Book Week Celebrations

This term at the CalCC Library, we have been gearing up for one of our favourite events of the year – Book Week! Book Week is a special celebration of Australian stories, authors and illustrators, coordinated by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA). This year was an extra special milestone as Book Week marked its 80th birthday, making our celebrations even more meaningful.

In the lead up to the week, students have been engaging with the CBCA shortlisted books, either during lunchtime sessions in the library or through classroom visits. We were all excited to see the winners of the Book of the Year Awards, as chosen by the CBCA judges, announced at the costume parade. It was a joy reading these wonderful stories together and to see those that became College favourites.

On Tuesday, we gathered for our much-anticipated Book Week Costume Parade. The parade was colourful, creative and lots of fun! Thank you to all the staff and students who dressed up so enthusiastically and a very special thank you to the parents and carers who helped with costumes behind the scenes. Students also had the chance to join in on a Book Week photo shoot in the library during lunchtimes, capturing their amazing costumes with friends.

We also held our Book Week competitions this term, and we are delighted to announce the winners:

• Colouring Competition Winners: Bethany and Aria
• Adventure Island Art Competition Winner: Anina
• Adventure Island Art Competition Runners-up: Nina and Aria
• Adventure Poetry Writing Competition  Winner: Hannah

Congratulations to all of these talented students!

Throughout the week, we ran a variety of lunchtime activities inspired by the Shortlisted books. Students enjoyed a mono-printing art class inspired by Bridget Farmer’s I am a magpie, I am a currawong; they dashed around on a Where’s Wally hunt; did spider crafts inspired by the shortlisted book Spiro by Anna McGregor, as well as colouring, storytelling and games.

The celebrations aren’t over yet! Next week, our Kindy to Year 3 classes will come together for the Book Week Musical, Treasure Hunt, by Perform Education. This exciting show incorporates some of the CBCA Shortlisted books and is a wonderful way to keep the Book Week spirit alive for our youngest readers.

Of course, the reading fun doesn’t stop with Book Week. We continue to add new books to our library collection all the time and we encourage students to keep the excitement alive by starting a new reading adventure soon. Don’t forget that Scholastic Book Club Issue 6 is also running now, with online orders due by 5 September.

Finally, we want to remind students that the library is always open for reading, research or study. We love welcoming students into the library, chatting with them about their reading and helping them discover their next great book.

— Mrs Sarah Porter