Library News
Maria SMITH
Head of Library
Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge 2025
HAPPY READING!
The VPRC has just started, and HIGHVALE SECONDARY COLLEGE is excited to take part!
The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 and aims to help young readers develop a lifelong love of reading.
It is a personal challenge (not a competition) for children from Year 3 to Year 10 to read 15 books from March to September. Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or experience 30 books with their parents/guardians/carers.
All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the current Victorian Premier and former Premiers.
The Challenge is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with the theme ‘20 years of words and wonder’ and a year of special activities. For details, follow the Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge Facebook
To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge
LIBRARY MONITORS
Huge thanks to our enthusiastic Library Monitors (Sara K., Andrea Z., Jonelle W., Angela L., Amelia W., Niya R., Sai G., Senuli T., Sally K., Janet H., Calista D., Alyssa P., Priya P. and Victoria L.) who have contributed to our Library support services in a fun and exciting manner.
AMAZING BOOK REVIEWERS WHO HAVE ENTERED THE READING CHALLENGE SO FAR:
Amelia P. (8G)
Roberts, Lauren ★★★★★
Powerful is a short novella for young adults, book #1.5 in the trilogy of Powerless. It is a novel about a girl called Adeena, whose best friend Paedyn must go into the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death. Teaming up with a mystery boy to see their loved ones before the trial, it tests their loyalty and trust towards one another. I loved this book so much because the author portrayed the protagonist in such a pure way it was a delight to read.
Tingyu, L. (10E)
Rose, Reginald ★★★★★
Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men is a gripping courtroom drama that explores themes of justice, prejudice and the power of persuasion. The play follows twelve jurors who must decide the fate of a young man accused of murder. At first, most of the jurors are convinced of his guilt, but as they debate, one juror slowly challenges their assumptions, leading to tense discussions and surprising revelations.
REGISTER FOR THE CHALLENGE AND CHECK OUT OUR MARCH NEW RELEASES!
Just to name a few, we have tantalizing titles from amazing creators including Sean Avery, Nick Bland, Anna Ciddor, James Foley, Sally Soweol Han, Pip Harry, Barry Jonsberg, Brogen Murphy, Paul Russell, R.A. Spratt, Robert Vescio and Lili Wilkinson.
Secondary Fiction Book of the Month
Bear by Kiri Lightfoot
An inspirational story of 13-year-old Jasper who after his grandparents died and his parents divorced, hit rock bottom and was overcome with grief, depression, fear and anxiety until something unimaginable happened, and everything turned around for him. A wonderfully ‘powerful, humorous and sensitive’ story highly recommended particularly for readers 12 to 15 years of age!
Secondary/Lower Secondary/Graphic Novels Fiction Highlights
New Books on Improving Social Skills
GETTING TO KNOW OUR INSPIRING BOOKWORMS
Reading can take us to limitless boundaries without even physically going places as it transcends us into different worlds that may inspire/impact us in various ways. Please enjoy what our inspiring booklovers have to say about their reading interests/habits.
Mary N., Shyra A. and Christine J. (all from Mrs. Morey’s Year 7 English class)
Mrs. Morey’s inspirational talk on how great reading can be has brought us more interest towards reading. We all enjoyed and could not put down Heartstopper (by Alice Oseman) because of its compelling backstory and suspenseful future making us think. School Trip (by Jerry Craft) and Sisters (by Raina Telgemeier) are two novels we would also like to recommend for young readers like us because of the different and real-life scenarios the novel portray. Reading has helped us escape our thoughts and calm down. It is a kind of anger-coping mechanism. To start developing good reading habits, get in a comfortable position, find books that interest you rather than read boring books.
Tingyu L. (10E)
I moved to Melbourne from China two years ago. Though my English is not very good, I still like reading English books very much because I get to know and explore different cultures presented in those books.
I like reading because every time I open a book, it feels like starting a new journey, though I’m still sitting in the chair in my small bedroom. I think reading really helped me improve my English because the more time you spend in an environment with the same language, the better you will get at this language.
When I read the ‘Harry Potter” series, I just could not put the books down because I wanted to stay in that magical world for a longer time, and I was also very curious what will happen next.
To start developing good reading habits, write down in a notebook the quotes that made you say “Wow”.
THE HIGHVALE WRITERS CLUB
HWC aims to encourage our students to explore their creative talents (in various positive ways) to inspire our Highvale community. Thank you, Guillem C. (10A) for sharing your amazing drawing of a ‘gigantoraptor.’ Drawing is one creative and relaxing outlet for Guillem.
INSIGHT CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION
For our budding writers, check this out for a chance to win $3000 worth of cash prizes through Insight Creative Writing Competition (CWC) starting March 20 and closing September 1. Create and inspire! (HWC2025)
https://www.insightpublications.com.au/insight-creative-writing-competition/
CULTURAL DIVERSITY/HARMONY WEEK 2025
The Cultural Diversity Week 2025 theme, 'Embrace the Journey, Shape Our Future’ highlights the uniqueness and shared journeys of our diverse communities, encouraging us to honour everyone’s cultural stories, fostering understanding, belonging and connection.
