2023, Term 3, Edition 9 - Casey Grammar School

Book Fair

Monday 31 July until Thursday 3 August

Reading at home is a great way to escape to a new world. Having a selection of books within reach can help children to engage in reading more easily. Book Fair is one way that you can increase the selection of books available to your child at home. Students are always welcome in the library to borrow books but owning books and having them on display and accessible is very different and a great way to relax, regulate and rejuvenate. It can also help to develop their language, reading and comprehension skills. The choices available through Book Fair are mainly for Junior School Students and Years 7 and 8. However, all Senior School students are more than welcome to look at the selections before and after school. They may find items for themselves or as gifts for others.

Book Fair will be running from Monday 31 July until Thursday 3 August. The process is very similar to last year. All Junior School Students will:

Have a library session during Monday – Wednesday where they will be allowed to look at all the books available and write a wish list.
Take the wish list home to show their parents or guardians.
Parents or guardians will be able to log on to the Book Fair website (instructions are on the wish list) to purchase some or all of the books on the list.
Clearly mark on the wish list which books have been paid for and fill out the back of the wish list with payment details.
Student brings the wish list into the library. If we have the books available, they will be packed and delivered to your child’s classroom. If they need to be placed on backorder, they should receive the books in their classroom within 1–2 weeks.

Purchasing of books is not compulsory. Students will be reminded that they may not be able to purchase all or any of the ones on their wish list and that is ok. There will be other opportunities like future Book Clubs or next year’s fair. The process of looking through books and making selections is still a fun one.

This year the library will be open before school (8:00 am – 8:35 am) and after school (3:15pm – 3:45 pm), Monday 31 July – Thursday 3 August if parents, guardians, or students would like to have a look at the books on offer. Please do not enter the library outside of these times to look at Book Fair books as it can interfere with scheduled classes. Payments must still be made online (QR codes will be available to help with the process) and library staff are always happy to help. This may be a way to view the books your child has selected on their wish list before you make a purchase to see if they are suitable additions to your collections.

If you have any questions about the process or Book Fair in general, please do not hesitate to contact me either via phone by calling reception or via email at library@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au.

Book Week Activities

Book Week is coming soon and there are many activities that have been planned to give every year level a way to celebrate the amazing Australian authors and illustrators that have created books that our kids at Casey Grammar love to read. They have been spread over all of August to ensure that we can include as many students as possible. They will be happening during their regular class time at school.

Book fair	31 July – 3 August	Junior School Students (Senior School students optional)	Book fair is an opportunity for students to walk through a mini book shop set up in the library. The books are mainly for Junior School students but there may be some Senior School students who are interested. Senior kids may look before school and after school if they would like, and make purchases online.
Perform Education	Wednesday 9 August	Foundation – Year 2	Perform Education is a group that writes a play which incorporates a selection of the CBCA shortlisted books. Students will have heard many of these in their library classes leading up to the performance.
Lucinda Gifford	Monday 14 August	Year 3 – 6	Lucinda is an author and illustrator of many popular Australian books including The Wolves of Greycoat Hall, Duck Duck Moose and Chicken Divas. She will run workshops with Years 3 – 6 students which looks at story creation, adding emotion to animal characters and some illustration tutorials.
Ren Alessandra	Wednesday 16 August	Year 9 Workshop for selected students	Ren is an Australian Slam Poet. She was the 2020 Australia Slam Poet Champion. She likes to illuminate the nuances of Italian immigrants and her work often pokes fun at the stereotypes whilst celebrating where she is from. She also has many pieces focusing on advocacy for women’s rights. She will be doing a presentation to all Year 9 students as well as a writing workshop with selected students across all senior year levels. Please get in touch if you think some of your students would like to be considered to take advantage of this opportunity.
Book Week Dress Up	Friday 25 August	Everyone	As a conclusion to the week, we will have a dress up. Both Junior and Senior School are dressing up, which should be a colourful celebration of characters.
Will Kostakis	Monday 28 August	Years 7 and 8	Will is an Australian author who has written many books including The First Third (currently studied at Year 8), Sidekicks, Rebel Gods and We Could Be Something. He will be talking to our students about his writing process, inspiration for stories and looking at The First Third in more detail.

