We are privileged to be part of a community that supports a strong reading culture and would like to extend our gratitude to the College community for partnering with us as we celebrated Book Week. The staff dedication and community support of these events contribute to the excitement and engagement of students and provide memorable moments that promote the importance of reading quality literature for everyone, at any age.
The themes of hope, friendship, belonging, culture and empathy in this year’s notables and shortlisted titles allowed us to ‘step into stories’ and dream with eyes open. From treasure hunts to parades, character days and special reading events, competitions and author and illustrator visits, students were immersed in a fabulous range of fiction and non-fiction books. Congratulations to all CBCA Winning and Honours Authors, Illustrators and Publishers for 2022. We had so many favourite titles and enjoyed celebrating the winners together.
GCC families can see all the photos here on Pixevety.
Primary Competition Winners
We are pleased to share with you the winners of the Primary Book Week Competitions. Thank you to everyone who sent entries in. Special thanks to the Year 3-6 Book Club team for working so hard over many weeks to share their favourite books, find book trailers and prepare QR codes and questions for the Treasure Hunt.
| Colouring Competition | |
| Prep – Year 2 | Noah Coumi 2M and Eva Hart 2W |
| Year 3-4 | Evie Waskow 3G and Ashley Orchard 4G |
| Year 5-6 | Eadie Townsend 6G |
| Decorate a Boomerang | |
| Prep – Year 2 | Jacques Doyle 2G |
| Year 3-4 | Isa Jinson 4W |
| Year 5-6 | Amber Steven-Jennings 6G |
| Illustrate a Bookmark | |
| Year 3-4 | Kaitlyn Allen 4W |
| Year 5-6 | Heidi Burnett 6G |
| Creative Writing – ‘Poetree’ | |
| Year 3-4 | Tilda Rooney 4G |
| Year 5-6 | Charlotte Collins 5M |
| Book Trailer Treasure Hunt | |
| Year 3 | Chloe Thornton Year 3W |
| Year 4 | Dylan Brandon Bryne 4G |
| Year 5 | Lilly Rawlins 5W |
| Year 6 | Indigo Hetherington 6M |
Primary Book Week Parade
Every year we are blown away by the wonderful costumes staff and students create and this year was no exception. From the classics to historical, imaginative, creative and colourful, we had them all. Students are to be commended for bringing along the book that inspired their costume and for showcasing such an amazing array of books and genres. Here are the Judges’ Awards from the Primary Book Week Parade.
| Year Levels/Group | Winners | Judges Comments |
| Prep | Prep White | Creativity |
| Year 1 – 2 | 1M | Participation |
| Year 3 – 4 | 3W | Enthusiasm |
| Year 5 – 6 | 6G | Creativity |
| Staff 1 | Year 2 Team‘Who you were made to be’ | Creativity |
| Staff 2 (Tie) | Year 4 Team – Bad Guys &Learning Enhancement Team Butterflies and Whale | Creativity & Enthusiasm |
Book Fair
Thanks to the generosity of our College community we sold $6567 worth of books at the Book Fair and earned $1970 worth of Book Fair Commission. We are busy cataloguing many new books and look forward to sharing them with students from next week.
Secondary Character Day
What makes a good book memorable? For some it is the interesting plot, for others it may be the unforgettable setting of the story but for the majority, it is undoubtedly the connection made with the characters that deepens our reactions and responses to a fantastic book. Memorable characters make a book come alive and draw us into the plot, keeping us keen to find out what will happen next. Stories that are part of a series give us the opportunity to connect with the character once again – we just want to know what is happening to them! And so in Book Week, it’s always exciting to see which characters our students will become for the day. This year, an abundance of energy and flair was displayed by our students on Character Day. Book Week 2022 will certainly be remembered for the creativity and characters that we saw as students moved about in their colourful costumes on the day. Tributes to childhood favourites were a key feature as well as groups of students teaming up to join in celebrating this event together. The first ever X-Factor Legacy Cup was also held during Book Week this year, with many star performances taking to the stage in character costumes with celebrations of performance and song. It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm and enjoyment across all the events!
GCC families can see all the Character Day photos here on Pixevety.
Book Week Breakfast
A shared love of reading and a passion for great writing and skilful illustrations connected together an excited group of secondary students, staff and special guests at this year’s Book Week Breakfast. Interesting conversations, excellent questions, together with amazing food were the key ingredients for this year’s event. Our special guests this year were Allison Paterson and Paul O’Sullivan who inspired us as they shared their stories and publication journeys.
Meeting an author or illustrator and chatting with them about their work provides insight into the challenges and triumphs of being a writer/illustrator and that dedication to this craft brings opportunities and connections that make it all worthwhile. Passion and dedication to their work is certainly a key characteristic for both Paul and Allison in developing their skills and pursuing their dreams. We look forward to seeing our current students ‘dream big’ and work towards achieving their goals and aspirations in the years to come. I look forward to seeing more of our students take their passion for writing to the next level – who will be our next GCC author/illustrator? An exciting opportunity awaits!
GCC families can see all the photos on Pixevety here.
Vanessa McKellar and Beryl Morris, Teacher Librarians