5th July 2024

Principal’s Report

Thanks so much to all parents, carers and families that attended our parent/teacher sessions last week. It is very important to me that the communication lines between parents and teachers are open, and that the education of Montello children is a truly collaborative effort.  It was so pleasing to read through the reports this year and to see the improvements being made across all curriculum areas in our outcomes.

Earlier this week we had a pop-up feed of pasta bolognaise for all children at school. This is in addition to our 5 day a week Breakfast Club sponsored by the Variety Club and the Food Matters School Lunch Program that we are involved in. It was great that the Minister of Education, Jo Palmer, chose Montello to announce an extension of this program to other schools across Tasmania and it is an extremely worthwhile initiative. Our School Pantry has also been really well supported and I would like to thank all those people and organisations who have donated items since we started it. We have also moved our Canteen to a 3 day a week operation. Thanks to everyone involved in all these programs.

Earlier this week we celebrated our Merit Certificate winners at our End of Term Assembly alongside students who represented the school at the NW Cross Country and the Burnie Eisteddfod. We also announced the winners of our Montello Lego Brixhibition and Lily Lavell was selected as our overall entrant for the NW Brixhibtion to be held in Ulverstone over the holidays.

NAIDOC Week is being celebrated between the 7-14 July while we are on holidays. This week Charna, our Aboriginal Education Officer, has organised events and activities for our students and staff to engage in. This included a smoking ceremony conducted by Guy Grey.

When we return to school for Term 3, the Paris Olympics and then the Paralympics will be just getting underway. At Montello we will use these events as motivators for our students to let them know that anything is possible, and that goal setting is a really important part of achieving success. Over the holidays if you could have a talk to your children about the Olympics and get them ready for Term 3 we would appreciate it.

It will be fresh weather wise over the holidays but let us hope that it is also sunny.

Stay safe.

Term 3 Dates

July

Friday 5th  
Last Day Term 2

Monday 22nd 
First Day Term 3

August

Tuesday 13^th
NWPSSA 5/6 Sports Day

Monday 19^th - Friday 25th 
Book Week - Theme “Reading is Magic”

Book Week Parade
Book Stall & many more fun events *Program To Be Confirmed

Monday 19^th - Friday 30th 
Fissure Sealant Dental Program

Friday 23rd 
Premier’s Reading Challenges Finishes

Wednesday 28^th - Thursday 29^th  
Lions Club Eye Health Program

Thursday 29^th
Father’s Day Stall

September

Friday 27th  
Last Day Term 3

Merit Award Winners - Term 2

Values Card Draw

Congratulations to the following students who won movie ticket winners from the end of term draw of everyone who received a Values Card this term!

Harlan Lowry
Tamsin Dean
Marli-Rose Pyers

Burnie Eisteddfod Winners

Thank you so much to all the children from Grade 3/4 who participated in their first Drama Eisteddfod on Thursday June 20^th.

We placed 1^st in the Grade 3/4 Verse Speaking section with 90 points. We were also awarded overall 1^st place in the Primary School Verse Speaking.

Congratulation to Paxtyn Bartch, Elijah De Bomford and Jett Blizzard who all received a Highly Commended award for their Reading From a Novel.

Congratulation to Jet Hawkins who placed 2^nd in the reading from a Picture Book section. Dannie Lu also received a highly commended in this section.

Hunter Eastley-Evan, Destinee Facey, Aleeya Weeks and Navaeh Radford Holmes all read really well in this section as well.

A big thank you to Mrs Hurst, Mrs Wisemen and Sue Fifield for their amazing help and support on the day.

Once again, thank you to everyone involved, your behaviour on the day was amazing.

Mrs Gbenga.

Poetry

Montello Students were very successful in the recent Eisteddfod Poetry sections with multiple winners in the Origianl Poem section.  With over 923 entries Montello really shone!

NAIDOC Week Activity

Smoking Ceremony

As part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, students have participated with our local Aboriginal Educators, Charna and Chalky, to participate in a special activity called a ‘smoking ceremony’.
For centuries, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have used smoking ceremonies to celebrate, feel closer to their culture, heal, and keep bad energy away.

During a smoking ceremony, smoke is created with particular plants (we used eucalyptus leaves today) to cleanse people and places, making them feel safe and happy. These ceremonies are very important for celebrating special events, healing, and bringing people together.

Smoking ceremonies also help people connect with the land and honour their ancestors, Chalky spoke of how this helps us to connect spiritually with ‘the old fellas’. It's a beautiful tradition that shows respect and brings people closer together. Participating in a smoking ceremony is a special experience that allows us to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history and children were excited to participate and learn more!

Thanks Charna and Chalky for the fantastic opportunity!

School Lunch Program – Minister Visit

Last week we hosted the Education Minister, Jo Palmer MLC, and staff from Loaves and Fishes Tasmania and the School Food Matters hot lunch program. The minister announced the extension of the hot lunch program to more schools across Tasmania and she enjoyed lunch with our Grade 5 & 6 students. Thanks to our wonderful kitchen team who cooked the lunch and a big thanks to all staff at Montello who make this happen each week. It is a big job and you are all marvellous. Our Grade 5 & 6 students represented the school very well and the feedback from them was that the cottage pie and vegetables were delicious. Our 5/6 students & Mr McCall featured on 7 News that night! Watch below (approx. 2min 30s in)

Premier’s Reading Challenge 2024

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is underway! This year at Montello Primary all our students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 are participating. So let’s get reading! 😊

The Challenge is not a competition, but a way to encourage you to develop a love of reading for life. No matter what you aspire to do or be, reading and literacy skills will help you get there.

