Author & Illustrator Gus GordonTeacher Librarian, Angela Hay, presides over a range of inspiring and engaging events across the Mount Keira Public School community. Links are made between Education Week, Literacy and Numeracy Week, Children’s Book Week and The KOALA Awards. On top of this the whole school participates in a Rich Task Program based on the CBCA shortlisted books. In a small school where staff have multiple roles everyone gets involved in reading, listening, talking, performing and participating in events both at school and in the wider community.

Here are some of the events this year:

Author/illustrator Gus Gordon, CBCA 2013 award nominee for Herman and Rosie, visited the school and addressed students. His funny illustrated stories have animals as the principle characters, something Gus attributes to his lifelong love for Kenneth Grahame’s classic, The Wind in the Willows.
The Book Week theme Read Across the Universe became a reality when students visited Wollongong Library to hear a special guest. Graham Morphett, from Minnamurra Rotary, talked about a program where books are donated to support literacy in developing countries. Both students and staff have supported this program with donations, a relationship they plan to continue.
Invited students and Mrs Hay were given the chance to meet many of their favourite authors at a Literary Lunch.
Earlier in the year students reviewed the KOALA Awards shortlisted books.
Book Speed Dating sessions with the CBCA shortlist books kick started student work on the whole school Rich Task: Sell that book!
Activities from dramatization to digital activities in the Rich Task culminate in choosing favourite books from the CBCA shortlist to nominate for the KOALA Awards 2014.
And just by the way, 100% of students have completed The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2013.

The Mount Keira Demonstration School community is doing exciting work making reading, books and authors fun and rewarding for kids, and also supporting Australian authors and illustrators, who keep on producing such stimulating works.

And supporting KOALA of course! Thanks, Mount Keira.

Mount Keira Demonstration School is a K to 6 public school in the Illawarra region of NSW. Visit their Library Page to find out more.

We would love to share your story about student reading activities, particularly ideas for incorporating the KOALA Awards or any other promotion of Australian literature. See the contact page for our details.