From the Library...

Symphony of Stories was the 2026 for Book Week theme and at Box Hill High School we always celebrate this week in style.  

Write a Book in a Day 2026 

426 students from Year 7 through to Year 12 took part in the 2026 Write a Book in a Day event. This was 127 students more than in 2025 and equated to 56 teams and 56 books all between 3500 to 5000 words that were created, illustrated and published all in support of the Kids Cancer Project.  

Students worked in teams of between 5 and 10, for 12 long hours to create fabulous stories all while developing their teamwork, time management and creativity skills. And despite the intense pressures of the day, students left buzzing and exceptionally proud of what they had achieved. 

Due to the big uptake this year, this event was run over 6 days, and we would like to send a massive thank you to the staff who signed up to support the students and help ensure that this event could run. All books are available in our school library and were uploaded to the Kids Cancer Network website where they will be published digitally and available to kids in hospitals around Australia.   

Book Week 

We celebrated this year with two visiting authors. After two years on the waiting list, we welcomed the great Morris Gleitzman; author of the Once series, Two Weeks with the Queen and many other incredible books. 

This event was open to all students, and many turned up to have their own books signed, get a photograph and ask questions of the great man himself.  

We were also so lucky to welcome Ange Crawford, author of the book How to Be Normal that was longlisted by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) for Older Readers in 2026. 

The 25 students who attended Ange’s workshop were captivated by the presentation and her advice on how to start the creative writing process. Students were guided how to use zines or small notebooks to grab the inspiration that flows all around us and how to combat writer’s block.   

Children’s Book Council Awards (CBCA) Shadow Judges 

We also celebrated the students who volunteered to be Shadow Judges this year. These students signed up to read and meet regularly to chat about the 6 books that were nominated in the older readers category and the 6 books nominated for the younger readers category. Using the official judging criteria, students met to chat about how the books met each of the criteria before deciding which book they believed should be crowned Book of the Year.  

In the Older Readers category, the official winner was Darkest Night, Brightest Star by Barry Jonsberg which was a joint winner for our own Shadow Judges this year. The other notable book that was loved by our students was Golden by Jade Timms. 

Book Week Winners  

On Wednesday 26th August we held our annual morning tea, indulging in caramel slice and celebrating our top readers in every year level as well as those who took part in the 2026 Symphony of Stories Reading Challenge.  

The top reader from each year level received a $50 voucher from QBD books while the overall top reader for 2026 as well as our top participant in the 2026 Symphony of Stories Reading Challenge received a $50 voucher from QBD. 

We also gave out beautiful new books to the top 6 readers from each year level.  

A huge congratulations to our 2026 winners 

Recipients of a $50 QBD gift card 

• Year 7 – Isaiah C 
• Year 8 –  Sattwik G 
• Year 9 – Aashi A 
• Year 10 – Nat M 
• Year 11 – Mia F 
• Year 12 – Tanishi S 
• Overall top reader – Year 8 student Jabez S who read 245 books this year 
• Symphony of Stories Reading Challenge – Sarisha S  

Victorian State Jigsaw Puzzle Competition  

On Tuesday 1 September, BHHS hosted the first ever ‘school only’ event for the 2026 Victorian State Jigsaw Puzzle Competition.  

Twenty-three teams from both primary and high schools came to Box Hill High School to compete against each other to be the fastest team of 4 to complete a 500-piece puzzle for high schools and 300-piece puzzle for primary schools.   

 The defending State Champion team from our very own Box Hill High School; Victoria S, Chloe K, Gemma S and Millie F were once again crowned the 2026 Victorian State Jigsaw Puzzle Champions. They beat out 11 other teams to complete their race in a time of 42 minutes and 38 seconds. 

This was followed by the wonderful success of another BHHS team with Diya A, Evelyn S, Celeste B and Rebecca H coming in second with a time of 52 minutes and 04 seconds. 

A huge congratulations to both teams and our two other teams from Box Hill High School. 

We are very proud of them all. We would also like to thank 4th Knox Scouts for the loan of their tables to allow us to run the event.  

And finally, a massive thank you to everyone who comes into the library space and makes it the fabulous place that it is. 

This month we got to put our fabulous readers and library patrons front and centre, and reinforce why reading and the power of stories not only supports our academic studies but also, promotes creativity and just to be, all round better humans. 

Keep Reading, 

Emily Collins, Kylie Pearson and Ying Yu