23 August 2019
Reading is my Secret Power was the theme of this year’s Book Week and the Junior School celebrated the joy of reading in style! At the annual assembly traditionally held on the last day of Book Week, Junior School Chair, Lucy Taranto, with the help of Year 6 leaders, invited staff and students to the stage to share their favourite character from a book. The assembly was followed by a delicious morning tea that included the amazing Book Week cake made by Kylie from Cake Creations.
The TM Hall was filled with colourful displays and each student from Pre-Kinder to Year 6 was given the opportunity to announce their character in a lovely parade. The Junior School staff chose characters from The Dress-Up Box by Patrick Guest and Nathaniel Eckstrom, for their Book Week characters.
Following are some comments from the students:
“Paige and I played together and I was a fox like my name. At assembly, we went onto the stage for the first time and spoke into the microphone,” said Kinder student, Scarlett Fox.
“CBCA Book week was great fun! I have never been to a Book Week like it. Everyone’s costumes were amazing and I loved the cake decorations - it was so delicious! I can’t wait to go next year, thank you Mrs Denman!” exclaimed Year 5 student, Chloe Atkins.
“My favourite thing was seeing my Year 6 book buddy, Audrey, on stage!” exclaimed Kinder student, Paige Overeem.
“Book Week was awesome! I really enjoyed it and I loved how we got to pair up with our Kinder buddy!” commented Year 6 student, Ava McGlone.
“I liked the crayon costume that the Year 6 girls wore and I liked when Mrs McTaggart read The Dress-Up Box and all the staff were dressed up as the characters in the book,” said Year 4 student, Camilla Cox
Junior School Librarian, Mrs Meg Denman, said, “Children’s Book Week at Fahan is always a highlight in the School calendar and this year’s celebration was no exception. Wizards and witches, superheroes and princesses were spotted, amongst all-time favourites such as Roald Dahl’s Matilda, Lewis Carroll’s Alice, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. This afternoon, one of our Year 4 students, Sophie, drew a picture with the caption, “A Whole New World Lies in a Book.” I think this reflects our students’ deep love of reading and would be an excellent theme for a future Book Week!”
Children’s Book Week is Australia’s longest running children’s festival in Australia – the first Book Week celebration was held in 1946. Winners of the prestigious Book of the Year awards for 2019 were also announced.
There are six categories in The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards and this year’s winners were:
CBCA Book of the Year - Older Readers: Between Us by Claire Atkins
CBCA Book of the Year - Younger Readers: His Name was Walterby Emily Rodda
CBCA Book of the Year - Early Childhood: Tricky’s Bad Day by Alison Lester
CBCA Picture Book of the Year: Cicada by Shaun Tan
Eve Pownall Award: Sorry Day by Coral Vass
CBCA Award for New Illustrator: Grandma Z by Daniel Gray-Barnett
