Kaelene McCaull, Head of Primary and Director of Teaching Development
One of my favourite activities as a teacher is reading to my class. There is something special about sharing a book with others that makes it more enjoyable than simply reading it on your own. Story-telling is a powerful way of sharing the narrative of our lives, passing on knowledge and thinking more deeply about the world around us.
The theme for this year’s Book Week here at Kuyper is ‘Reading is Miraculous: Share the Miracle of Reading’. Our book week celebrations in Week 4 offer us an excellent opportunity to share what we love about reading and the books we enjoy. However, this year, we want to share the miracle of reading beyond the boundaries of our school gate.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of joining Year 11 on their service learning trip to Vanuatu and visiting the Child Care Centre (CCC) school in Port Villa. Immense importance is placed on reading as part of learning in Vanuatu. CCC teaches its students to read and speak English because they believe this will give their children more opportunities to break away from the poverty they often experience. Reading books in English is a vital part of their learning, just as it is here in Australia, but they have very few reading resources. Their library is a small room filled with ‘retired’ books donated by libraries in countries like Australia instead of throwing them away. Many of them were old and tattered with a distinctive brown paper look about them.
CCC is building a new school in Teouma, roughly 20km inland from Port Villa, and Kuyper will partner with CCC Teouma from 2025. How wonderful it would be if we could help fill their new library shelves with books that we love here in Australia—bright, colourful books that excite, share information, and tell wonderful stories.
I am inviting you and your children to take part in this opportunity to share the miracle of reading with our friends in Vanuatu. We are asking every primary school student to donate one book to the library at CCC Teouma. This should provide a collection that appeals to all age groups and help the students in our partner school in Vanuatu grow in their learning. God has richly blessed us through our access to education and reading. We hope that we can encourage our students to serve others with the blessings they have received.
‘The Wandering Bookseller’ will hold a bookstall at school on Wednesday, 21 August, in conjunction with our Book Week Celebration and Book Parade. We encourage you to purchase a book to donate to CCC Teouma on the day. Alternatively, students can bring a new book to donate anytime during Book Week, and we will arrange for them to get to Vanuatu.
Students have been encouraged to talk with their parents about what would be appropriate for them to donate. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kmccaull@kuyper.nsw.edu.au
Thank you for your support in sharing the miracle of reading!
Find out more about our Book Week Celebration here.
