IN THIS ISSUEPage 2 of 5
Message from the Principal Banner Photo
Message from the Principal
Preston Life Banner Photo
Preston Life A year inside the Tony Birch Library, Preston students fight against animal extinction
Student Leaders Banner Photo
Student Leaders Introducing the Student Leaders for 2025
Parent Support Banner Photo
Parent Support New webpage to help families and students prepare for a new school year , Support Services to access over the holidays, Uniform Shop Opening Hours
Important Dates Banner Photo
Important Dates Whole School Events , Excursions and Incursions
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Preston Life

Find out what's happening around our school

A year inside the Tony Birch Library

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This year has been an exciting and enriching one at our school library. Students and staff borrowed an impressive 3,357 books over the school year, showcasing our community's love of reading and learning. From thrilling adventures and magical tales to thought-provoking nonfiction, there was something for everyone on our shelves.

 

Fantasy and mystery novels were the two most borrowed genres outside of our students' voracious reading appetites for manga and graphic novels. 

 

Here are the Top 10 non-manga books borrowed in 2024.

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  1. One of us is lying by Karen McManus
  2. The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
  3. Unfamiliar Vol 1 by Haley Newsome
  4. The Crossover (graphic novel) by Kwame Alexander
  5. A good girl’s guide to murder by Holly Jackson
  6. One of us is back by Karen McManus
  7. Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi
  8. The Inheritance games by Jennifer Barnes
  9. Heartstopper 3 by Alice Oseman
  10. House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

We welcomed more than 500 new books to our collection, including award-winning titles and popular series, ensuring our library stays fresh and engaging. Students participated in fun literacy events like book clubs, poetry readings, and a manga art workshop, which fostered a deeper appreciation for storytelling and creativity.

 

The library also hosted its first reading sessions for Year 7 and Year 8 classes alongside regular rowdy lunchtime board games, and quiet spaces for study, becoming a hub for curiosity and discovery. All students now have access to the library catalogue via Compass, with exciting new additions to enhance research and learning to be unveiled next year.

 

On a somewhat sad note, our first annual stocktake showed a rather large number of books missing from the shelves. It would be wonderful if families can take a look before school finishes or even over the break to see if any of the 67 missing books are lurking under beds or on shelves at home. Some of the missing titles are shown below to help in the search. Books will have a Preston High School stamp inside and a Preston High School barcode on the back cover.

 

Thank you to everyone who made this year a success—our enthusiastic readers, supportive teachers and generous families who donate to the school's Library Fund. Here's to another year of exploring worlds through books!

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Preston students fight against animal extinction

By Shanaia and Stella, 7A

 

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On November 15, some of the Year 7s were chosen to represent Preston High School in a Fighting Extinction showcase at Melbourne Zoo. In Da Vinci, we have been studying public awareness campaigns to help fight extinction. 

 

At the Melbourne Zoo, many schools came together to promote awareness on endangered species in Australia. It was a creative and inspirational event, and we had a wonderful time! 

 

There were many campaigns such as activities that gave out prizes, posters that informed people about the effects on these animals, videos, magnets, stickers- all to promote the protection of all the endangered animals.