Book Week at St Michael’s is an annual highlight in the School calendar and students and staff alike look forward to coming together to celebrate reading and literature.
The theme of CBCA’s Book Week 2019 was ‘reading is my secret power’, and at St Michael’s we chose to celebrate reading as a powerful strength which provides us with windows and access to lives and perspectives which are diverse and different to our own.
Celebrating the act of reading and connecting it to fun is important to signal the value and power of reading in the development of our capacity to comprehend and communicate.Head of the School, Mrs Terrie Jones
The St Michael’s Literature and Research team organised an incredible range of interactive and engaging displays, activities and workshops for students in Kindergarten to Year 12 to celebrate Book Week.
“Book Week is a wonderful opportunity for students across the School to re-engage with reading,” said St Michael’s Literature and Research teacher, Ms Bryony Horrocks. “It was particularly exciting to see students in the senior years enjoying the author readings and then borrowing these books from the library.”
Read more about all our fantastic Book Week activities below!
Kindergarten to Year 6 Book Parade
The annual Book Parade, where all Kindergarten to Year 6 students come to School dressed as their favourite book characters, is a highlight for students in the junior years.
This year, there were some outstanding costumes from both students and staff including our very special panel of judges; Mrs Nicole Ginnane, Mr Gerard Houlihan, Mrs Terrie Jones and Mr Glen Hayres.
We were also delighted to have so many parents and special friends join us to watch the parade.
I loved being in the parade. I was Spiderman!Rio, 4 Year Old Kindergarten
A number of awards for outstanding costumes were given on the day.
Most original costume: Prep student Noah as The Magic School Bus
Best handmade costume: Year 3 student Felix as a Wonka Chocolate Bar
Head of the School award: Year 6 students Arabella and Leila as the Cow Who Jumped Over The Moon
Best group costume: Year 3 who all came as characters from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Best staff costume: Year 6 teacher Mr Tom Bergin as The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Shared Reading Breakfast
There was a wonderful atmosphere in Dolly’s Café as a large crowd of students, parents and staff gathered for the annual Shared Reading Breakfast.
Mrs Terrie Jones was our guest story time reader and read the joyful book, ‘All the Ways to be Smart’ by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys. The story teaches children that there are lots of ways to be smart and celebrates individual strengths and all the different, unique ways to be smart.
There was also many books to read and activities for students to do with their families and special friends.
“The breakfast was a great opportunity for the School community to come together to celebrate reading,” said St Michael’s Literature and Research teacher, Ms Fiona Spellman. “I was thrilled to see a number of parents of older students also reading alongside their children.”
Author readings and workshops
This year we were fortunate to have three authors visit the School to speak to students in both the junior and senior years.
Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 were enthralled by Lucinda Gifford’s reading of her picture storybook ‘Dogasaurus’ and enjoyed creating their very own story with Lucinda.
Author Nova Weetman shared her story of becoming an author with students in Years 3-6, and young adult fiction writer Lili Wilkinson spoke to students in Years 7-9 and ran a writing workshop with Year 10 students.
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Author Lili Wilkinson running a writers workshop with Year 10 students -
Children's author and illustrator Lucinda Gifford reading to our 4 Year Old Kindergarten students
Year 10 student and keen writer Hannah attended the writing workshop and enjoyed the experience of working with a published author.
“I found it really interesting. Lili spoke to us about how to develop a story and create characters,” said Hannah. “I learnt a lot in the workshop which I think I’ll be able to use in my own writing.”
Soft Toy Sleepover
The annual soft toy sleepover is an exciting event for our Prep and Year 1 students who bring one of their favourite soft toys to School for a sleepover.
The students dropped off their toys in the afternoon, and when they returned the next morning to collect their toys they were surprised to discover their toys had been very cheeky during their sleepover.
Prep students picking up their toys
Competitions
A number of competitions were held throughout Book Week including the annual Book Mark competition, a Makerspace Lego competition, the Blackout Poetry competition, and lunchtime Kahoot competitions for students in Prep to Year 6.
We would like to acknowledge the efforts of our Literature and Research team for the extraordinary work they do to organise our Book Week celebrations. We are thankful to the team for sharing their passion for all things books with us. We are already looking forward to Book Week 2020!
