From the Primary School Library

The Primary Library continues to provide an “ever expanding” range of experiences and opportunities to promote a love of literature and learning.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) was launched at SCEGGS for the very first time in February. The girls in Kindergarten to Year 2 are completing the PRC at school, whilst the older students are encouraged to independently read 20 titles. Although the participants have until mid-August to finish, it is astonishing to see so many early completions! Congratulations to Susanna Brown, Lucinda Carroll, Mia Castro, Harriet Chandler, Jessica Grace, Viola Heery, Octavia Kirchner, Aerin Murphy, Anara Murugesan, Audrey Park, Alisha Zahid, Charlotte Lowe, Jasmyn Pearson, Elizabeth Teoh, Josephine Wheater, Sara Girgis and Scarlett White, for their enthusiasm and speed in the Challenge. The PRC aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to promote and experience quality literature.

It was thrilling to receiving an invitation from the State Library to nominate a student-judge for the panel of the 2021 Russell Prize for Humour Writing. The Russell Prize for Humour Writing is awarded to the best humorous book in Australia. For the first time ever, an award is being given to the author of a funny book for primary-aged children. Congratulations to Caitlin Cameron for being selected as the SCEGGS representative on the judging panel for this prestigious award.

A competition to “Match the Teacher with their Bookshelf” was far more difficult than anticipated; although Ms Permezel’s bookshelf was easy to identify due to the presence of her gorgeous cat! Incredibly, Klementine Chylek and Lulu Holt managed to pair all the teachers to their bookshelves with a very simple “secret” strategy!

A highlight of last week was Introducing the Make a Book Trailer competition to the Year 5 & 6 students! Organised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, this optional extension activity is to be completed outside of school time. However, a series of lunchtime sessions will be conducted over the coming weeks for those girls interested in gaining a greater insight into the requirements of the competition. A Year 3 & 4 category is also available for the younger students. Further information is available here.

Attending the Sydney Writers’ Festival at the Sydney Town Hall later this week, will be a fantastic opportunity for the Year 5 & 6 students to connect with their favourite authors and be inspired to discover new ones. We are looking forward to presentations by, Jessica Townsend, the fantasy writer behind the record-breaking Nevermoor series; current NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year, award-winning poet and author, Kirli Saunders; much-loved children’s author, Emily Rodda; and the creative duo behind the popular Real Pigeons series, Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood. Hopefully we will return to school with our arms full of books signed by these impressive authors!

Karen McBride
Primary Teacher Librarian