Montello Primary School eNewsletter

Principal’s Report

As we settle into Term 3, it’s been wonderful to see our students return with a renewed sense of purpose, curiosity and connection. There’s already a real buzz around the school as learning programs gather momentum and I want to take a moment to reflect on the DECYP value of Respect and how we are seeing it in action at Montello Primary.

Respect is more than good manners—it’s about how we treat others, our environment, and ourselves. We see this every day in our students’ interactions with each other, their willingness to listen and learn, and their care for the spaces they share. One powerful example is how our students are taking increasing responsibility for cleaning up their learning areas at the end of the day. This seemingly simple act connects beautifully with the leadership values of New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team, who famously “sweep the sheds” a tradition where even the most senior players clean their own locker rooms after games. It’s a reminder that no one is too important to care for the space they share a message that resonates strongly with the culture we are nurturing here at Montello.

We are also thrilled that the first stage of our school redevelopment is nearly complete! The brand new canteen, student kitchen, and dining room will soon be open and ready to enjoy. These spaces have been carefully designed to foster community, connection, and hands-on learning and we can’t wait to see how they enhance the school experience for all of our students. Our redevelopment is being completed in stages and will require classes to move and for us to be flexible in the way we deal with short term pain for long term gain.

Excitement is building in Grades 5 and 6 as students prepare to launch into their Science Investigations. These projects are always a highlight of the year, giving students the chance to explore scientific questions, test their ideas, and showcase their learning in creative and thoughtful ways. We will share our ideas with judges later this term.

To all of our parents and carers thank you for your ongoing support. Whether it’s helping with reading at home, attending events, or simply asking about your child’s day, your involvement makes a big difference. It takes a strong partnership between home and school to support every child to thrive and we value that partnership deeply.

Finally, a reminder that Kindergarten enrolments for 2026 are now open for children born in 2021. If you or someone you know has a child ready to begin their learning journey, please contact our school office to collect an enrolment pack or come along to our Launching into Learning sessions.

Thank you once again for being part of our Montello community. Let’s continue to build a culture of learning, care, and respect as we move through the rest of Term 3.

Get those Book Week costumes ready.

Key Dates for Term 3

Monday 11^th August
5/6 Sports Day

Wednesday 13^th August
PHS Gr 6 Transition Visit

Monday 18^th – Friday 22^nd August
Book Week – “Book an Adventure”

Monday 18^th – Scholastic Book Fair
Tuesday 19^th – Book Week Celebration & Dress Up Parade

Wednesday 20^th August
5/6 Big Science Fair

Wednesday 27^th August
Dockers Cup Begins

Wednesday 17^th September
Gr 3-6 BHS Production

Friday 26^th September
Last Day Term 3

Canteen News

Canteen Closure

Dockers Cup

There are still several players who returned their football form that need to register (free registration) ready for the Dockers Cup. Please use the QR code below or contact the Office if you need assistance. Players need to sign up by August 10^th ready for the season opener on Wednesday August 27^th

Check out our amazing new MPS footy jumpers. Our boys & girls, the newest recruits to the Montello Footy Factory will look great on the footy ground in these!

Book Week Activities August 16th – 23rd

Scholastic Book Fair Monday 18th August

Our school is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair during Book Week. The Book Fair will be run on Monday 18^th.

All students will have a chance to visit with their class and purchase or order books.

Your child will have the opportunity to explore a huge range of affordable books featuring characters and subjects’ kids love and want to read about. From newly released books and bestsellers to award-winning titles and perennial favourites. This is also a great way for you to learn about and discuss your child’s interests and every book sold benefits our school, adding resources to our library and classrooms.

How to purchase books:

Prep - Grade 6 children will be given a wishlist when they enter the Book Fair on Monday. If they have not brought money with them, they can take home their wishlist and return it with the money the next day by 9am. * We will collate orders and deliver them to classrooms by end of day (if they are in stock).

Parents may also use the wishlist to purchase online if they prefer. If purchasing online, just write the receipt number on the wishlist and return it to school with students. Orders will be delivered to classrooms (if the books are in stock) or they will be ordered through Scholastic and delivered when they arrive.

*Kinder students will not have a wishlist, they will need to purchase their books on Monday 18^th August.

