Welcome back to Term 3! A special welcome to all the new families who have come to join us at Montgrove. We have hit the ground running this term. We had our Athletics Carnival on Tuesday, our second day back! It was a glorious day and participation was high for all the track and field events as well as the war cries and cheering. It was a great way to start the term, with the Primary and Secondary girls working together to support their houses. The winning houses and age champions will be announced at our next School Assembly. A very big thank you to all our parent helpers who assisted with the events, the canteen and the BBQ lunch. A big thank you also to Ms Griffiths and the PE staff who had to put in the extra work to make sure the carnival ran smoothly at its new venue.

The first week of term was also busy with the Year 3 Mother/Daughter camp and the Year 10 Subject Selection evening. The Year 3 mothers had a wonderful time bonding with their daughters at Blue Gum Lodge. It was a beautiful venue and the girls were so excited to be having their first camp there. The Year 10 Subject Selection evening was very informative and I could see the girls and parents taking full advantage of the time to find out about the subjects they are thinking of taking up for their final years of school. 

We welcome back Mrs Heather Bayliss, who has come back from maternity leave and will be taking 4 Blue with Mrs Erin Ball. We also welcome Mrs Marissa Tamayo who will be taking the place of Mrs Chelsea Soriano on 2 Blue. We congratulate Mrs Soriano on the birth of a beautiful baby girl, Frankie Jane Soriano, who was born at the end of last term.

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s Key Parent Function. This will be held at Montgrove and will be a joint function with Wollemi parents. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Dr Karen Bohlin, who will be joining us all the way from Boston, Massachusetts. Dr Bohlin is the director of the Practical Wisdom Project at the Abigail Adams Institute in Cambridge, and a Research Affiliate at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University. She will be looking at how parents can grow and flourish through the challenges they face each day. The evening will commence with registration at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

Congratulations to:

© Bernadette and Jorge Frech on the birth of Jacinta Clare, sister to Pedro (KS)

© Natalie and Elie Azize on the birth of Noah, brother to Grace (KB).

© Ruella and Paul Clipsham on the birth of Gianna, sister to Zelie (KB)

© Stephanie and Tony Mattar on the birth of Olivia, sister to Catherine (1B).

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; 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.

The Term 3 KPF next Tuesday, 25 July at Montgrove's COLA (7pm Registration for a 7:30pm start, flyer attached). This is a KPF for all parents of Montgrove and Wollemi (K-12). We will be hearing from a very experienced educator, Dr Karen Bohlin, who was principal of Montrose School in Boston, for 18 years. Karen is currently the director of the Practical Wisdom Project at the Abigail Adams Institute in Cambridge, and a Research Affiliate at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University.  

The T3 KPF will be about: ‘Parenting without Losing Your Mind: A compass to navigate with joy and purpose’, where Karen will elaborate on the principles, strategies and practical wisdom parents can use to embrace the occasions for growth in the myriad of challenges they navigate each day. We hope that you gain valuable insights through this KPF.

Please RSVP on this link: https://forms.gle/14qruzrQRZKWnN2cA 

Could we please ask Montgrove parents of Years 4, 10, 11 and 12 to bring a plate to share for supper afterwards.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Kristine Malabanan

Head of Formation

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

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. 

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information.

If you have any questions or would like any further information about the 2023 NCCD, please contact Lauren Dominici (Diverse Learning Coordinator) lauren.dominici@montgrove.nsw.edu.au

On Friday the 21st of July the Montgrove Year 6 IPSHA Debating Team left Montgrove for our first away debate at Amity College Prestons.Both Montgrove and Amity College  teams presented great arguments but only one team could win from each debate and Montgrove’s Affirmative team was one of the two winners. Unfortunately the Montgrove Negative team wasn’t able to win their debate with Amity College. It was great being able to see how everyone debated.We thank Amity College Prestons for being lovely hosts. They were very kind and welcoming and all the debaters were very appreciative of this .We also thank Mrs Galea for training us and transporting us along with Mrs Nuwamanya.Overall it was a great day and the debates were amazing to watch and be a part of. It was an exciting and educational visit. 

Isabelle Mackenzie - Baron and Anysia Mackenzie

(Year 6)

On Tuesday 8^th July 2023 Montgrove College held its annual Athletics Carnival. After many years at Blair Oval, we ventured to a new venue, Parker Street Oval. The new venue worked well for our growing school. Students and parents where able to sit in the grandstands and on the hill which provided an excellent view of all the track and field events occurring.

As Parker Street Oval no longer has an active canteen, we were able to hire out the canteen facilities to run a fundraising sausage sizzle. The funds from the BBQ and canteen sales will go towards purchasing new lunch time sports equipment for both Primary and Secondary.

It was fantastic to see the large number of girls participating in multiple track and field events throughout the day. The House Spirit and enthusiasm from each house added to the already fantastic atmosphere.

Thank you to all the parent helpers who volunteered their time to assist at this year’s carnival. Running our own canteen meant that we had a lot more jobs to fill than in previous years.  The dads did an amazing job cooking all the sausages and onions on the BBQ and the mums did an excellent job coordinating the packaging and distribution of all the food. Thank you for all your hard work, our first Montgrove run Athletics Carnival canteen was a huge success.

Thank you to all the staff and parents who helped run the track, field, and novelty events. Your assistance, support and enthusiasm led an extremely successful and exciting carnival for all the students.

Congratulations to the following students who broke records at this year’s carnival. Outstanding effort to Nadine Roncesvalles who broke a shot-put record set in 2010 and Annabella Morched who broke a high jump record set in 2014.

Important information regarding the selection of student into the Montgrove Athletics team to compete at HZSA

Students selected to represent Montgrove at the HZSA carnivals will be given a letter in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please note the following information. The HZSA Primary and Secondary Athletics Carnivals will be held on separate dates in week 7 this term.

PRIMARY Carnival: Tuesday 29^th August 2023 at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, Homebush.

Please NOTE: Due to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup there where limited dates available to run the HZSA carnivals, therefore the primary Athletics carnival is a twilight carnival and will commence at approximately 2pm. A bus will be provided for students to the carnival however we kindly ask parents to pick up your daughter at the conclusion of her last event.

SECONDARY Carnival:Thursday 31^st August 2023 at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, Homebush (during the day)

The Montgrove Hills Zone team will be selected based on the results recorded at the 2023 Montgrove College Athletics Carnival.

·     One-two competitors from each age group may enter the 100m.

• One-two competitors from each division (Junior, Intermediate, Senior) may enter the following events: 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, Field events & Relays.
• In some circumstances a third competitor may be considered; however, this will be determined based on their result, HZSA and Montgrove College. Second and Third athletes must be competitive and strong enough to potentially progress to CIS Athletics.

Congratulations and well done to all the students for an outstanding effort.

Elyse Griffiths.

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

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