Library 

Pop-Up Library

During the Year 10 and 11 exams, Tanja and I have been working out of our home-away-from-home - the Pop-up Library in Room 16! We moved over a small selection of books from across our 16 different genres, as well as some board games and a puzzle, and transformed this classroom into a cosy and welcoming mini library space! The ‘Where’s Wally?’ puzzle was an absolute hit, though there was some slight panic when the final piece couldn’t be located, only for it to be found near the end of lunchtime (it was sitting on top of the puzzle and had just blended in). 

This was also a space for Year 10 and 11 students to study in between their exams and where students could pick up books that they had reserved online. Some students stayed dedicated to the manga series that they were making their way through, coming most days to pick up the next volumes. Fantastic to see!

As we didn’t have Wide Reading classes to facilitate during this period, Tanja and I took the opportunity to process lots of new books (67 in total!), update some of our library processes and documentation and to get cracking on some planning for Book Week. Make sure to add Book Week to your calendars - 24th to 28th of August - and start brainstorming your costume for the annual Book Week Costume Parade!

Football World Cup 2026

To celebrate the Football (AKA soccer) World Cup 2026, we have had an interactive display going in the Library. We added the flags of the teams that students and staff are supporting and students have been updating the match poster with scores each day. The display also highlights the Legends (biographies of players who are participating), the Facts (Non Fiction books about soccer) and the Drama (fictional books about soccer, primarily from our sports fiction section), as well as including the latest editions of the World Soccer magazine. I have learnt so much about football these past few weeks and we’ve had lots of fabulous discussions with students about their favourite players and teams!

Library Leaders

The Library Leaders program is made up of more than 20 passionate student volunteers who come into the Library at lunchtime once a fortnight to help out. They help students and staff loan and return books and board games at the circulation desk, contribute to the creation of displays and shelve books according to their genre. 

Unfortunately, operations were paused during the exam period, but prior to this, our fantastic teams of Library Leaders were consistently coming in at lunchtimes to volunteer their time and assist Tanja and I during these busy times. A big thank you and congratulation to Alexsa, Annie, Audrey, Cody, Eliana, Elsa, Felix, Gretel, Isabella, Jazlyn, Jean, Lara, Leopold, Lilly, Lina, Maicie, Neveah, Olive, Pepper, Tommy, Vaughan, Venus and Yves, for your commitment to learning about how the library works and applying this knowledge so successfully!

Staff Book Club

We read King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender for our last Staff Book Club meeting, a contemporary middle-grade novel about a young boy working through his grief surrounding his older brother’s passing while also trying to reconcile his Black and Queer identities. I had very high expectations for this one and I thought that it could transcend the middle-grade genre and have takeaways for adults. I think these expectations set it up to fail, because while I did find it moving and thought-provoking, I found the perspective too child-like. I have no doubt that this book would be a powerful read for our younger students. 

I hope that everyone has a cosy holidays, hopefully curled up with a good book!

Lucy Youston

Library Coordinator