What a fabulous time we all had at Montgrove’s Band Night last Saturday. The hard work and dedication of everyone came together and we were thoroughly entertained throughout the evening. Congratulations to every single girl who was involved with every aspect of the production – from the backstage and marketing teams, to the MCs and performers. True to the name of Band Night, Talitha Koum, the girls overcame their inhibitions and worked together to showcase their many talents. Thank you to the staff and parents who helped on the night – to Mr Hoffmann, Mr Portugal and Mr Oringo, who took care of the sound equipment, and to Mrs Galea for looking after refreshments and merchandise. A very special thank you to Miss Oringo who committed many hours planning and organising the event, contributing to such a successful night. 

Congratulations to Maria Zamora (Yr 12) who received a Community Service Award from the Nepean Rotary Club. This award is given to Secondary students who have shown exceptional commitment to service leadership in their school and community.

Senora Ana Instance will be going on maternity leave at the end of this term. We wish her all the very best. Mrs Delwyn Paech, Mrs Chelsea Soriano and Mrs Marisa Tamayo will be taking her classes for the rest of the year.

We will be celebrating the feast day of St Josemaria on 26 June with a fundraiser lunch and some activities in the afternoon. The Secondary students have organised some fun activities for the Primary students based the life of St Josemaria. As the saint who inspired schools like Montgrove around the world, he is a great intercessor for us in heaven.  For those who would like to attend, there will be a Mass celebrated in honour of St Josemaria at St Nicholas of Myra, Penrith at 12 noon on Saturday 22 June. All families are welcome.

On the second last day of this term, Years 3 to 12 will be having their Athletics Carnival. The carnival will be held at a new venue in Cambridge Park, which has new and better facilities. It should be an enjoyable day for everyone. Good luck to all the houses!

I will be away for the last week of this term visiting some schools in Madrid before heading off to Rome for the holidays. I will have you all very much in mind while I am over there! Wishing you all a safe and relaxing break, and see you in Term 3.

At Mass, in our Chapel we daily sing well-selected hymns, to help celebrate in our own humble way, the God who deserves all praise. After all, there is the famous adage: “Those who sing, pray two times over”.

St Josemaría, for his part, referred to the Mass as an “epithalamium”, which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “a song or poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom”. Bishop Javier Echevarría taught: “This central treasure of the Church [Holy Mass] anticipates eternity, for it turns us into guests of the ‘Marriage Supper of the Lamb’ (Rev 19:7), where the blessed in Heaven are filled with the vision of God and his Christ.”

St Francis de Sales, in “A Treatise on the Love of God” relates a trip to Milan with his clergy. They heard, in different churches, many sorts of music. But in a monastery of women, they heard a religious, whose voice was so admirably delightful, that she alone created an impression more agreeable beyond compare than all the rest together, who, though otherwise excellent, yet seemed to serve only to bring out and raise the perfection and grace of that unique voice of hers. He regarded this as a metaphor of the Blessed Virgin’s role in the liturgy… in which, however,  when Christ chimes in, “what a canticle it is, of the Son to his Father!” I have put some letters in bold font: this is to encourage us to join in, at least in a heartfelt way, even if we aren’t particularly good at singing. God appreciates it, and is a good Rewarder.

Please pray for our sick and injured family and friends:

Paul Ruhl, uncle to Mary (10G), Clare (8B) and Lucia (7B) Ruhl; 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.   

Absence forms are done through the Engage Parent Portal and must be completed with 7 days of the last day of the absence. If your child is going to be late please complete the absence form indicating that they will be late and the approximate time of arrival.  Students will be marked present once they arrive at school.  If an absence form is not received you will receive a text message advising that your child is absent and a form has not yet been completed. 

We currently have an large collection of unlabeled drink bottles, containers, shoes, jumpers, jackets and hats.  Every day next week, except Thursday, (weather permitting) a table will be set up outside the middle gate.  Please check the table to see if anything belongs to your child(ren).   Anything not claimed by Friday will be sold, donated or thrown out. 

We have 2 designated disabled parking spots in the Montgrove carpark located either side of the fig tree.  We kindly ask that you only park in these 2 spots if you are displaying a valid disabled permit. 

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  (All students are to be picked up by 3:30pm)

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.

Montgrove College would like to invite the Montgrove girls in Kindergarten to Year 4 to attend a Holiday Camp for Girls at school from Monday 1st July to Wednesday 3rd July.  Please see the attached flyer for all the details.

Proceeds of this will go to the Philippines Service Project which some Year 11 students from Montgrove are running at the end of this year. 

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

A fabulous Friday at the Bathurst Goldfields - Sehaj T (5 Blue)

“The wheels on the bus go…” sang Mr Simat, waiting for us to continue the song. “Come on you guys, it’s just a song. Anyone can sing it…” exclaimed Mr Simat, as he slumped back to his seat on the bus. A few minutes later Mrs Jadraque called from the front of the bus “5 minutes left only until we arrive at Bathurst!” “Yay!” We all exclaimed in unison. This was going to be the excursion of a lifetime!

