Thank you to the staff and parents who have helped out with all the events we have had in the last couple of weeks. Our Infants students did a great job with their Cross Country runs. It was great to see them putting so much energy and enthusiasm into their races, and they loved all the support they received from the parents and Year 6 girls. 

The Eucharistic procession last Friday was a beautiful way to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. A very big thankyou to those who contributed to the flowers and who helped to set up the altars around the school, and to those who assisted with the procession. It is such a privilege to be able to have a Eucharistic procession in our own school grounds.

Even though it was the end of term, there was still plenty of learning happening in the classrooms. Today the Year 6 students had a Science Expo, where they presented their Deep Learning projects to other Primary and Secondary students. We also had our Effort in Learning Morning Tea, where I had the pleasure of hosting a morning tea for one student in each Primary class who worked particularly well throughout the first semester. We had a lovely time getting to know each other and celebrating this semester’s successes.

Congratulations to Isabella Doherty (Yr 12) who has been named as one of the finalists in the Edstart Achievement Awards under the Entrepreneurship category for the ceramic business that she runs from home. Isabella was chosen from hundreds of entries from school students Australia wide. Congratulations also to Somtochi Igbojiaku (Yr 12) who placed 12th at the CIS Cross Country Carnival for 18 years girls. It is impressive to see these girls balancing their study with other interests and doing so well.

As you are aware, this year our fundraising project is Montgrove’s new chapel. There is a Holiday Camp for Kindy to Year 3 girls being run at Montgrove from July 3 to 5. There will be plenty of fun activities and the funds raised will be going to Montgrove’s new chapel. We are hoping to run some more events in the coming school terms, and if you would like to put your hand up to help, please contact Sandra Galea. As the end of the financial year is coming, please also give some thought to making a tax deductible donation. If you would like to donate through the Families Innovation Fund, please log into your Edstart account at https://app.edstart.com.au/login and click on the prompt at the top of the page.  Your donation can be spread across the rest of this year along with your school fee payments.

Tonight there will be a Mass in honour of St Josemaria in St Nicholas of Myra at 7.30pm. Everyone is invited to come to this special mass which is held each year around his feast day. The schools were inspired by the teachings of St Josemaria, and I am sure he has a special interest in all the families of the students who attend our school. The Mass could be a lovely way to end the term, entrusting St Josemaria with all our needs and special intentions.

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing winter break. Even though it has been a bit cold in the mornings, the sunshine throughout the day has been glorious, so I hope you are able to spend some time enjoying the outdoors during the break. Term 3 will be starting on Monday 17 July.

Congratulations to:

© Maria Noellyn & Luke Camilleri on the birth of Nixon Jude, brother to Kolbe (1W) & Jessie (KW)

© Chelsea (Class of 2017 & 2B Teacher) & Isaiah Soriano (Wollemi Class of 2017) on the birth of Frankie Jane.

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

• Primary Monty was awarded to Evangline Delos Reyes (6G) and Bernadette Rosetto (6G) for helping to settle a Kindy boy who was distressed and letting a teacher know what was happening
• Infants Orchy was awarded to Dominic Cassar (1W) for cleaning the playground without being asked and having a friendly manner at all times

Today one student from every class was presented with a Certificate and attended Morning Tea with Miss Mejia for their Effort in Learning during the semester. Congratulations to the following students for their wonderful effort in learning:

• Alankrita Rajagopalan (KB)
• Shrija Siddharth (KG)
• Azaliah Roberts (KS)
• Ashlyn Petson (KW)
• Josiah Tapang (1B)
• Atarah Peiris (1G)
• Kateri Vu Nguyen (1W)
• Avery Cruz (2B)
• Isabelle O'Connell (2G)
• Clare Le Grand (3)
• Navya Mukherjee (4B)
• Selynah Hazama de Guzman (4G)
• Sanuli Pol Kotuwe (5B)
• Paige Auld (5G)
• Jacinta Ellis (6B)
• Abigail Reynolds (6G)

You're Invited!