As with every year, there is a dress up day for all students in both Junior and Senior School. This is another way to engage in discussions about who their favourite author is, what their most loved book is, why they enjoy particular themes in books, and my favourite, what they should read next if they enjoyed a book. The dress up costumes represent a character. They don’t need to be elaborate or expensive to show you love a character. If you are looking for easy examples there are many children in books that wear conventional clothes. Often Halloween costumes can be tweaked to align with a book. Amazing things can be created out of cardboard boxes and glue. Children themselves can have a go at crafting or it can be a fun weekend activity to do together. However, I want to reassure families that the aim is to celebrate reading and not the expense of a costume. Children are welcome to bring their book containing the character they are dressing up as, but do not need to. They can also borrow that book from the library (if it is available). If they choose to bring their own, please make sure they are clearly labelled so they don’t get mixed up with other books.

Diana Thompson
Head of Joan Reid Resource Centre

Book Fair

Monday 31 July until Thursday 3 August

Book Fair will be running from Monday 31 July until Thursday 3 August. The process is very similar to last year. All Junior School Students will:

Have a library session during Monday – Wednesday where they will be allowed to look at all the books available and write a wish list.
Take the wish list home to show their parents or guardians.
Parents or guardians will be able to log on to the Book Fair website (instructions are on the wish list) to purchase some or all of the books on the list.
Clearly mark on the wish list which books have been paid for and fill out the back of the wish list with payment details.
Student brings the wish list into the library. If we have the books available, they will be packed and delivered to your child’s classroom. If they need to be placed on backorder, they should receive the books in their classroom within 1–2 weeks.

If you have any questions about the process or Book Fair in general, please do not hesitate to contact me either via phone by calling reception or via email at library@caseygrammar.vic.edu.au.

Book Week Activities

Book fair	31 July – 3 August	Junior School Students (Senior School students optional)	Book fair is an opportunity for students to walk through a mini book shop set up in the library. The books are mainly for Junior School students but there may be some Senior School students who are interested. Senior kids may look before school and after school if they would like, and make purchases online.
Perform Education	Wednesday 9 August	Foundation – Year 2	Perform Education is a group that writes a play which incorporates a selection of the CBCA shortlisted books. Students will have heard many of these in their library classes leading up to the performance.
Lucinda Gifford	Monday 14 August	Year 3 – 6	Lucinda is an author and illustrator of many popular Australian books including The Wolves of Greycoat Hall, Duck Duck Moose and Chicken Divas. She will run workshops with Years 3 – 6 students which looks at story creation, adding emotion to animal characters and some illustration tutorials.
Ren Alessandra	Wednesday 16 August	Year 9 Workshop for selected students	Ren is an Australian Slam Poet. She was the 2020 Australia Slam Poet Champion. She likes to illuminate the nuances of Italian immigrants and her work often pokes fun at the stereotypes whilst celebrating where she is from. She also has many pieces focusing on advocacy for women’s rights. She will be doing a presentation to all Year 9 students as well as a writing workshop with selected students across all senior year levels. Please get in touch if you think some of your students would like to be considered to take advantage of this opportunity.
Book Week Dress Up	Friday 25 August	Everyone	As a conclusion to the week, we will have a dress up. Both Junior and Senior School are dressing up, which should be a colourful celebration of characters.
Will Kostakis	Monday 28 August	Years 7 and 8	Will is an Australian author who has written many books including The First Third (currently studied at Year 8), Sidekicks, Rebel Gods and We Could Be Something. He will be talking to our students about his writing process, inspiration for stories and looking at The First Third in more detail.