Book Week Celebration & Dress Up Parade:

Tuesday 19th August 9:15am in the Hall

Students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. It would be amazing to see as many students as possible participate in the parade, however, please do not feel pressured to spend lots of money on a new costume. Costumes from home can be just as amazing as brand-new costumes from online shops or stores. You can even use the theme ‘Book an Adventure’ as inspiration for your costume choice!

The celebration will also include the book review winners & winners from each class will have a chance to share their winning items with the whole school!

In-Class Activity

All classes will be asked to choose a short-listed book and from this all students will complete a piece of work. A student from each class will be awarded a $20 voucher to spend at the Book Fair.

Entries need to be finalised by Thursday 14^th August ready for judging prior to Book Week.

Book Week Book Review Competition:

Students are invited to complete a book review on their favourite book. Entries need to include the title of the book and the author. The review can be written or drawn.

Students will have the opportunity to win one of three $20 vouchers to be spent at the Book Fair. There will be a box in the library for entries.

Entries also close Thursday 14^th August ready for judging.

100 days of Learning

100 Days of School! 100 Days Older! 100 Days Smarter!

To mark the milestone of 100 days of school, students dressed up in themed outfits that celebrated the number 100. From student sized centenarians in grey wigs and glasses, pearl necklaces, to shirts, braces and bow ties, walking sticks and walking frames, the day was a joyful showcase of imagination and school spirit. The celebration not only highlighted their learning journey but also gave everyone a reason to smile, snap photos, and feel proud of how far they’ve come!

Launching into Learning

Next week is dinosaur themed LiL!

Pre-Kinder Playgroup

Levies Reminder

REMINDER: 2025 levies payments are due.

On our Book collection and uniform sales days in January, you would have been asked to fill in a payment plan with one of the four following options:

Option One: Four equal payments to be paid at the end of each term:

Payment One: 11^th April 2025
Payment Two: 4^th July 2025
Payment Three: 26^th September 2025
Payment Four: 5^th December 2025

Option Two: Two equal payments, one in week one of Term Two and the other in week one of Term Three:

Payment One: 2^nd May 2025
Payment Two: 25^th July 2025

Option Three: Fortnightly payments with full payment to be completed by the end of the school year (last week of Term Four):

Payment start date: 28^th March 2025
Payment completed by: 5^th December 2025

Option Four: Payment in full by due date on Invoice

Levies for 2025 are: Kinder $140 and Prep – Grade 6 are $200.

Part payments can be made in person at the Office using cash or Eftpos or online using the Bpay number on your invoice. Please touch base with Ange on 64322755 if you need to make other arrangements or update your payment plan.

Grade 2 Excursion –author Leigh Hobbs

On Wednesday 30^th July, the grade two students visited Stella Maris Primary School to meet and learn from well know author/illustrator Leigh Hobbs. Leigh is most famous for his characters ‘Old Tom’, ‘Horrible Harriet’, ‘Mr Chicken’ and many more. Our students were lucky enough to have Leigh give them plenty of tips to improve their drawing and students got to practise drawing amazing characters, following Leigh’s lead and expertise. Montello students were so well behaved and a credit to our school on the day. We would like to share some photos of the day with you.

My New Gallery

Redevelopment News

Exciting things are happening at Montello this term. Stage 1 of our major redevelopment is almost ready to be handed over. This will include our new Canteen and Student Kitchen.

During week 4 and 5 there will be no Canteen or School Lunch Program as the Canteen and Kitchen Program settle into their new homes.

It is expected that during week 5 we will take possession of some of our new learning spaces downstairs. This means that several classes will be moving from their current classrooms into the new learning areas while their current classrooms are being rejuvenated during Stage 2.

Classes moving	New location
Prep Bilbies	Downstairs
Prep/1 Possums	Downstairs
1/2 Wallabies	Downstairs
3/4 Quokkas	Downstairs
3/4 Echidnas	Downstairs
3/4 Kangaroos	Demountable near 5/6 Emus

Montello will be a hive of activity as we prepare for and conduct these classroom moves. Moving these classes to their new space will be different and we ask that you have a conversation reassuring your children that everything will be ok. During the first few weeks of this move we anticipate there will be some teething problems and issues to iron out. Please get in contract with your child’s teacher if there is anything you wish to discuss. We would like to thank families, students and staff for their flexibility and patience as we have navigated Stage 1.

Class Snapshot

Prep Bilbies

On Monday 28th July we celebrated 100 days of school. Classes from prep to grade 2 had a number hunt around the school. Preps also participated in a number of activities based on the number of 100.