You, your family and friends are cordially invited to attend Holy Mass in honour of St Josemaria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei. People residing in the NSW will have the option to attend Masses at Sydney CBD, Penrith and Canberra. Please refer to more details here:

PENRITH

WHEN: 7:30 PM, Thursday 22 June 2023

WHERE: St Nicholas of Myra, 326 High Street, Penrith NSW 2750. 

Principal Celebrant: Mgr Victor Martinez

Confessions start at 6.30 pm.

Parking is available in the parish carpark as well as on the street.

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 for parents on Thursdays and Fridays for the last week of Term 2 and the first 4 weeks of Term 3 ** 

Please pray for our sick and injured family and friends:

Raphael Burfitt, brother to Cecilia (KG); Amelia Acasio, mother to Anne Bernacer (Teacher's Aide) and grandmother to Renae (11) and Regine (9G) Bernacer; AntoineScoulou, grandfather to Mona-Maria Scoulou; 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:

Patricia Pacho, grandmother to Pio Platon (KG); Wilson Arce Filamor, father to Sonia Concepcion (Secondary Teacher), grandfather to Emilia Concepcion (12) and Francesca Filamor (9G); Michael Farah, grandfather to Maria (9G), Grace (7G), Rose (6B), Cecilia (3B) and Elijah Farah (1W);  Josip Blazevic, father-in-law to Julie Blazevic (School Secretary/PA), grandfather to Tatijana Blazevic (11) & Erika Trivarelli (9B) and great-grandfather to Thylane Djurdjevic (KS); Mariam Challita, grandmother to Jacinta (11), Maria (9) & Michaela (8) Challita; Adele Doko, mother-in-law to Christine Lay (Primary Teacher), grandmother to Amelia (12), Anna (8B) & Elyse (KG); John Russell, grandfather to Emily Di Natale (Secondary Teacher), great grandfather to Isabella Di Natale (KS); Joan Sattler, grandmother to Emilie-Kate Maslak (10); Mary Mallett, grandmother to Angelica (10), Clare (8) & Antonia (4); 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. 

In his “Letter to Families”, 1994, Pope John Paul II alerted us to what is still a present-day, worldwide situation:

“…our society, which certainly contains many positive aspects on the material and cultural level… is a society which is sick and is creating profound distortions in man. Why is this happening? The reason is that our society has broken away from the full truth about man, from the truth about what man and woman really are as persons. Thus, it cannot adequately comprehend the real meaning of the gift of persons in marriage, responsible love at the service of fatherhood and motherhood, and the true grandeur of procreation and education. Is it an exaggeration to say that the mass media, if they are not guided by sound ethical principles, fail to serve the truth in its fundamental dimension? This is the real drama: the modern means of social communication are tempted to manipulate the message, thereby falsifying the truth about man. Human beings are not the same thing as the images proposed in advertising and shown by the modern mass media. They are much more, in their physical and psychic unity, as composites of soul and body, as persons. They are much more because of their vocation to love…”

In his book “Furrow”, 318, St Josemaría goes on putting out this challenge: “Children of God at the very heart of society, of the world, have to let their virtues shine out ‘like lamps in the darkness’ (2Pet 1:19)”.

In light of the above, and especially when we pray the Rosary, we can ask Mary, Help of Christians and Patroness of Australia, to inspire wisdom in the leaders and integrity in the citizens of our country.

Many medications are now available in a form which minimises or eliminates the need to provide students with medication during the school day. 

If this is not possible, medication should be brought to the office in its original packaging which displays the prescription instructions together with a signed note providing permission for office staff to administer the medication.  Medication MUST be dropped off and collected by a parent.

In an effort to teach our students to take personal responsibility and to be accountable for their own items, we have been trying not to have a lost property box at Montgrove for a few years now. 

We kindly 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.

