was then required to travel to Hills Grammar School on multiple occasions to participate in training sessions with her team.

The AICES Netball Competition was held on Thursday 23rd May 2024 at Netball Central, Olympic Park. Along with the rest of the HZSA Netball team, Amelia spent the day versing various representative teams from all different AICES zones. The team played 5 games with only a short break in between each game. Of these 5 games HZSA won 3.

HZSA finished the competition placing 3rd overall. An outstanding achievement for HZSA and for Montgrove! Congratulations Amelia G on all your hard work and dedication!

Cancer Council’s Healthy Lunch Box website is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about packing a healthy lunch box.  For recipes, information and health tips please visit https://healthylunchbox.com.au’ 

Changes to Healthy Lunch Box website

The Healthy Lunch Box website is changing to become the Healthy Made Tasty website!  All the Healthy Lunch Box resources, including the Interactive Lunch Box Builder will be been maintained in one section of the new website and all current Healthy Lunch Box URLs will be redirected to the new site.

Healthy Made Tasty will include updated recipes that will have nutrition, budget and reduce waste tips and have an additional section on how you can reduce your risk of cancer through healthy eating.  It will also have a resources section for printable and shareable resources.  The new website will be a fantastic tool for anyone interested in recipes, nutrition and cancer prevention and our resources and healthy tips will be able to be filtered for parents and schools.

Cancer Council Nutrition Snippets 

This will be the last school term that the Cancer Council will provide Nutrition Snippets.

A FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR LOWANA

** NOTE: Change of Venue **

UNLEASH YOUR INNER ARTIST!

MUM-DAUGHTER (OR FRIENDS!) PAINT N' SIP 

JOIN US FOR A RELAXING PAINT N' SIP EVENT DESIGNED TO BRING LAUGHTER, CREATIVITY, AND MEMORIES 

What’s included: 

• A welcoming atmosphere perfect for catching up and making memories. 
• All art supplies included to unleash your inner artist. 
• Step-by-step instruction: Our experienced 
• instructor will make sure everyone feels 
• comfortable and confident, regardless of their artistic background. 
• Snacks and drinks: Eat and Sip on refreshing drinks (non-alcoholic) while you paint. 
• Take home your masterpiece! A one-of-a-kind art piece to cherish and remember. 

Perfect for: 

• Mother-daughter Bonding 
• Ladies Night Out
• Sisterhood Gatherings 
• Anyone who wants to have some creative fun! 

SPACE IS LIMITED, SO RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!

REGISTER HERE

ACCOUNT NAME: AIMEE ESTOQUE 

BSB: 082778

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 345551254

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.

NOTE: Choosing home delivery is the fastest way of receiving your orders and home delivery is free for all orders over $50.

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

• Kindy Blue: Maria Mendoza 
• Kindy Green: Marie Ison 
• Kindy Silver: Chontelle Alwis
• Kindy White: Jessica Le Grand

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