“Pshhhh!” This was the sound of rain going pit-a-pat on the roof of a small, sheltered area assigned for us to eat at in Bathurst. Yes, it was raining and windy, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the best excursion ever! “Come along now, I don’t bite!” said Mr Andrew, our tour guide for the day. We walked along a pathway until we reached The Blacksmith's Shop. Mr Andrew told us that during the Gold Rush Era, blacksmiths usually had apprentices that helped out in the shop and were trained by the blacksmith. He also told us that if you ever were in need of a tooth removal, you could go to the blacksmith’s shop. Then, he asked our teachers to choose 2 people from each class to be his apprentice for a day, and to help him while he demonstrated what the blacksmith’s made by actually making the objects. I was chosen as one of the apprentices from my class, and Jordaine was the other one. Our job was to keep a fire alive so that he could use the fire to heat the metal rods so that it would be easier to make the tool that he made. How did we keep the fire alive? We had to work a machine called a bellows. A very interesting machine, if you ask me. Of course, for safety measures, we had to wear protective glasses and aprons. Being next to the fire, we were nice and toasty.

Next, we went to the mini creeks, where we were all given a pan and small glass bottle. This was the activity that everyone was waiting for. The slightly soggy, yet golden activity which was…. GOLD PANNING! Mr Andrew showed us how to pan for some gold and after a while, we gave it a go. After a while, most people got a hang of it and soon people were shouting “EUREKA!” as many miners and diggers would cry if they found any gold. Any gold that was found was put in the small glass bottles that we had been given. It was a wet yet interesting activity. If you went to the Goldfields, would you strike it rich?

A while later, we were given instructions for our next activity, which was baking damper! YUM! Have you ever made or tasted damper? Yes?….No?….Well you must! Oh that delightful, syrupy, light and crunchy, gooey, wonder of DAMPER! I could eat damper every day! It is also very easy to make. Another guide made dough that was soon to be the damper, while we put a bit of damper on our sticks, and then we slowly roasted the damper above a small bonfire. Then we let the damper cool down, drizzled a bit of syrup on the damper and ate those amazing, pieces of damper in no time. I believe that it is vital for you to try DAMPER!

After a while, our bus arrived to take us back home. After boarding the bus and chatting about how wonderful the day was, we started to rest. “The wheels on the bus go…” started Mr Simat again. “Go round and round!” we sang back sleepily. It had been a long and exciting day. We continued chatting about our day and arrived back home in time for dinner. I strongly believe that anyone and everyone should go to Bathurst!

Excursion of the Year - Madeline B (5 Green)

The Bathurst excursion that indeed we just had

Was exciting, awesome and nothing near bad!

We all felt included, happy and no one was sad

In fact, it was the excursion of the year without a doubt,

There was no reason to pout.

We went to a museum and learned about light,

About how down in the mines it always looked like night.

The light came from candles or oil lamps galore,

But if you lost your candle, of the way out you were anything but sure.

People lived in tents, though rarely had a fence,

Some lived in a bark hut and had actual doors to shut.

Others got a fireplace, a way to just relax,

Many couldn’t afford that, because all they paid was mining tax!

We learned about travel to the goldfield, horseback, carriage or endless walk,

The only entertainment on the way was to talk, talk, talk!

And when they finally got there, the mining licence they would buy.

If they didn’t have one, to the troopers they would lie!

To dig for gold you had to pan,

In the heat without a fan.

It was hot, muddy and dirty,

The temperature rose to over thirty.

Education for children was strict and sad,

You’d get the cane if you were bad!

Convicts were teachers and had to have certain features,

They had a house to borrow and a life of sorrow.

The goldfields were fun and were excursion number one.

It was awesome and nice and full of advice.

It was the excursion of the year without a doubt and despite the rain,

There was no need to pout!

On Wednesday 19th June, high school celebrated the International Picnic Day with a class picnic lunch.  It was wonderful to see the students strengthening their class friendships over lunch!

Year 7 focus have been focused on Portraiture, experimenting with different mediums.  This has made for some fabulous artworks!!

Year 9/10 were influenced by Pop Art and created some amazing Skateboard Decks.

Year 11 have been busy, Term 1 they created ‘Site Specific’ installations around the College.

Term 2 they participated in a ceramic workshop presented by the Ceramic Artist Timm Oregan. The workshop focused on strategies and concepts that will help students understand how to build up a Body of Work for HSC Visual Arts. Students explored, developed and experimented with mediums using a range of artmaking techniques.

The Year 11 & 12 Visual Art class went on an excursion to the Art Gallery of NSW to view the 2024 Art Express and Kandinsky Exhibition. They were inspired by the selected outstanding student artworks developed for component of the HSC examination in Visual Arts in 2024.   

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.

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