Library News
We want your unwanted books!
It’s been a busy second half of the year in our school library, with nearly 1200 books and 430 pieces of media equipment borrowed since the start of July! We added 240 new fiction and non-fiction books to our collection in that time too, including some generous book donations that came from our PHS families. Thank you for thinking of us.
If you have unwanted books at home - or wish to donate current textbooks that your child doesn't need next year - please drop them to our front office.
Books in good condition are added to our library or kept for our annual charity book drive. Textbooks are added to the library's growing class set collection and loaned to families in need.
Closing the book on the 2026 Premier's Reading Challenge
Our Year 7 and Year 8 students were invited to join in this year’s Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge and they did an incredible job, logging more than 1500 books during Term 3. Students were asked to read at least 15 books to meet the challenge, but our PHS crew outdid themselves, with many finishing more than 50 books! Some students even read more than 100 books – outstanding!
This is a wonderful achievement and a reminder of the value of encouraging young people to explore different stories, ideas and perspectives through reading.
As a reward for their stellar efforts, all 28 students who completed the challenge were treated to a special library pizza party this week to celebrate their achievement. A special shout-out goes to the following students who approached the challenge with gusto and read an extraordinary amount of books – up to 10 times more than required!
- Nina Akber
- Dongyang Qiu
- Sebastian Tan
- Catherine Doan
- Chloe Dlifford
- Maggie Talbot
- Lexie Webb
- Hana Cruickshank
- Sylvie De Lorenzo
Elodie Brown
Two students – Sam Zigomanis and Miles George – received special awards for embracing the spirit of the challenge and choosing difficult books that really stretched them as readers, and a special shout-out also goes to two Year 9 students Lucy Russell and Audrey Pye, as well as Year 10 student Ruth Brown, who all opted in to the challenge. These students set an inspiring example to their peers about the importance of reading. And they impressed with their thoughtful and articulate book reviews, which will remain on the Premier’s Reading Challenge website to inspire future participants.
Spotlight on banned books
This term, the library is also exploring the topic of banned books. Around the world, books have been challenged or removed from school and public libraries for a range of reasons, from their treatment of controversial issues to concerns about the ideas and experiences they present. Our display invites students to consider who decides what people can read, why books are challenged, and what we might lose when access to stories and information is restricted.
The two initiatives share an important connection: reading gives young people opportunities to question, learn, develop empathy and encounter perspectives beyond their own experiences. Encouraging young people to read widely also means helping them become thoughtful readers who can engage critically with what they read.
Parents and carers are very welcome to contact me via Compass email or phone for book recommendations. Whether your child is a reluctant reader, an enthusiastic book lover or somewhere in between, I’m always happy to help find something to suit their interests.
Don't miss our LibGuides
Did you know our students can access our library from home via Compass? All students can browse the collection, reserve items, and access research tools remotely. This includes our Lib Guides, librarian-curated resource pages that directly support student classroom learning. There are helpful online guides for every book-listed novel studied in English across all cohorts. These are accessible through the library catalogue via Compass and are especially useful for parents who wish to help their child with English homework without having to read the entire novel yourselves.
Other curriculum-aligned pages also help guide students through Preston's respective DaVinci, Bandler Parks and Ada Years programs. Students have access to all these guides when logged into the library Infiniti catalogue through Compass. Ask them to show you the guides from their laptops at home or explore some of them here:
Nikki Protyniak
Library Manager