In an effort to return items to their owner and minimise the amount of lost property accumulated the following will happen with lost property this term. 

1. There will be a box on the Year 1 Demountable balcony for students and parents to look through. 
2. Each Monday these items will be taken to the office and the items that have names on them will be returned to students via the office bags. 
3. Anything without names will be kept in the office and parents may come to the office to look through the box. 
4. A few times a term, a table with unclaimed item's will be on carline.   
5. Anything unclaimed at the end of the term will be thrown away or donated.

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.

Year 7 to Year 12

Start:            8:30am

Finish:           3:15pm

• 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. 

Late Arrivals

• Year 7 to 12 students arriving after 8:30am; and  
• Kindergarten to Year 6 students arriving after 8:50am

• Secondary students who arrive after 8:35am; and
• Primary students who arrive after 9:00am.

• 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

Last Friday, 16 June, we had our annual Eucharistic Procession at Montgrove. No better words could describe it, as Fr Felix summed up it up in the homily:  It was an Explosion of Love, which was shown in all the little details: the beautiful floral arrangements on the the three altars, the flower girls in their lovely white dresses throwing petals on the ground for Jesus, the Primary and Secondary Choirs who sang the hymns harmoniously and the dads who took time out of their busy schedules to carry the canopy and help make the celebration run smoothly. It was truly an expression of our faith in the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. And we are lucky to have this opportunity to receive Our Lord’s blessing in this special way.

A huge thank you to all those who contributed to our 2023 Eucharistic Procession: to Mrs. Christine Lay, who organised the flower girls and led the team in arranging all the flowers; to Mrs. Raelene Pirotta, for preparing all the liturgical items; to the Kindy and Year 1 mums who donated money for the flowers and helped to arrange them; to all the dads who volunteered during the Procession and to Ms. Aiesha Oringo and Mrs. Lauren Issa for preparing the Primary and Secondary Choirs. Our procession would not have been possible without each one’s contribution.

The Montgrove Athletics Carnival for girls in Years 3 – 12 will be held on Tuesday 18th July 2023 at Parker Street Oval, Penrith. 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.

Students who are unable to participate in track or field events must present a note to their class teacher excusing them from participation. Students who are unable to participate are encouraged to assist with other roles on the day which they may receive house points for.

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.

Travel Arrangements & Venue Change - Please organise your own transport to and from the carnival. There will NOT be a bus service organised on the day. Note the venue for the 2023 Athletics carnival has changed. It will be held at Parker Street Oval, Penrith. Please ensure you arrange appropriate transport prior to the event.

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.

Weather - 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.

Canteen & BBQ fundraiser – Parker Street Oval does not have a canteen; however, we have hired out the kitchen facilities to run a fundraising event.  Students will be able to pre-order a selection of food and drinks. To purchase food/drink, please complete the form that was sent home last week and return it to the front office. All funds from the BBQ will go towards purchasing new lunchtime sports equipment for K-12.

Bake sale fundraiser - Year 12 students will also be running a bake sale throughout the day. They will be selling a selection of baked goods. All funds from the bake sale will go towards the Year 12 end of year gift for the school.

PARENT HELPERS NEEDED – for BBQ, track/field events and marshalling.

If you plan to attend the Athletics carnival, it would be greatly appreciated if you are able to provide assistance throughout the day (whole or part of) please complete the form attached to the permission note.

We have many roles this year to fill and your support would be greatly appreciated.

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

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

School photos were distributed yesterday.  If your child was absent yesterday or you requested that your photos be collected by you rather than given to your child the photos are ready to be collected from the office.   

