We recently had two teams compete in the Sunshine Coast Regional Readers Cup Competitions. The Readers Cup is organised annually by the Queensland Branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia and aims to bring children and books together. It includes competitions across Year 5/6, Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 where students are challenged to read widely, work collaboratively and develop their love of reading. Our teams had loads of fun along the way, meeting regularly to encourage one another and to prepare for the event. It was wonderful to see students rise to the challenge of student-led preparation for the event as no adult coaching is permitted for the Readers Cup Competition.

The following teams are to be commended for representing the College with excellence and for showing the GREAT values in their preparations and collaboration as a team.

Year 5/6

Charlotte Collins 5M
Sarannah Leary 5M
Jakob Gregory 6G
Micah Matthews-Frederick 6G
Jordana Bayliss 6W

Year 8

Isabella Buckland
Oliver Geeves
Lotty Kelly
Isabel Smith
Olivia Watson-Brown

Year 5/6 Readers Cup Reflections:

“The reason I like the Readers Cup is because we get to read lots of books and answer questions about them. When we went to Immanuel Lutheran College for the competition we were all super excited! When we got there, Pamela Rushby, one of the authors of the books we had to read, was there. She wrote The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle.  We also found a QBD book sale. Pamela Rushby was the Quiz Master and asked us the questions for each of the books we read. “ Sarannah Leary, Year 5

“My favourite thing about the Readers Cup Competition was the experience of being in the Readers Cup team and being able to help everyone. It’s just like a big LitPro quiz!” Charlotte Collins, Year 5

“This year at the Readers Cup competition, I liked reading the books. It was great to re-read them and quiz each other on them. I also enjoyed working together as a team and competing against other schools.” Jordanna Bayliss, Year 6

“I think, aside from the reading, the games in between each round were fun at the Readers Cup Competition. My favourite book was Eliza Vanda’s Button Box by Emily Rodda. Meeting Pamela Rushby was another interesting part of the Readers Cup. Thanks to QBD books I was able to buy my new favourite book, Skander and the Unicorn Theif. ” Jakob Gregory, Year 6

“My favourite book was the Mummy’s of Crumblin Castle by Pamela Rushby. I really enjoyed the games at the competition and meeting Pamela Rushby who was the quiz master for the event.” Micah Matthews-Frederick, Year 6

GCC families can see all the photos on Pixevety in this album.

Year 8 Readers Cup Reflections:

Our Year 8 team were eager to make the most of preparing for the Readers Cup amidst a busy term of learning and other extracurricular activities. With the experience of the 2021 competition still fresh in their mind, they were aware of the ‘marathon’ challenge of reading five novels and worked hard as a team to be ready for the excitement of this year’s event.

The best part of being on the Readers Cup team:

• The excitement of the competition on the night. The Year  8 Team
• All the different types of books we read. Lotty, Isabel, Oliver
• Representing GCC at the Regional Competition. Isabella, Olivia

The best thing about reading is…

• Feeling like you are in another world and like the ‘real’ one is standing still. Lotty
• Being able to escape. Isabel and Isabella
• Getting lost in the book and in the main character’s mind – I love it when the story comes to life! Olivia
• It improves your focus, memory, empathy and communication skills. Oliver

The students involved in the Readers Cup all agree that reading is worth the effort. From this year’s competition reads, they highly recommend the following books for a great holiday read:

Three favourites for the Year 5/6 Readers Cup Team included:

• The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle by Pamela Rushby. This novel is a quirky mix of historical fiction and fantasy set in Victorian England and Ancient Egypt in 1873.
• Emily Rodda’s fantasy adventure novel Eliza Vanda’s Button Box changes the life of a character called Milly, who is thankful that life will never be the same again.
• We are Wolves by Katrina Nannestad is a heartbreaking novel sharing the untold story of the Wolfskinder, German children left to fend for themselves in the final days of World War II.

Pony by R.J.Palacio is a captivating story that was voted a top favourite by the Year 8 Readers Cup Team. To listen to a great review, watch this clip!

Listen to this BookTour for a great review of  The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks.

For more about Across the Risen Sea, listen to  Bren MacDibble the author as she shares an introduction to the novel.

If you are looking for a great recommendation for holiday reading, check out the displays in our library, speak to one of the Library team or ask one of our Readers Cup students who will have lots of fantastic suggestions. Holidays are coming… We hope you have lots of opportunities to escape into a great story!

See you at the Library

Vanessa McKellar and Beryl Morris, Teacher Librarians