Resource Centre

Welcome back to Term 2

If you haven’t already worked it out, this year I am focusing on developing a culture of reading in our school for students from Kindergarten all the way through to Year 12.

This week, I would like to share with you a poster on the benefits of reading, which has been created by a Teacher Librarian from Queensland. You can find her resources, blogs, and articles all about school libraries at https://madisonslibrary.com/

One of the resources she has created is the poster below on the benefits of reading. For the full blog she wrote to accompany this poster, please see: https://madisonslibrary.com/2025/02/24/reading-graphics-benefits-of-reading/

In the coming newsletters, we will build on these by sharing the 15 habit posters, which students can see on the window of Ms Height’s office as they head to the canteen or the ovals. In Maddison’s blogs about both of these resources, she explains that they have been created using a variety of sources, one of which I have been exploring: a research report derived from data collected on Australian reading habits.

National Simultaneous Storytime 2026

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Each year, a picture book written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, preschools, childcare centres, family homes, and bookshops across the country, as well as internationally.

Now in its 26th year, this colourful, vibrant, and engaging event promotes the value of reading and literacy through an Australian children’s book that explores age-appropriate themes and supports key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.

This year’s book, Luna Roo, follows rookie captain Luna Roo as she leaves nothing on the pitch while leading FC Outback in a thrilling match against Bush United. Faced with a spider goalkeeper, snakes in attack, and her own nerves, Luna must trust her skills and her teammates to achieve success. Written by football enthusiasts Adam Jackson and Adrian Lloyd, Luna Roo captures the excitement of the game while delivering a heart-warming message about courage and determination.

To find out more, please visit: https://www.alia.org.au/nss

Our Resource Centre team has been working hard to organise a range of lunchtime activities in the lead-up to National Simultaneous Storytime. Today, students enjoyed completing an “I Spy” worksheet activity.

Premier’s Reading Challenge  

Key Dates

Challenge opens: 23 February 

Challenge closes: 18 September

Once student passwords are received, we will communicate these through your child’s diary or via email. I am currently registering students who are new to the PRC NSW and hope to have login credentials issued soon to all those waiting.

Finding Books for the Challenge

There are several easy ways for you and your child to locate books from the PRC Booklist:

1. Through Your Child’s PRC Account

   Once logged in, students can access a direct link to the booklist for their Challenge level (K–2, Years 3–4, Years 5–6, Years 7–9, Years 10+).

    

2. On the PRC Website

   You can browse the full booklists online: https://online.education.nsw.gov.au/prc/booklist/home.html

    

3. In Our School Library

   PRC books are available in clearly labelled tubs and on display for easy access.

Beanstack Reading Challenge

We are excited to introduce Beanstack, our new reading challenge platform, now available to Year 5, 6, and 7 students.

Beanstack uses competition, recognition, and proven gamification strategies to motivate students to read and develop a lifelong love of reading. Whether your child enjoys fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, or online articles, all reading can be recorded in Beanstack. By tracking their daily reading, students can build positive reading habits and grow in confidence as readers.

When students log their reading using Beanstack’s web or mobile app, they can:

• earn digital badges as they reach milestones
• compete on leaderboards and build daily reading streaks

• track everything they read on their virtual bookshelf

   

For a glimpse of what students will experience with Beanstack, please click here.

Well done to those Year 5, 6, and 7 students who have already logged in and started earning badges.

On Thursday, I received the following email:

Hi Meagan,

Congratulations! Your school has been awarded Beanstack’s inaugural Reading Culture Spark badge. This badge is granted to schools with 10% student participation in Beanstack each school year.

The Reading Culture Awards recognise and reward schools for increasing student engagement throughout the year, with the ultimate goal of reaching Reading Culture Trailblazer status at 75% participation. Trailblazers are entered into a monthly prize draw, including ten $100 gift cards and one $1,000 gift card.

Here, you will find the “Reading Culture Spark 2025–2026” digital badge, certificate, and social media images that we hope you will proudly display on your website, email signatures, school newsletter, and social media. Once you reach 75% participation, you will unlock the Reading Culture Trailblazer award and be entered into the monthly draw.

Thank you,

The Beanstack Team

This achievement would not have been possible without the efforts of our students in engaging with this programme and developing their reading for pleasure. Well done!

I wonder what the next award or reward might be?

Kids’ Lit Quiz – 2026 Newsletter Update

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."— Joseph Addison

Kids’ Lit Quiz Virtual Heat

On Tuesday 28 April, 16 students from Years 5 to 7 participated in the 2026 Kids’ Lit Quiz Virtual Heat, held at school.

The quiz consisted of rounds of 10 questions, with teams of four students working together to discuss and agree on each answer. In addition to the quiz rounds, students also took part in a range of engaging activities designed to challenge their thinking in different ways. One such activity involved creating an illustration of their team members and presenting it to the camera.

I look forward to sharing students’ reflections and experiences in upcoming newsletters.

Important details

Opening Hours:

Passwords

If you haven’t received your new password yet, please contact the Resource Centre at library@moamagrammar.nsw.edu.au. We’ll ensure your password is sent to you as soon as possible.

Borrowing and Returns

Students may borrow and return books before school, at recess, lunchtime, and after school. Primary School students also have the opportunity to borrow during their fortnightly Library lessons, with books due back at their next session. Students in Years 7–9 have now begun visiting the Resource Centre regularly. Their books are due two weeks after the date of borrowing.

Borrowing Permissions

If students are requesting to borrow books above their age level, we request parents to write a letter regarding their permission for their child to borrow and read a specific book, which will be reviewed by library staff.

Renewals

Students may renew their books for an additional two weeks by speaking to staff at the Library Circulation Desk. If a further extension is required after this period, students must bring the book with them so staff can sight it before approving the renewal. Students may also renew their books by emailing the Library or by logging on to the school Library website, which is accessible through their SEQTA account.

Requests

If your child would like to borrow a specific book and the title is not included in our current catalogue, we will add this to our purchase wishlist.

Overdue notices

If you receive an overdue notice, there is a chance that the books may have been processed through our system after the email was sent. We encourage all parents to follow up on any issues by emailing the Resource Centre at library@moamagrammar.nsw.edu.au

Reading Permissions

Due to our shared space catering for students from Kindergarten to Year 12, our library collection is organised to help students easily find books with protagonists close to their own age. For example, in the Upper Primary section, most of the characters are between 11 and 13 years old. This approach ensures that themes and content remain age-appropriate, and also supports students in reading independently and with confidence.

When deciding where books are placed within the collection, we are guided by author and publisher recommendations.

If you have any other enquiries, issues or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via phone by ringing the main office or via email address at library@moamagrammar.nsw.edu.au

Keep reading everyone!

Kind regards,

Ms Height and Ms O’Neill

Resource Centre Team