Library News

Book week activities

Book week will be celebrated from 18 – 22 August and there are a number of activities planned for this fantastic celebration of all things books and reading.

Events/activities will include: 

• an episodic Choose-your-own-adventure story for students to read and then vote for where they want the story to go next. This will be available during recess and lunch all week.

• Year 8’s will experience Cluedo in the library, brought you by Ms Nejad and Miss Mill with some help from the Year 8 English teachers. Will they be able to work out whodunnit?

• Books and Brownies – the next session of this very popular event will be held during Book Week on Tuesday, 19 August at lunchtime. The sign-up sheet will be available the week before at the library desk.

• Author visit by award winning author Melanie La’Brooy on Thursday, 21 August. (see the information below).

• House Reading Challenge officially closes on Wednesday, 20 August with the winners announced on Friday, 22 August. Those students from the winning house who contributed, will be invited to celebrate with a pizza lunch in early September.

Author Visit: Melanie La' Brooy

Join us in the library during Book Week for a very special author visit. Melanie La’ Brooy is the author of the multi-award-winning fantasy novels The Wintrish Girl and its sequel, The Lost History. Her books are known for mixing exciting action and humour with serious themes such as racism and gender stereotyping. She is coming to our school on Thursday 21 August to speak firstly, to our EP students and then to an open session at lunchtime. Sign-up to attend this amazing event at the library desk. There are limited places, so you will need to get in quick to secure your place.

House Reading Challenge Points Update

As you can see, Yarra House has stormed ahead again this year, but Kalinda is not that far behind. Don’t forget to record your reading in the House Jars. There’s just over 2 weeks to go before this year’s challenge wraps up for another year. Entries close on Wednesday, 20 August at 3pm. The winners will be announced on Friday, 22 August and the pizza lunch will take place in early September. Well done to everyone in Year’s 7 – 9. The reading has been amazing. Keep on reading and recording.

Shadow Judges Vote

During term 1 and 2, students have participated in this year’s Shadow Judging Panel for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards: Older Readers. They met fortnightly to discuss the books on the shortlist. We talked about character development, the language in the story, the mood, the format and the themes in each of these books and much more. They then had the opportunity to vote for the Book they liked the most. 

Overwhelmingly, they voted for ‘Wreck of Seabirds’ by debut author Karleah Olsen. The haunting gothic tale of missing siblings, a town’s sordid past, a curse and the connection between two strangers who meet on the beach was gripping and kept students engaged until the end. The actual winners will be announced on Friday 15th August. It will be interesting to see how closely aligned with the official judges they were.