Volume 30 Issue 26 27 Aug 2021 19 Elul 5781

Primary News

The Children’s Book Council of Australia theme for Book Week 2021,‘Old worlds, new worlds, other worlds’, is apt given Book Week has been celebrated this year in a manner never experienced before.

In our ‘new world’ this week, Primary School students viewed books from the CBCA shortlist being read aloud by famous Australian authors, actors and comedians. They then voted in a live poll to decide which shortlisted book they thought should win. Philip Bunting’s quirky tale about a quokka, Not Cute! was the outright favourite. There were also daily heartfelt readings by members of the Primary Executive who shared some of their favourite picture books with the students.

This week also saw Emanuel Primary School students inhabit an ‘other world’ where books are shared online. One where stories could be replayed and experienced multiple times. With each reading, something new may be gained from the text; another aspect of the illustration noticed, new vocabulary and concepts learned and the opportunity for students to fully immerse themselves in the story. Years 3-6 responded to texts by creating their own ‘Book Collages’ and ‘Books in a Bag’, which were extremely creative, with students scouring their home environments to find objects to represent characters, settings and events in their chosen text. The students in Years K-2 enjoyed being part of an audience for Perform Education’s ‘Book Week in Schools’ livestreamed musical, Bigger, Better, Brighter.

Throughout e-Manuel Learning, students have adapted and participated enthusiastically in the online activities planned to celebrate all things ‘books’ and have connected with exceptional Australian texts via Storybox Library. We are delighted to announce that as part of our ‘new world,’ we will be introducing a system of borrowing from the Primary School Library just in time for the holidays. Details will be communicated to parents next week.

By Samantha Rogut – Head of Library & Information Services K-6