Lindisfarne Primary School eNewsletter

BOOK WEEK CELEBRATIONS

Book Week is a valued celebration at Lindisfarne Primary School, as it allows us to share our passion and enthusiasm for books in a fun and engaging way. Every year we feel the anticipation building as Book Week nears closer and this year was no different. Conversations about favourite books and what people were dressing up as could be overheard in the playground and many students would share with excitement that they were keeping their costume a surprise for the parade. Students eagerly tried to guess what some of our staff would be dressing up as, as it has been a trend over the last few years for staff to dress up connecting to the book council’s annual theme.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) theme for 2022 was ‘Dreaming with eyes open…’ with the official Book Week art being created by Aboriginal author and illustrator Jasmine Seymour. The images are about country, dreaming, Australian animals, flora and fauna and embodies that dreaming belongs to all of us.

We tried to make our own connections to this year’s theme by engaging with activities that made us think about what it means to dream. We reached out to you, our school community, to have enough glass jars donated for all students from Kinder-Grade 6 to be able to create their own dream jar, a jar that would house what students dream about. We thank everyone in our community who made this project possible, from everyone who donated a jar to those who had boxes saved for a time where they were needed, without these donations this project would not have been possible. It was wonderful walking around all the classrooms and seeing a different take on the dream jars, as each one was personally designed and decorated by individual students. I was able to take the time to pull out some of the dreams inside and thoroughly enjoyed reading the diversity in what our students dream of. From owning a dog, to playing with friends and dreaming of a future where differences don’t separate people, it demonstrated that while we work with little people, they certainly already have big dreams.

Our staff aren’t shy about sharing their love of reading and Book Week provides a great opportunity for our staff to share in the fun and model to students that books are enjoyed by people of all ages. Every year our staff engage in a project that expresses their enjoyment and passion for books. Staff put some disguises on and hid most of their face behind a book in a challenging game of ‘Guess Who’. Photos were put on display in the library and shared on our school Facebook page. As soon as the display went up this became a popular area during library sessions with students trying to guess which staff member was who. After having a guess, students could pull down the bottom flap to find out who was behind the disguise. If you were playing along at home, have a look at the comments section of each photo to see if you guessed right.

Our Grade 5/6 Library Legends with the guidance and support of Sam, our Library Teacher Assistant, planned and organised activities for students to participate in over four recesses across Book Week. Activities included designing book marks as part of a competition run by Libraries Tasmania, colouring in special bookmark designs, completing word finds and watching a story being read and acted out. Our library was a buzz of activity and students enjoyed opting into the activities offered by our Library Legends. We thank them for being an important part of our Book Week celebrations and think they have been legendary leaders of our school! They were treated to a well-deserved hot chocolate this Wednesday to celebrate their success. We also recognise and thank Sam who continually goes above and beyond to provide opportunities for all students to access extracurricular activities that are fun and engaging and for providing our Library Legends with the platform to develop their leadership skills in such an important area of our school.

Undoubtedly the highlight for most of our students, staff and families is our Book Week Parade. This year saw a late change from our usual Picnic and Parade location on Loatta Oval, we moved to our Netball/Basketball Courts area where it was a bit drier and better protected from the weather. Students were incredibly excited and there was a real buzz around the courts as students eagerly awaited their turn to walk around and parade their costume.

We saw lots of colour; costumes that were bought, some that were made and some that were put together with some handy everyday items from home; there were popular characters like Harry Potter, Where’s Wally and Disney princesses and there were characters that we don’t see as frequently like the Saucepan Man, Jack with his Beanstalk and the Greatest Showman. . It was evident that we have a culture of enthusiasm and passion for books and celebrating Book Week, this was supported by seeing 95% of our students dressed up and participating in the celebrations. It was also great to look around and see such a great turn out of families who were able to come along to watch the parade and cheer our students and staff on as they made their lap around the courts. After the parade, it was great to get feedback from students, staff and families. If you did want to share your experience from the parade please contact me on the school number as we endeavour to take on feedback to make improvements to future Book Week celebrations. Here’s some of what was shared by our students as to what their favourite part of our Book Week parade was:

“Seeing the Kinder students in their costumes.”

“The parade was so fun and exciting.”

“The best part is seeing the younger students in their costumes at the parade.”

“I like looking for my favourite costumes.”

“Seeing everyone’s costumes is my favourite part.”

“Watching the Kinder's in their costumes, they are so cute.”

“I liked being up on the courts because I could see the costumes better.”

“I like going around the courts in the parade.”

Although Book Week is over for another year, we look forward to the upcoming announcement from the CBCA on next year’s theme and we know we have it all to look forward to again next year. I want to take the time to thank our family community for their support and encouragement, especially with ensuring that so many of our students were able to participate in dressing up for the parade. The additional effort it takes to resource, make, and put together costumes for one or more children on top of what can already be busy family lives is appreciated and hopefully it was obvious to you all how much joy and magic this brings to the children.

Sophie Sheehan

Advanced Skills Teacher