From the Acting Principal's Desk
Montmorency South Primary School acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and play. We pay respect to Wurundjeri elders past, present and future and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families of Montmorency South Primary School.
Dear Monty South Community,
This week in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen students in Years 3-6 have been making pizza. As you will know, each fortnight Cathryn Hulme our Kitchen Specialist, takes the students on a journey to different parts of the world through food. The menu usually includes recipes they follow, but this fortnight not only is pizza a favourite food for most students, they have the opportunity to experiment with flavours and have fun with cooking pizza. Students use many ingredients from our garden to put together their pizzas and work collaboratively with their group to decide on preferred toppings.
I was fortunate enough to be given some unused pizza dough from a kitchen class yesterday. My daughter, Mila, thought that was pretty awesome and loved making her own pizza for dinner. She loves corn and always ensures it is used as her topping!
Monty South Achievers
Virtual School Victoria is delivering the Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP) to high-ability students in Years 5-8, at all Victorian State Schools. This is part of the State Government’s $60.2 million investment in the new Student Excellence Program.
VHAP consists of ten-week online courses in Mathematics and English for both Primary and Secondary levels. Students engage in synchronous Webex classes with their teachers. They can also engage with the course material on VSV Online outside of the class time.
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected to participate in VHAP Term 1 next year:
Jessika B - English
Leni G - English
James A – Maths
Zachary K- Maths
Sophia L – Maths
Jaiden L - Maths
Meredith M - Maths
Matilda M - Maths
Noah R - Maths
Gilbert S - Maths
Daniel J recently came second in the Victorian Gymnastics Championships in his age group. Well done Daniel. What a fantastic effort!
Congratulations
Our vocal ensemble performed recently at the Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Monty Eltham RSL and did an amazing job. We had such good feedback from those who attended. Congratulations to all who performed and a big thank you to Andy Coates who made it all happen.
Message from Leanne:
Hi students, parents and family and staff of Monty South,
I am just reaching out to thank everyone for making my last couple of weeks as Principal of Monty South so special. The notes, calls, emails, gifts and the last assembly were just amazing and words cannot convey my thanks adequately. I feel very humble. I am trying to contact everyone directly, but if I miss someone, I apologise and please accept this message as a token of my appreciation. I am an extremely lucky person and the time at Monty South was the best of my career. Your generosity and support to me were outstanding. Thank you and all the best for your future,
Leanne Sheean
Donations to our school
New aprons for our Kitchen – Huge thanks the Lowe Family for not only donating 30 new aprons for our kitchen, but special thanks and acknowledgement go to Annabelle for actually sewing these aprons. It is really an impressive and very generous undertaking and we are extremely grateful. We love the fabrics you have chosen such as the Harry Potter one and we know they will be a welcome upgrade to our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program.
Lego Club donations - Thank you to Finn and Asher B and their Mum Ella, for their recent donation of Lego to add to our Lego Club collection. For the Club to be successful we still require more donations. If you are considering a Christmas holiday clean-up of your Lego collections, please keep us in mind. We would love to be able to offer this club in 2023. We had a recent question as to whether donations of the Woolies “Lego” was acceptable and yes, if you have any of that style, we are happy to accept it also.
School uniform
Hat reminder – Every day we are still seeing a significant number of students without a sunsmart hat. Hats are required for all students from 1st September through to 30th April. If students do not have a sunsmart hat, they must spend lunch and recess in the undercroft. A “sunsmart” hat is a hat with a brim such as a bucket hat, or a legionnaire’s cap. A regular cap is not sunsmart and is therefore not an acceptable hat for school.
Shoes – We are aware that some school shoes being worn at school are not suitable for PE sessions. Please ensure that students wear supportive shoes on the days they have sport or PE.
Financial Assistance for Families
We encourage families experiencing financial hardship to contact us should they require assistance with school related costs. We are able to offer a range of support options such as payment plans, school uniform and device assistance, and help to find and access available subsidies. Families are welcome to contact our Business Manager, Paula Hogan with any concerns you may have about school payments.
Swimming program
Last week we commenced our P-2 program with students undertaking swimming lessons at Eltham Leisure Centre. This week they will complete their second week of lessons.
Years 3 and 4 had Life Saving Victoria staff came to the school yesterday to provide Open Water education rather than at Port Melbourne, due to the weather forecast and poor water quality in Port Phillip Bay.
Our Year 5-6 students are scheduled to head to Port Melbourne on Thursday for their Open Water swim program.
Please note the Open Water session on Thursday for Years 5-6 will go ahead but with a modified session if water quality is poor. Students will do other activities that involve not going into the water. You can find information on what to bring in the events section of Compass.
Parents’ & Friends’ Activities
Election Day BBQ – Volunteers needed
Volunteers are still needed to help us run the sausage sizzle this Saturday. Please sign up for your 30min time slot. Without help from the community we are unable to run this event which helps raise valuable funds to help us improve our school play spaces and equipment. Sign up here - https://signup.com/go/VBixTxH
Second-hand uniform sale, 25th November, 8.30am to 9.15am - School uniform donations wanted. Uniform purchases on the day must be with cash only.
Second hand school uniform donations are wanted in advance of the second hand uniform sale on Friday 25th Nov.
Please note that due to the large volume of generic navy school uniform items we receive we have regretfully decided we can no longer take these items. P&F will now ONLY take donations of uniform items with school logo.
Additionally, we can longer take donations of the old style plain jade green polo. P&F manage a Facebook Buy, Swap and Sell site for those wishing to purchase or sell MSPS uniform. This is an ideal place to find, sell or give away the navy uniform items https://www.facebook.com/groups/710441375696815/
Free Dress Day & Raffle donations – Friday 2nd December
It that time of the year again for our Christmas raffle. P&F normally offer up to 30 hampers full of food and wine and Christmas goodies. On Friday 2nd Dec, come in free dress in bring in an item or two for our hampers. Donations of Christmas themed items, vouchers, chocolates, bon bons, Christmas delicacies and wine are welcome. Donations of a gold coin are also welcome. Please ensure your items are within their expiry date.
The raffle will be drawn electronically on the night of Christmas Carols, Wednesday 7th December. You can purchase raffle tickets for $1 each via Compass Tix - https://compasstix.com/e/wi0lc3t0vr
School Production video – Beyond the Beanstalk
Families who purchased the concert video will have received a Vimeo Link recently. They can now download their own copy via the link and by selecting the download button.
Lunch Orders – 2023 Pricelist
Our lunch order provider, My Mum and I has released their 2023 price list effective from Term 1, 2023. Some items have increased in price slightly to reflect the increase in cost of goods which they can no longer absorb. For the most part though, prices have remained unchanged.
Change of term dates for 2026
For those who like to plan ahead, you might like to note that the 2026 Victorian government school term dates have been adjusted to give Victorian communities the opportunity to participate more actively in the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The games are being held from Tuesday 17 March to Sunday 29 March 2026 across regional Victoria, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton hosting a range of activities and events for 20 different sports and 9 para-sports. The advance notice of adjusted term dates for 2026 is to allow you to plan activities and prepare for the changes.
New term dates for 2026
The 2026 Victorian school term dates are:
- Term 1: Tuesday 27 January to Friday 13 March 2026
- Term 2: Monday 30 March to Friday 19 June 2026
- Term 3: Monday 6 July to Friday 18 September 2026
- Term 4: Monday 5 October to Friday 18 December 2026.
Naomi
Acting Principal