Welcome to Term 3! We have only been back two weeks, and already we have had a host of school events. Open Day last Wednesday went very well. Our Year 6 and 7 students were kept very busy as they showed our guests around the school. We enjoyed our visitors from Nagasaki Nishi High School in Japan. They were able to make friends with the High School students, visit the Primary classrooms and share some very interesting stories about Japan to the Year 9 and 10 girls. The Amazing Maths Race and Medieval Day also kept the Secondary students active and engaged in their learning. It’s always great to see the girls having fun while they learn.

We announced the results of the Athletics Carnival during the Whole School Assembly. Congratulations to Brindabella who have (once again) won the House Championship trophy. This is the tenth time they have won the trophy and are proving to be the team to beat! Well done to Diamantina who took out the House Spirit trophy. They were cheering and supporting their team throughout the day and deserved their win. Thank you to the parents and staff who helped to make the day so successful, with special thanks to Mrs Bolton and Mrs Grobler for the excellent organisation of the event.

It is great to see the work that has been going into STEAM projects in the school bearing fruit. Earlier in the year, some students from Years 8 to 10 competed in Metro Minds STEAM Challenge, organised by Sydney Metro. This competition gives students a chance to explore solutions to real life situations that could improve Sydney Metro.  Congratulations to the Year 10 team - Jahziel O, Mia V, Jessica K, Emey S, Adelaide M and Ibrat G -  who were one of 5 teams to make it to the finals. This is a tremendous achievement.

Many of you may have heard of the passing away of Vince Sammut during the holidays. Vince was a firm believer of the Pared philosophy and one of the main driving forces behind the commencement of Pared schools in Western Sydney. Although they lived in the Western suburbs, Vince sent his children to study at Tangara and Redfield. He organised the ‘Sammut bus’, which he himself drove so that his children and other families from the West could go to the Pared schools. He was always cheerful and continued to drive the bus even after his own children graduated from the schools. With such a passion for the schools, I am sure he will continue to look after us from above. The schools are greatly indebted to him and I am sure he and his family would appreciate our prayers.

Please remember Mrs Pangilinan and Mrs Stanojevic who have had to take some time off for health reasons, and also our Year 12 girls who will be sitting their HSC Trial exams for the next two weeks.

Congratulations to:

• Rebecca and Matt Armour on the birth of Judith Mary, sister to Monica (6G), Catherine (4G) and Esther (2G); 
• Jessica and Mark Karatovic on the birth of Maria Antonia, sister to Isabella (4B); 
• Ana (Spanish Teacher) and Max Instance on the birth of Aurora; 
• Elena and Joshua Lanzarini on the birth of Grace Maria, sister to Elizabeth (6G) and James (1W)

The Orchy went to Grace Geagea (KG) for helping a student who was lonely and upset and becoming her friend

Maurice Zundel, in a book entitled “The Splendours of the Liturgy”, explains: “The sacred vestments [at Mass] translate the profound intuition of faith, that the man who is a priest should vanish in the Person of the Everlasting Priest, whose living Sacrament he is. The vesture he wears at the altar symbolizes his re-clothing with Christ, who acts through his ministry.”

St Josemaria uses the “clothing” metaphor to teach about the good habits we should develop in our everyday life. In his book, “Furrow”, 649, we read: “I like to compare the interior life to clothing, to the wedding garment the Gospel speaks about. The cloth is woven from all the habits or acts of piety which, like threads, together give strength to the cloth. And so, just as a torn dress is rejected even though the rest of the material is in good condition, if you pray and work, but are not penitent (or the other way round), your interior life is not (so to speak) complete.”

This is very much in keeping with the Pared approach to integral education.

Please pray for our sick and injured family and friends:

Gregory Haines, husband to Marina Haines (Mentor); Vengie Pangilinan (Teacher); Helen Stanojevic (KG Teacher); Carolina Quianzon Alvarez, grandmother to Maria Zamora (12);  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 (former 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 

Confessions for Families

• Every Saturday from 11:00am to 1:00pm (including school holidays)

There have been quite a few cases of influenza and COVID over the recent weeks at Montgrove. In the interest of the health of our students and staff, we kindly ask that you keep your children at home if they are unwell or displaying any cold and flu symptoms.

Please encourage your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water and not to share food and drink.