It’s not about how many books you read, but about the joy and excitement of exploring new stories,
characters, and ideas.

And for families – you can help your child get involved in the challenge by reading with them, talking
to them about what they are reading and providing lots of encouragement!

The challenge runs - 17 June - 23 August

Staff Changes Term 3

There will be some staffing changes in Term 3 due planned leave. I have made some decisions that I believe are in the best interests of all children to maximise learning. At Montello, staff all work together as a team and our staff have good relationships with students right across the school. Our literacy groups that happening from Prep-Grade 6 are an excellent example of this in action.  The changes for Term 3 are:

As you would be aware that there is a teacher shortage in Tasmania. We have worked hard at Montello Primary to keep disruptions to student learning to a minimum, however, it is increasingly becoming more difficult to find relief teachers and replacement teachers if there are staffing changes required.

We thank all families for your continued support of the great things happening at Montello Primary. If you would like to discuss this further please contact the office to book an appointment to see Mr McCall. 

Farewell Mrs Swain

After 25 years at Montello Primary School, Mrs Julie Swain will be hanging up the phone and logging off for the last time on Friday afternoon. Mrs Swain will be enjoying her long service leave for the remainder of the year and officially retiring at the end of 2024. As this is her last week in the office, please make sure you come by to say farewell. We wish you all the best in this next chapter Mrs Swain and we will miss you!!!

Class Snapshot

5/6 Kookaburras

Maths

Over the last few weeks in maths, 5/6 Kookaburras have been exploring the fascinating world of 2D shapes. We have concentrated on symmetry, tessellation, and transformation. We have learned about line and rotational symmetry, created tessellating patterns, and practiced transformations such as reflection, translation, and rotation. Take a look at some of our creations!

HASS

In HASS, we've been exploring key historical Australian events like the Gold Rush and Eureka Stockade. This was a challenging period in time marked by tough conditions and gruelling labour, with miners often facing heavy taxes and limited rights, causing widespread discontent. We imagined ourselves as people from these times and recreated photographs depicting their struggles.

Prep Bilbies

Kitchen News

This term in the kitchen we have been very busy. 

The prep students have been using their fine motor skills by practising spreading. Firstly, by making fairy bread and then by decorating homemade biscuits. Give them a chance at home to spread toast or sandwiches so they can practise their new skills.

In the first 3 weeks of term 2 grades 1 to 4 made Apple pikelets using the apples that we stewed last term. Everyone enjoyed eating their warm pikelet with custard.

The grades 1 and 2 student then made Chocanana muffins. They were very easy to make and tasted delicious, I don't think many of them made it home!

The grades 3 and 4 students made Anzac biscuits and the whole school smelt amazing. Each student made 2 and could choose whether they made soft and chewy or thin and crunchy biscuits. 

We finished the term by making Play dough. 

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Enjoy your holidays.

Lisa Milne
Kitchen Supervisor

Winter Uniform

Winter has definitely hit. You can stock up on winter uniform items to keep students warm and toasty at school. You can purchase through the QKR app or come in to the Office to shop!
*We do have a  limited range of second-hand items in our uniform shop as well. Just a gold coin donation per piece.

A Note from Nurse Lisa

Winter Wellness

Launching into Learning

Pre-Kinder Playgroup

House Point Tally Term 2

Chaplain’s Chat

In a recent chat with a student we were discussing the question "What is the most amazing thing you have seen in nature?' For me some of the most amazing things in our world are sunrises.  I have really been appreciating them recently. They are later in winter so I'm up when they happen!!!

Beautiful sunrise full of colour
Filling me with awe & wonder,
Lifting my spirit, ready to face the new day.

Watching the sun rise, seeing the changing colours in the sky, is an opportunity to connect with nature, letting it calm, strengthen & inspire us.

Research has shown that being in nature can help aid concentration & productivity, relieve stress & depression & give us an all-round sense of wellbeing.

There are many ways to welcome nature into our lives:  

• walking in nature - in a park, on the beach, by a river, in a garden
• playing in nature - kicking up leaves, playing in the snow, jumping in puddles
• searching for unusual natural items - stones, shells, leaves, feathers, seeds, patterns
• having flowers & plants in our homes &/or gardens
• appreciating the plants, animals & scenery in our neighbourhood
• watching the clouds in the sky, the waves at the beach,
• even experiencing the beauty of oceans, forests & jungles by watching videos of them can apparently give you the same benefits as the real thing

The following article lists 10 benefits of watching the sunrise 

I'd like to wish everyone a safe & enjoyable holiday. I'm not helping at Riverbend camp this holiday but there are a few Montello students attending. I will be spending a few days in the Tamar Valley including a visit to the Tasmania Zoo to see their otters & I may take Otto along with me!

If you think I can help you and your child in some way, or you'd like to chat please leave a message at the school office.

Chaplain Sue & Otto the Otter

Chaplain’s Thought

School Holiday Programs

Burnie OSHC

Sea-Lyons Aquatics

Burnie Library

Brixhibition

Congratulations to all of our students who entered into our Brixhibition Lego Challenge last month.  The entries were outstanding - well done everyone!

Lily's creation Enchanted Forest has been chosen to represent MPS at Brixhibition in Ulverstone on 13th & 14th July.

Check out the winner's creations from the four different age groups!

Get your tickets to the Ulverstone Brixhibition here:

Community Notice Board

Transport Cost Saving

PIPs Partnerships in Play

Bringing Up Great Kids Parenting Program

NW Community Food Hubs

2024 Term Dates

School Holidays