Literacy

St Roch's Reading Challenge Update

As we enter our final week of Term 3, our St Roch’s Reading Challenge is coming to an end and what an incredible reading achievement it has been. Together, we have now read an amazing 2,235 books!

The competition between classes is heating up, with Year 2 and Year 3 currently leading the way, while Year 5 are very close behind. There is still time for classes to make a final push, so make sure every book counts.

The book registration link will close this Friday. The winning students and classes will be announced and prizes awarded at our first Tune In Tuesday in Term 4.

A huge thank you to our students, teachers and families for encouraging, supporting and celebrating a love of reading throughout the challenge. Your enthusiasm has helped make this such a wonderful whole-school reading experience.

We hope everyone keeps the pages turning over the holidays!

A Symphony of Stories at St Roch’s

There was music in the air, rhythm in our feet and stories coming to life as we celebrated Book Week 2026 at St Roch’s!

On September 1st, our school came alive with colour, creativity and imagination as students and teachers transformed into characters from their favourite books for our annual parade. This year, we embraced the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s theme, ‘Symphony of Stories,’ celebrating the way stories make us imagine, wonder and feel, taking us on journeys far beyond the pages of a book.

It was wonderful to see our students proudly parade their costumes, from popstars and superheroes to magical creatures, villains and much-loved storybook characters. Thank you to our students for bringing such excitement and enthusiasm to the day, and to our families for the time, creativity and effort that went into creating so many wonderful costumes.

This year, our staff dressed as the animals from Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. We chose this story for its beautiful message, which we truly believe at St Roch’s: everyone is special, we don’t all have to do things in the same way, and sometimes we simply need to find our own song and our own way to shine. A huge thank you to our wonderful staff for embracing the spirit of the day and being willing to get up and dance. You certainly made the celebration one to remember!

It was a wonderful reminder of the important place books hold at St Roch’s. Through stories, we can travel somewhere new, meet different characters, discover new ideas and let our imaginations soar. Most importantly, we hope days like this continue to nurture a lifelong love of books and reading.

A sincere thank you to our students, staff and families for helping make this year’s celebration such a success. It truly was a day when stories, music and imagination came together in perfect harmony!

The Great Book Swap

Throughout the day, each class participated in The Great Book Swap, raising an incredible $187.70 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which supports literacy and access to books for children and families in remote First Nations Communities across Australia. Students were spoilt for choice with the wonderful range of books donated and eagerly enjoyed selecting a ‘new’ book to take home. It was wonderful to see our students experience both the joy of reading and the generosity of giving. Thank you to everyone who donated books and helped make the swap such a success!

Rachel Gray

Literacy Instructional Coach and Leader

Mathematics Instructional Coach and Leader