• No parking at any time in the carline drive-through from the entrance to the exit, especially during peak times. This allows for the traffic to flow freely
• Students are not permitted to enter their car before the crossing. This is to ensure the safety of those entering the car and those crossing.
• Parents using the car line are asked to remain in their car. A staff member will supervise your child coming to the car and assist them getting in the car if necessary.
• Please display your family surname in the windscreen. Each family should have received a copy of a “Family Surname” sign to display in the windscreen.
• The senior girls who do not have younger siblings will be able to go straight to their parents’ cars in the car park. All other children must be picked up in person or via the carline. The children’s safety is paramount.

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.   

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. 

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. 

Every Friday afternoon (weather permitting) a table will be set up outside the middle gate with all unlabeled drink bottles, containers, shoes, jumpers, jackets and hats.  Could you please check the table to see if anything belongs to your child(ren).    

Many thanks to those parents who are labelling their children's clothes and containers as this enables us to return your child's lost items!

When the students returned on Monday, we discovered that we had a visitor who had come into the school grounds over the holidays - a young Eastern Gray Kangaroo.  He was spotted happily chilling in the sun near the High School staff carpark, watching the volleyball court and taking a rest in the shade near the outdoor basketball court.  

WIRES were contacted and when they came, he safely exited the school for greener pastures last Thursday night.  We hope he enjoyed his time at Montgrove and is enjoying his new home! 

Junior Group - Year 4 to 6

• When: Every Monday starting 22nd July 
• Time: 3:30-5:00pm  
• Place: Montgrove Hall
• Dance Teacher: Mildred Yap

High School - Year 7 to 12

• When: Every Friday starting 26th July 
• Time: 3:30-5:00pm 
• Place: Montgrove Hall
• Dance Teacher: Mildred & Andrei Yap

Year 4 took part in a full day Science incursion, conducting experiments and investigations to learn about forces. They made oobleck to manipulate shape; designed, built and launched air pressure rockets; raced in billy-carts; created explosions with soda water and competed in tug of war. The day concluded with a banging showcase of liquid-nitrogen exploding over 1000 ping pong balls into the air.

On Monday the 17th of June the Year 10’s went on an excursion to the RYDA road safety education workshops where we learnt how to stay safe when in a vehicle as well as strategies to lower the risks as a driver or passenger. Throughout the day we visited a total of 6 workshops which were “The I in drive”, “Mind matters”, “Road choices”, “Crash investigators”, “Drive S.O.S” and finally “Speed & Stopping”. During these workshops we were able to identify risks on the road, learn how to manage them as well as learn about the different factors that can influence a driver and their mental state while on the road. The RYDA excursion was a fun and informative day that will definitely help us as we begin our driving journey.

Mark your calendars for an extraordinary showcase of creativity and scientific inquiry! Our Year 8 Science Fair is happening on Friday 16th August from 9:00am to 11:00am.

We warmly invite parents, grandparents, and the entire school community to come and explore the innovative projects and experiments our talented Year 8 students have been working on. It's a fantastic opportunity to see science in action and support our budding young scientists!

We look forward to seeing you there and celebrating the wonders of science together!

Date: Friday 16th August
Time: 9:00am - 11:00am
Location: Montgrove COLA

Don’t miss out on this exciting event!

At the end of Term 1, three teams of Montgrove College students had the amazing opportunity to take part in the Metro Minds STEAM Challenge. The goal for the challenge was to find a problem at the Sydney Metro and come up with a solution. 

The teams worked hard on their ideas throughout Term 2 and were fortunate enough to have a visit from Sydney Metro Ambassadors to help guide them in the thinking and design process.

In 2024, more than 410 students from 17 schools participated in the challenge with over 60 submissions.  We are delighted to say that Montgrove College made it through to the finals. Only 5 teams were selected.

Congratulations to the following Year 10 students (called the Ultrasonic Vengers) who made it through to the finals and have to present their idea in person during a live event to a judging panel of Sydney Metro experts on the 23rd of August. 

• Jahziel Obliga
• Mia Victorino
• Jessica Kest
• Emey Sara-Ginu
• Adelaide Mackenzie
• Ibrat Gill

Good luck to these students!

On 27th June we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day for the Montgrove Athletics Carnival held for the first time at the newly renovated Harold Corr Oval. It was a joyous occasion filled with spirited competition and enthusiastic cheers. Thanks to our dedicated staff, parent helpers, house captains and student helpers throughout the day whose efforts ensured a smooth and memorable event. Congratulations to all our students for their incredible effort and achievements in all track and field events. The determination and sportsmanship demonstrated throughout the day was truly commendable. 

A very special congratulations to the following students whose outstanding achievements resulted in setting new records in their age groups.

C. Bolton

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

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