These school sports and co-curricular groups were photographed on 30/03/2023:

• Hill Zone Swimming 
• Junior Student Representative Council
• Mock Trial
• Senior Student Representative Council 
• Year 12 Muck Up
• Year 6 Muck Up

You can now view and purchase the group images listed above and if you place your order before 4/07/2023 you will get a 20% early order discount. Just click on the link below. Please note the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Images can also be viewed by visiting www.advancedlife.com.au entering the code: ZHR 8VP K65 and clicking on “Group Photos”

Important

• Sports and co-curricular group photos can only be purchased online, PLEASE DO NOT return payment to your school
• If your child's group or team is scheduled to be photographed at a later date, you will receive an additional email notification when the images are ready to be ordered
• Photos will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after the discounted early order period has closed
• Past years' photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available at your school's advancedorder and your child's advancedyou photo sites

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to Montgrove College for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money-back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

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. 

Our Trip to Bathurst!

I woke up early in excitement and headed to school at 6:20 am. I was the first one to arrive at school, and then saw the bus driver. When everyone arrived, we got on the bus and started to drive to Bathurst.

The bus driver was fun and claimed himself to be “Justin Bieber”, so we decided to call him that for the whole day. He also put on movies for all of us to watch, which was fun and interesting during the drive.

We eventually arrived at Bathurst and drove over Mount Panorama! When we got off the bus, it was freezing. We soon sat down at benches and ate our morning tea. Later on we went to a museum and met our tour guide, Uncle Murph. He showed us around the museum which seemed really fascinating. The museum showed many details into the Gold Rush like we were back in time! We then walked over to the steam train. Uncle Murph showed us how to power the stream train and he also showed us how to crush the quartz to find gold.

Shortly after, we head over to the Blacksmith. Uncle Murph chose two volunteers from each class and told them to push a wooden plank to blow air onto the fire to make it bigger. He got an iron stick and placed the top of the iron stick on the fire. Then he took it out and curved it and repeated this process several times until it was complete. He made it into a fire poker. 

When we left the Blacksmith it was time for the main event… PANNING!!

Uncle Murph showed us how to pan for the gold and then it was our turn. I got my pan and my tube to put gold in and head to the water. I dug some water up and it was incredibly cold. My hands and arms started to get numb as I panned for gold. 

We then had our lunch and went to play some fun activities with Uncle Murph and his wife. We made mud bricks, and delicious damper which was absolutely amazing! After the activities we went back to the benches to have our afternoon tea! After our amazing day, we had to go home. We said our last goodbyes to Uncle Murph and headed on the bus. We were on the bus singing and around 1 hour later, we arrived at McDonalds!  When we got inside, we got our fries and started to munch on our chips, we also got water and a toilet break.

After the food, we hopped on the bus again and started to drive home. After around 2-3 hours, we finally arrived at Montgrove. Everyone was exhausted including me. When we got off, our teacher Miss Marron gave us a special surprise of 23 carat gold in a tube attached to a map of Australian Goldfields! I then saw my dad and we drove home after an amazing but freezing day!

By Aditri K (5 Blue)

Strike It Rich!

On the morning of Friday, 26th May, we stepped out of our coach to feel a very cool breeze of the morning slam against our snug bodies. Year 5’s trip to the Bathurst Goldfields had only just begun but everyone hoped to strike it rich!

We met our tour guide, Uncle Merv who taught us interesting lessons throughout the day. One main topic was about gold mines and mining tools. He showed us a replica of an underground mine called a platt. The Gold Rush began in 1851 and one way miners knew they were in danger of their mine caving in was the timber used to create the walls. When the timbers creaked there was too much pressure on them and they were likely to cave in. They called this the ‘talking timbers’.

Mining licences were a big part of a miner’s life. They were thirty shillings a month (about $1.50) and mandatory if you wanted to dig and not end up in gaol and having to pay bail money.

Chinese miners were very successful at the goldfields, but were also poorly treated by other miners. This was because of the Chinese culture and religion and this brought disagreements upon the community. The Chinese people would have a long plait in their hair. Sometimes as a punishment they were hung by their plait or had their plait cut off. Chinese miners believed evil spirits lived in corners of rooms so Chinese mines were rounded at the corners.

