From the Principal's Desk

Dear Monty South community,

So, the countdown begins as we enter the final days of Term 2. Perhaps not surprisingly, the students returned from two weeks ago with a positive mindset and ready for school. Whilst there was some learning from the most recent remote and flexible learning stint, most students prefer to learn onsite with their friends. It is the connection they have with their peers and teacher and other students across the year levels that makes it so much better for them.

Just a reminder that it is our final day for Term 2, on Friday 25th June and school will conclude at 2:30pm.

Staff news

Once we return in Term 3, there will be some staff changes that will have taken place.

I am happy to announce that Maddy McHugh has been appointed to the Year 1 position that had been vacated at the beginning of Term 2 with the resignation of Madi Fairlie. Madi was very well loved by the class so it was a big task to find a teacher who the students could connect with as much. Luckily, Maddy McHugh, is exactly that person.

Elise Van Ooi will commence her family leave at the beginning of Term 3 and we have appointed Brad Kendall to the class. Brad is an experienced teacher and has taught at Lower Plenty Primary School, Greenhills Primary School, Yarrambat Primary School and more recently Wattle Glen Primary School. He has also been a casual relief teacher here while he took some family leave while waiting for the arrival of his second child. He comes with a great knowledge of curriculum and teaching. In addition, Rosie Morton also starts family leave for her second child at the end of this term. We have appointed Katie Borczuch to Rosie’s 0.6 position. Katie is a highly experienced teacher having taught at Bimbadeen Heights Primary School for several years. She has also been a casual relief teacher here this year and last year and she knows our school well and is a highly skilled educator.

Finally, we have two staff members taking long service leave for the whole of Term 3.

Rachel Phillips 5A, is travelling around Australia with her family and is very much looking forward to the trip. To enable Year 5A to continue to run smoothly, we have appointed two very experienced teachers. Carmie Isaacs will be in the class three days, on Monday to Wednesday and Allison Byth on Thursday and Friday. Carmie is well known to Montmorency South as a regular CRT (relief teacher), a Bridges teacher and she is currently teaching in Year 2 on a Friday. Allison is a very experienced teacher of 20 years and is currently a primary education lecturer at RMIT. She is also undertaking a PHD in education. Both Carmie and Allison are skilled teachers and will do a wonderful job.

Laura Johnstone is heading north to the Sunshine Coast for Term 3 and possibly longer depending on job opportunities available. It has always been a long term dream of Laura’s to work in Queensland and so she feels now is the perfect time to do it. To replace her, we have appointed Sharon Arena who has been working at Laurimar Primary School and who has been a regular CRT (relief teacher) at Montmorency South.

We welcome all our new staff members and we wish our departing staff members all the best. We thank them for the huge contribution they have made to our school in their time with us. We hope to welcome them all back at some stage.

Athletics Carnival

There has been a change of date for the Athletics Carnival. Please note that it will now take place on Monday 19th July at Willinda Park. We apologise if this inconveniences anyone but the venue was unfortunately double booked and we were the last school in, so we have had to change to this date.

CSEF

Applications for CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund) has been extended until Friday 13th August. Any parent/carer with a valid Health Care Card who hasn't already received CSEF can apply. Concession card must be valid on Monday 12th July. Please contact or email the office for further enquiries.

Working Bee

Our newly formed Facilities Subcommittee (Danielle Lee, Steve Gartner, Mitchell Dintinosante and myself), have tentatively set a date for our first working bee for two years. It will be held on Sunday 8th August from 10:00am to 1:00 pm. At the conclusion there will be a sausage sizzle and refreshments.

Closer to the date if restrictions ease even further, an invitation will be sent out via Compass, with a list of jobs and equipment we will need but if you have this date free we would love to see you. A priority will be painting the BER balustrade and working on the space that will be vacant due to the removal of the Year 4 portable. There will be internal and external jobs to achieve so we are really looking forward to coming together as a community. Keeping our fingers crossed.

MSPS Achievers

A call out to Zadie Krantz in Year 5D who just completed her first ever exam and a Year 9 Maths exam at that! We are so proud of Zadie who did a wonderful job preparing for the exam during lockdown (revising and creating a spreadsheet) and achieved an 80%. Most importantly, we are proud of the way Zadie did the exam even though she more than likely found the process a bit daunting. She was prepared to take a risk and she did extremely well. Great job Zadie!

Tuckshop Opportunity at Briar Hill PS

Briar Hill Primary School and its community are extremely proud of their school Tuckshop. The Tuckshop manager of 7 years has recently moved on and they are now looking for someone to take the helm and continue to grow the Tuckshop.

Briar Hill Primary School Council is seeking a suitable applicant to manage the day to day operations of its Tuckshop. This is a contracted position, ideal for a person who currently operates a catering business or someone who is seeking a part-time business to operate within school hours and terms.

If you are interested more information can be found here : https://www.briar-hill-ps.vic.edu.au/uploads/1/0/9/0/109055401/tuckshop_opportunity_final.pdf

Important dates coming up

Friday 25th June - end of Term 2. School dismissal 2:30pm
Monday 12th July - first day of Term 3
Monday 19th July - MSPS Athletics Carnival at Willinda Park
Sunday 8th August - Working bee

PLEASE NOTE, A LIST OF DATES CAN BE FOUND BOTH ON THE COMPASS CALENDAR AND ON OUR WEBSITE.

Best wishes,

Leanne Sheean