Write a Book in a Day congratulations!

Learning in the Library

Last term Santa Sabina students participated in Write a Book in a Day, where in 12 hours students write and illustrate a book for children in hospital to enjoy. 

Our junior team, Santa Force, comprised Emma Cooper, Lorelai Chung, Abby Deng, Scarlett Hoft, Annabelle Wong, Ishana Moore, Marie Lagis, Amelia Brogan and Lucy Middleton. Their book titled Withered Light, centres on the characters Araluen and Luke and is a story about the power of friendship and newfound family.

We are thrilled to announce that our senior team The Santa Scribes, Ruby Brannigan-Stuart, Hannah Chan, Tanvi Chava, Louisa Giugni, Laila Gregory, Frankie Martin, Sabine Santa Maria and Evelyn Touma, have been shortlisted for their book, A Diamond in the Dust.

The story follows the adventures of a little dingo who has ‘found herself far from home. In the heart of the Northern Territory, this story takes place in Uluru. She makes unlikely friends on her journey of self-discovery but also encounters a heartless pet groomer named Craig Bundtl who only has one thing in mind… The prize money in return for the dingo’s capture. Thankfully, she has Frank on her side, a grumpy shop owner with kind eyes who seems to have a soft spot for down on their luck dingos.’ (‘A Diamond in the Dust blurb).

The two works were spectacularly creative works. They can be found under WABIAD 2026 on the Veritas Online library page. This year WABIAD attracted 2477 teams from 572 schools who raised $1.26 million for childhood cancer research. Santa Sabina teams contributed $2839.00 towards this important cause. We are extremely proud of the commitment shown by all our participants and their families and friends.

Congratulations to the students for their outstanding effort and their mentor teacher Ms Marchetta. Winners will be announced on Thursday 12 November.

Author visit

Reading good books can help develop good writing skills. Exposure to good authors can help students develop an interest in reading.

On Monday 26 October, Gioia House students were visited by Sue Whiting, who talked about her writing process and her new book, Hill End Gold. She shared her love of books that started with reading Enid Blyton’s Famous Five adventures and that joyous moment of ‘finding the book that makes you want to read another’. Gioia House students were so excited to read Sue Whiting’s books, with all copies flying off the shelves.

Connecting reading and writing, Sue gave the students six photos and three minutes to collaboratively come up with their own stories. The students’ excitement was clear and the stories they created bode well for our next group of writers!