Library News

Library Stories

The library has been a busy place this term, with examinations being held in the space as well as our usual lunchtime activities. Breakfast Library was launched at the beginning of the term and is proving very popular. We also organised some fun Halloween activities, crafted for Remembrance Day and are currently organising a regular Dungeons & Dragons club – Thursdays at lunchtime - and short films to be screened each Friday at recess. 

Remembrance Day

For Remembrance Day this year we chose to focus our Maker Monday on animals that were involved in and impacted by wars. We crafted purple felt poppies as these are the symbol for the recognition of animals during wartime. 

This recognition has a long history, with The Dickin Medal, sometimes referred to as the 'animals VC', being instituted in 1943 in the UK to recognise acts of bravery and devotion to duty by animals during periods of war or conflict. 

During WW1, horses had a pivotal role transporting troops and hauling supplies, equipment and ammunition. More than 136,000 were sent to Australian troops. Only one returned home at war`s end, this was Sandy, and the book ‘Light Horse Boy’ tells Sandy’s story. Carrier pigeons proved essential as a means of passing messages, which were written on tiny pieces of paper and strapped to their legs. The pigeon`s success in reaching their destinations saved thousands of lives. Conflicts in the modern era, such as in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, Timor L`Este, Iraq and Afghanistan saw Australian dogs trained for the most supportive roles in assisting troops on the ground to avoid ambushes and IEDs. In Vietnam and Malaya dogs were mainly tracker dogs (Army) and Air Raid Alert and Airfield Defence dogs (RAAF) but in Iraq and Afghanistan they became important as Explosive (Ordnance) Detection Dogs and Combat Assault Dogs.

ALNF Breakfast Library

Our Breakfast Library is now running every Monday, Tuesday and Friday on the landing outside the library between 8.20 and 8.55am. A healthy breakfast is served, and books kindly provided by the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation are free for students to take home and add to their own library. 

We offer cereals, yoghurt, fruit, juice, milk, savoury wraps, cheese, eggs, baked beans, spaghetti and other delicious breakfast foods. It’s a wonderful way to start the day and great to see everyone coming up for a meal and a chat! Thank you to ALNF, who supply the food and books for this outstanding initiative. We will be offering Breakfast Library again in 2025 with two new book titles being offered each term.

ALNF also kindly donated some fantastic student packs this term, as you can see from the photographs, our KHS students were delighted with these!