From pages to parades: Malabar Public School turns stories into smiles

Not even rain could dampen the enthusiasm of students and staff at Malabar Public School, who yet again brought colour and creativity to their annual Book Week parade.

From fairytale heroes to modern classics, they proudly showcased costumes inspired by their favourite stories.

The variety of characters on display highlighted the school’s strong culture of reading and imagination, but one theme stood out in particular – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

With golden tickets, a Willy Wonka or two and colourful Oompa-Loompas galore, the Roald Dahl classic proved to be a favourite with students this year.

And it wasn’t just the children having all the fun. Malabar Public’s teachers impressed the crowd yet again with their creative interpretation of characters from Rick Riordan’s series of children’s books about Percy Jackson and his exciting adventures.

The parade was simply scrumdiddlyumptious, and a golden ticket to lots of fun!

Bankstown South Public School hosts alumni author

Bankstown South Public School was delighted to host author Samera Kamaleddine at its special Book Week celebration.

Samera is a former student whose debut young adult novel Half My Luck was published after it won the Matilda Prize in 2020. Her middle-grade novel, The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart, was shortlisted for the 2024 CBCA Book of the Year Award.

Samera is also a proud alumnus of Padstow North Public School and Picnic Point High School.

Keira High School’s parade

Keira High School was buzzing with characters on Friday, from Scooby-Doo and the Seven Dwarfs to roaming dinosaurs, as students celebrated Book Week in style.

Usually reserved for primary schools, the event was embraced enthusiastically by Keira High, with students and staff dressing as their favourite literary figures.

Principal Scott Frazier, who came as Bram Stoker, praised the excitement and joy the event brought, quoting Dr. Seuss on the power of reading.

"We've seen primary schools do book week activities, and it's wonderful to have so many of our students relishing the opportunity to have some fun, think about books, and talk about reading,” he told the Illawarra Mercury.

"As Dr Seuss said, 'The more books you read, the more you'll know, the more you know, the more places you will go'.”

Costume judging was handled by Mount Ousley Public students, with Year 12 student Emily Grimshaw winning for her portrayal of Izzy the Ice Cream Fairy.

With more participants than expected, the parade was a vibrant celebration of stories, imagination, and community spirit.

Zoe Foster Blake helps Sydney Children’s Hospital School celebrate

Sydney Children’s Hospital School had a visit from Zoe Foster Blake, author of countless books including the children's hit ‘No One Likes a Fart’.

Zoe popped in to speak to students about writing and was thrilled to get to know staff and students, and learn about the importance of hospital schools.

“What an excellent and essential service for kids who can’t attend school,” Zoe said.

Principal Sarah Hillyer was excited to welcome Zoe and other high profile authors including Rawa Arja and Jonathon Weiss who made Book Week very special for the Hospital School patients.

“It was absolutely fantastic to have such a rich and exciting program for our students to mark Book Week."

“We are so grateful to the amazing authors who took the time to visit our school. It was an exciting week for students and teachers alike,” Ms Hillyer said.

Uber Eats? It’s Uber Reads at Blaxland High School

There was not only a book character parade at Blaxland High School, but library teacher Ms Rolfe packed more than 100 books into paper bags with ‘cuisines’ from crime to romance and everything in between. For a gold coin donation, students could pick up their Uber Reads order containing a secret book.

It was an incredibly popular initiative with all books/orders picked up and hundreds of students in the Lower Blue Mountains discovering what could be their new favourite book.

Cranebrook High School farewells Book Week Champion

At Cranebrook High School, Book Week is always a highlight on the calendar. Instead of a traditional book parade, the library is dressed up on theme, with Art classes, Support classes and library staff working together to bring it to life.

In the lead-up, students read and review the shortlisted titles, create book trailers, colour, write poems, and design themed bookmarks. Each activity earns points, with the top scorer crowned Book Week Champion. Prizes are awarded across all categories, recognising effort and creativity.

The celebrations continued throughout the week with daily events, including the much-loved Book Chat where students and staff shared reviews over a spectacular cake.

This year was particularly special, marking the 25th and final Book Week for Ms Susan Pitt, long-serving teacher librarian, who retires at the end of August. A wonderful send-off for a tradition that has brought joy, creativity, and a love of reading to our school community.

Pre-schoolers parade too!

Pre schools across the state also donned their costumes and dressed as their favourite book characters, with Where’s Wally, to a range of witches and even Dorothy complete with Totos proving popular costume choices.

Batemans Bay Public School hosted the local students of Mundurra Public Pre School where they joined in on the Book Character Parade fun.

“The preschoolers love visiting the primary school and Book Week makes it so exciting for them. Being dressed up as their favourite characters and being able to join their siblings and the older kids is such a positive experience that helps make the transition to school so much easier,” said teacher Elisha Rosevear.

Queanbeyan Public School’s library steals the show

Queanbeyan Public School’s library committee truly outdid themselves for Book Week this year, transforming the library into a magical wonderland. From Oompa Loompas to a soaring hot air balloon, every corner was bursting with colour and creativity, giving students plenty to marvel at as they stepped inside.

"There are so many different children, and there's a book character that belongs to every child,” said Teacher Librarian Frances Handley.

"If children feel that the library is a safe place and that books are fun, then that’s what children will want to do. They will want to learn,” Ms Handley said.

Adventure central at Lidcombe Public School

At Lidcombe Public School, Book Week was all about adventure. Inspired by the Children's Book Councila of Australia’s theme, students were invited to “book an adventure” by exploring some of the school’s extracurricular clubs during lunchtime. The space outside the library was transformed into a lively town square, buzzing with activities and discovery.

On Thursday’s much-anticipated dress-up day, students stepped into LidComicCon, where members of the Comic Club showcased their very own creations to their peers. Throughout the week, other clubs took centre stage too, with the Newspaper Club, Eco Club and Chess Club all sharing their talents and passions.

Doors judged at Kingsgrove North

Kingsgrove North High School held a faculty door decorating competition as part of Book Week.

Each faculty chose an adventure book and transformed their door into a creative display inspired by the story. Students then had the fun task of judging the doors, bringing plenty of excitement and friendly competition to the week.

Author visit at Seven Hills High School

At Seven Hills High School, Book Week was packed with excitement and creativity. Students were inspired by a visit from author Gabrielle Tozer, who not only shared her stories but also led a hands-on creative writing workshop that sparked plenty of new ideas.

Later in the week, the energy hit a high with a CosPlay and Trivia event, where students showed off their costumes, tested their book knowledge, and celebrated their love of stories together.

Newcastle High School teacher-librarian delights as Mrs Frizzle from The Magic School Bus

Teacher-librarian at Newcastle High School, Elisabeth Porreca-Dubois, has had great success in helping students see themselves as regular readers.

Her methods include supporting students in preparing their own personal reading goals for a full semester, whether that’s the number of books read, the type of book or perhaps a subject they are interested in. The students are also supported in measuring how they have succeeded before preparing the next semester’s goals.

One successful strategy has been encouraging students who might not be habitual readers to use graphic novels (comic strip format) as a springboard to higher level and more consistent reading.