Library News

CBCA Book Week – Read Grow Inspire 

Our library celebrated Book Week with the following events: CBCA Shadow Judging, an online author visit, House event book reviews, an award-winning Picture Book Storytime, Australian School Library Day, and promoting our inclusive environment through supporting Wear it Purple Day.CBCA Shadow JudgingOur book club participated in CBCA’s (Children’s Book Council of Australia) shadow judging of the Older Readers category again this year. This is a great opportunity for young voices across Australia to be heard. Most of our creative responses were discussion-based over a hot chocolate and a cookie or two. Ama Khalid 11B and particularly Onome Jegede 11J, submitted some outstanding book reviews on behalf of our school. We voted The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winnifred Searle as our favourite book for the Older Readers category. in 2024, we plan to judge the Picture Book category due to its suitability to all reading abilities, ages, time constraints, and creative responses!

Leanne Yong Zoom Visit

Our book club members and aspiring writers thoroughly enjoyed their ‘Q & A’ session with the inspiring Asian-Australian author, Leanne Yong, leading up to Book Week. Leanne shared how she struggled to read and write at school until she found her connection to a story. She encouraged the students to find what they love in a story whether it be a Manga, Dystopia, or writing their personal narrative. They were told to never give up on their dreams.

Book Week Tree

Students and staff were invited to collect a leaf in their House colour and to write the name of the book, the author and how it inspired them. Students received ten House points for each leaf review they completed. A great way to celebrate CBCA’s 2023 Book Week theme – ‘Read Grow Inspire’!

Book Club High Tea Reading of My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder 

Our book club members and other interested students attended a reading of this year’s winning Picture Book of the Year, My Strange Shrinking Parents, written and illustrated by Zeno Sworder during Book Week. This is a beautiful story of a boy’s parents traveling to a foreign country to improve their son’s life. They appear to shrink in the eyes of their child but ultimately reveal themselves as giants when it comes to their love and sacrifices.

We concluded with a group discussion and a high tea (cakes, bickies, and tea/hot chocolate) to celebrate the themes in this award-winning book.

Australian School Library Day

 Our library promoted and celebrated Australian School Library Day in the middle of Book Week.The purpose of Australian School Library Day is to celebrate and highlight the wonderful variety of things that school library staff do - especially those things that may normally be ‘hidden’ from view but are so essential to the far-reaching web of impact that the school library has in a school. By raising awareness of the benefits of a well-resourced and suitably staffed school library we hope to ensure that future generations enjoy them as well.

Our school community was invited to share how our library and library staff have helped them by adding their responses to sticky notes on our information board and a survey was created to gather further feedback. Students who participated in the survey were placed in a lucky draw for a $10 canteen voucher and a fiction book of their own choice to keep.

Our survey revealed that our students valued the following attributes of our library and service:

•    It’s a warm and cosy place

•    It’s a safe place

•    Friendly library staff

•    Books

Jack Alphey 8E was super excited to receive his lucky draw prize for the Australian School Library Day survey.

Jack chose Paws, Friends Are What Happen When You’re Making Other Plans by Kate Foster. It is about an autistic boy struggling to make friends at school. His only friend is his pet dog, Kevin, who he enters into a PAWS Dog Show in an attempt to win friends over. 

Wear it Purple Day

Our library offers a welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for the entire school community.