Paving the way for this celebration is the United Nation's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD) reminding us that celebrating multiculturalism, supporting and advocating on behalf of multicultural communities are equally vital. From March 21-23, there will be a Victorian Multicultural Festival at Grazeland in Spotswood to celebrate Cultural Diversity Week.
HIGHVALE REFLECTING ON AND CELEBRATING CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND HARMONY WEEK 2025
It is a FREE-Dress Day of country’s flags and national costume at Highvale on March 27 for students to raise funds towards the UNICEF Humanitarian Action for Children Appeal. (Huge thanks to the following students demonstrating and inspiring a sense of community, inclusion and belonging during this meaningful week.)
Priya P. (10G) My family is diverse, my mum is from New Zealand and my dad is from India. I love comparing the similarities between my two cultures. My favourite part about being Indian is the traditional dresses, food and celebrations. My favourite thing about being Kiwi is the sport especially Rugby. | Shyra A. (7B) It is important to celebrate Cultural Diversity/Harmony Week to recognize that people are different and to learn about other people and their families. It can also help people show their cultures and not feel alone if they don’t do certain things like other cultures.
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Kaitlin K. (8G) Celebrating Cultural Diversity/Harmony Week is important because it promotes understanding and respect for diverse cultures, recognising the richness of other communities and contributing to a more inclusive and equal society.
| Angela L. (9G) It is important to celebrate Cultural Diversity Week because our world is so diverse, so it is important to have Harmony Week to remind one another to be respectful of these cultures.
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Sara K. (9B) My family comes from Malysia. One of the things I love about my country is the food; it remains one of my favourite cuisines and I never get tired of it. I love the diversity and festivities in Malaysia as well. | Riya S. (8E) My family migrated from India back in the early 2000, and what I love about my culture is the food (rich with flavour and delicious), the fun festivals and the vibrant clothing.
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Natalie T. (11G) My family comes from Singapore. My mom grew up in Brisbane and my dad’s side is from China. I love the food in Singapore.
| Vedaanth K. (8F) We can show respect and appreciation to other cultures by learning about their festivals and traditions. |
Sai G. (11B) My family comes from a state called Maharashtra in India. Maharashtra is very rich in culture and tradition- ranging from clothing and jewellery to furniture and architecture. It is also very rich in history. I love dressing up to participate in the numerous festivals we celebrate throughout the year.
| Dhruthi B. (8G) We can show respect towards other cultures by encouraging students to celebrate each culture with an open mind and learn from other students’ diverse perspectives in life. |
Daniel S. (7B) To show respect and appreciation towards other cultures, treat everyone equally even if they have different beliefs as we are all the same.
| Deniz C. (7A) My family comes from Turkey, and I love the food at the festivals. |
Dhruv S. (7B) It is important to celebrate Harmony Week because it is a way of gathering everyone and making peace.
| Amelia W. (8F) My family is from Hongkong. What I love about our culture is the food that includes dim sims. |
Isabella B. (7A) My family comes from Europe (Germany and Italy) and my favourite part is all the food (pizza, pasta and gelato) and celebrations (festivals and gatherings) with family and friends.
| Alyssa P. (8G) It is important to celebrate Cultural Diversity/Harmony Week because it is a day to acknowledge where each person comes from and their cultures. |
CONNECTING OUR HIGHVALE FAMILY TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY
GOOD FRIDAY APPEAL
https://www.goodfridayappeal.com.au/
The Good Friday Appeal raises funds to enable The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne to provide world class care to our children through the help of fundraisers, supporters, volunteers and donors. Please check out: Ways to Get Involved
UPCOMING ANZAC DAY COMMEMORATION
RSL Victoria has provided a comprehensive list of events to commemorate ANZAC DAY in MELBOURNE focusing on April 25, the 110th year anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings in 1915 to commemorate the sacrifices of our fallen Australian and New Zealand soldiers. Please check out the Australian Memorial and RSL Victoria sites:
https://rslvic.com.au/anzac-day-melbourne/
https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac-day
WHAT’S ON IN MELBOURNE ON THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS!
Can you believe the school holiday is just around the corner! Our beautiful City of Melbourne has a variety of kids-friendly, low-cost and some FREE activities for families, from strolling down spacious and refreshing gardens, dining at multicultural restaurants, watching magic and comedy shows to whatever you can think of!
For a really fun and relaxing family school holiday, please check out this site for more detailed information on various events: https://whatson.melbourne.vic.gov.au/things-to-do/family-and-kids/school-holidays
Monopoly Dreams Melbourne Magic Show Comedy Club for Kids