Another interesting object was the steam engine and stamper battery they use to separate quartz from the gold by crushing the rock with the use of steam power. One vital substance the miners used was Mercury - a liquid which gold stuck to, making it easy to separate gold from other undesirables.

As we huddled together boarding the bus, we were all grateful for the great day we had. We realised some were lucky and some were not in the search for gold. This trip was certainly a great time of learning and an adventure we will never forget.

By Amalia G (5 Green)

After an outstanding performance at the Hills Zone Cross Country earlier this term, as well as the AICES cross country for our Secondary students, Montgrove College had 10 students attend the CIS Cross Country Carnival. This event occurred on Thursday 8th March (week 7) at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. The CIS competition is extremely competitive and has a large number of students from all over New South Wales attend. Congratulations to the following students who qualified for this event and well done to Somtochi Igbojiaku who placed 12th in the 18 Years girls 6000m race.

8-9 Years Girls 2000m

• Gabrielle Centeno
• Elizabeth Gill
• Wing Li
• Clara Chircop

11 Years Girls 3000m

• Sophia Zhang

12-13 Girls 3000m

• Maryann Instance
• Chloe Leggatt
• Nicole Nuwamanya
• Bethany Turner

18 Years Girls 6000m

• Somtochi Igbokiaku

On Wednesday 14th June, we held our annual Kindergarten to Year 2 Cross Country.  The sun shined down on all the competitors and a great time was had by all.  It was great to see so many parents come and cheer on their children. Thankyou to everyone who helped and congratulations to our winners: 

Kindergarten Boys                                                                 

1st - Matthew Locke (KW)

2nd -Levi Punch (KB)    

3rd - Ezekiel Huang (KG)

4th - Jaxon Leggatt (KG) and Pedro Frech (KS)

Kindergarten Girls 

1st - Sofia Yu (KS)

2nd - Stephanie White (KG)

3rd - Zelie Clipshom (KB)

4th - Milani Finianos (KB)

Year 1 Boys

1st - Dominic Ciappara (1W)

2nd - Dominic Chaghouri (1B)

3rd - Elijah Farah (1W)

4th - Isaiah Karam (1G)

Year 1 Girls

1st - Lucienne Varas (1B)

2nd - Elizabeth Phua (1B)

3rd - Helena Romanowska (1W)

4th - Gisele Paris (1W)

Year 2 Girls

1st - Philomena Pamintuan (2G)

2nd - Lilian Noone (2G)

3rd - Sofia Grus (2G)

4th - Sarah Chircop (2B) and Madeleine Restuccia (2B)

Children’s Sacraments 2023

Confirmation: Sunday 12th November 10:00AM

Sessions:     

• 30th July (Registration& 1st Session);
• 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th August;
• 3rd, 10th,17th, 24th September;
• 8th, 15th 22nd, 29th October;
• 5th November (Rehearsal)

Eligibility:

Children who are in Year 6 and above, received the Sacrament of Baptism, Reconciliation & First Holy Communion are eligible to be enrolled in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Please bring a copy of your Baptism & First Holy Communion Certificate at registration.

All Sessions are compulsory and are to be attended by the child accompanied by their parent/guardian.

Sessions are held on Sunday after 10:00am Mass (around 11:30am) in the parish hall. If you cannot attend a session; please inform Father and he will schedule a make-up session.

Further information and details will be provided at registration. For any additional information please call the Parish office on 4721 4080 or email parish@stjosephskingswood.org or kingswood@parracatholic.org

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: online@midford.com.au

A big and heartfelt thank you to the Year 2 Mums for their support - be it their presence and/or their donation - for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea held on Saturday, 17 June 2023. We raised $358.19 for the Cancer Council!

KG and KW Mums braved the wintry cold to enjoy a lovely dinner together at Poppi Tino on Saturday June 17, the food and company were both fabulous! We are looking forward to many more.

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