Library News
Book Week 2026: Symphony of Stories
This year we presented a jam-packed program for Book Week. We had a lot of fun dreaming up activities in response to the ‘Symphony of Stories’ theme.
Read It! And Chill transformed the library into a collection of genre-themed reading nests, with students settling in with a book while listening to playlists specially curated by the SRC. At Rep It! Book Badges, students created badges celebrating favourite books, authors, genres and current reads, while Crank It! Hole Punch Music gave students the chance to compose their own tunes and hear them played on our hand-cranked music box.
Throughout the week, teachers participated in the Drop Everything and Read initiative, allowing them to share their favourite stories with students during the first or last five minutes of their sessions. Some students have since requested that their teachers continue the practice–they want to know what happens at the end!
Our Book Recommendation Bingo also brought books beyond the library, with staff taking over the warning-bell music throughout the week to share their reading recommendations. Students listened out for each recommendation and collected them on their bingo cards for the chance to win a prize.
Workshops with Mirranda Burton
A highlight of this year’s Book Week program was welcoming author, illustrator and graphic novelist Mirranda Burton to Elevation Secondary College. Mirranda spoke to students about her career, which has spanned work as an ‘in-betweener’ at the now-shuttered Disney studios in Sydney, to her most recent expedition working as a graphic journalist for Médecins sans frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Students were then taken through a six-panel graphic storytelling activity, wherein they took everyday contexts and experiences and rendered them into bizarre, magical and sometimes absurd comics.
Bookmark Design Competition
This year the Bookmark Design Competition had its strongest pool of entries to date. The winning designs showcased the creativity and imagination that students poured into their work and we look forward to getting the bookmarks back from the printers in Term 4. The winners were announced at a presentation in the library, which was opened by members of the lunchtime choir singing ‘Young and Beautiful’ by Lana del Ray. Thank you to Maddy, Ava and Leena for your performance and to Ms Ballat for your work with the choir.
The overall winner of the competition was Asra from Year 10, whose digital rendering of the subcutaneous symphony of muscles at work in the human body was exceptional in both concept and execution. The runners up were Karanbeer Year 9, Maryam Year 9, Janna Year 10 and Jancee Year 9. Congratulations to all our winners.
Ellen Stephens
Library Manager