LIBRARY NEWS

Ho, Ho, Ho! Can you believe it? We've reached the final library newsletter for 2025, and it’s the perfect time to reflect on the incredible year that was. Here are some standout moments in the library.

The Year That Was

Our school actively participated in reading events like the National Simultaneous Reading Time in May. Together with schools across Australia, we loved reading ‘The Truck Cat’ by Deborah Frenkel. Then, we hosted the much-anticipated annual Book Fair and celebrated the wonderful stories featured during the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book Week in Term 3. This year, we even picked some of the winners!

And, of course, the highlight of the library year is Book Week! The Library celebrated Book Week with a host of fun activities designed to bring stories to life. The school was a buzz of excitement with the inaugural  'Guess Who' competition, challenging students to match teachers across the school with their favourite books. We also revisited 'Readings From the Blue Chair' with guest staff readers during the week. Students participated in a bookmark design competition, tested their literary knowledge in book trivia, tried to solve the Guess the Bookworm competition, and worked together on a fun story scavenger hunt throughout the library shelves.

But that's not all! The library showcased fun displays for Library Lover’s Day, International Women’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Refugee Week, Harmony Day, Naidoc Week, Sorry Day, Roald Dahl Day, the Premier’s Reading Challenge, and, of course, embraced the spirit of Christmas (without any elves in sight!).

In recognition of the library in 2025, here’s a collection of photos and highlights from various events throughout the year.

Thank You!

Thank you to our families for being essential partners in the library's success and in nurturing your child's love of reading. Your generous support of the Book Club and the Book Fair has provided us with essential library credit, allowing us to purchase many exciting new resources for all students to enjoy. We greatly value your ongoing support, and especially for your help in tracking down overdue or lost books. 

Special gratitude also extends to the families who have graciously donated books and library bags throughout the year. These contributions are invaluable to us and significantly enhance the resources available for everyone. Thank you for being such incredible partners in encouraging a love for reading and learning!

Premier’s Reading Challenge

What a fantastic year it's been for reading at our school. This year, one hundred and thirty-eight students completed the Challenge from Kindergarten to Year 9; a record for our school! The participation certificates and special PRC awards were presented last week.

Special recognition goes to three students who earned the prestigious Premier's Medal in the Premier's Reading Challenge. These incredible readers have all participated in the Challenge since Kindergarten, ten years! Kate McBean, Bethany Pearse, and William Sinclair.

Congratulations to the Platinum Award recipients who have dedicated seven years to the challenge: Jeremy East, Sree Gadde, Liam Guest, Millie Maddigan, Ella McGavin, and Cali O’Connor.

Equally commendable are our Gold Award recipients, each with four years of continuous participation: Camey Brown, Zoe Burdekin, Isabel Caskey, Zara Caskey, Louis East, Felix Lee, and Theo McBean. 

Keep the Reading Going! 

The holidays are the perfect time to explore new worlds, and reading doesn't have to stop when school does. All students at HTS have free, 24/7 access to our school's digital library via Sora, where you can borrow thousands of ebooks and audiobooks right on your device.

To log in, download the Sora app (from the App Store or Google Play) or visit soraapp.com, find ACEN (Australian Catholic Education Network, and then sign in using your regular HTS student credentials (e.g., your school username and password). More detailed instructions are available here, and you can ask your child’s teacher for their password. Happy reading!

And That’s a Wrap!

I always love to end the year off with some interesting library statistics. What a year!

Total number of loans - 16,999 (I can’t believe we are so close to 17,000!)

Top Borrowing Classes

Infants: KD 1492 books

Primary: 4L 963 books

Secondary: 7M 236 books

The top 3 borrowers (Super Readers!)

Infants - Charlotte Kemp, Tori Brown, Annabelle Hollingworth

Primary - Amity Letcher, Maggie Sweeney, Kassidy Smith

Secondary - Seaton Higgins, Asha Randall, Roxy Pettiford 

The top 3 books borrowed in 2025 by the Collection

Picture Books - All Aaron Blabey!. Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas, Pig the Pug, Pig the Rebel

Junior Fiction - Dog Man reigns supreme again. Dog Man 1, Dog Man Unleashed, Dog Man Grime & Punishment

Junior Graphic Novel - I Survived Hurricane Katrina, Sisters, Smile

Junior Non-Fiction - Will it ever end? Minecraft again. Minecraft Epic Bases, Minecraft 2025 Annual, Minecraft Medieval Fortress

Senior Fiction - Scar Town, Ground Zero, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Senior Graphic Novels - I did not doubt that Manga would be the most popular Secondary books borrowed, as this is our most-requested and fastest-growing collection. This year, the top three graphic novel books for Secondary students are Tokyo Ghoul 1, Demon Slayer 14, and Demon Slayer 1

The Most Borrowed Book in the HTS Library: I Survived Hurricane Katrina

The Most Popular Christmas Books

This is one of the most popular collections in the library year-round!

Where’s Bluey at Christmas, Another Book About Santa, Yule Not Open This Book

Some fun facts - 16 of the top 20 books borrowed are graphic novels (proving how popular this reading format is), 12 of the top 20 most popular books are written by three authors (Raina Telgemeier, Dav Pilkey, & Aaron Blabey), there are 3 Pig the Pug books and only 1 Minecraft book in the top 20 (which has changed from last year).

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and peaceful New Year. See you in 2026!

Happy reading,

Mrs Toni Fraser