At front from left to right - Jack, Tyrese, Keira, Molly, Elle, Abel, Rachel (holding book), Taylah (behind), Alicia (holding book), Summer, Sekellah, Ebony (behind), Violet (front) and Jasmine. At the back - Jules Cole (Parent Engagement Lead), Jo Osler (Principal), Melanie Turner
Melanie Turner (parent) and Ezzy at the book swap donation point
Melanie Turner (parent) and Ezzy at the book swap donation point
Danielle (behind), Tyrese, Keira (behind), Abel (behind), Violet (front), Allison (glasses), Annabelle
Two of the driving forces behind the innaugural Warragul North Book Swap Fair - parent Melanie Turner and student Danielle Cooper
Warragul North Primary school celebrated Book Week last week with its inaugural "book swap fair".
The brainchild of a group of parents, students and teachers, the book swap was an opportunity for all students at the school to browse books in a shop-like setting and take some home for themselves.
School council member Jules Cole and parent Melanie Turner were major driving forces behind getting the initiative up and running. Jules said as well as it being part of the school's strategy of encouraging the enjoyment of reading, it also was a perfect fit with Warragul North's sustainability group which aimed to reduce waste across the school.
Melanie said success of the swap day was thanks largely to the donations of parents and the community of the hundreds of books on display. "We've been so grateful for all the donations of books we have received from families and local community groups," she said.
Principal Joanne Osler said apart from the fun and great memories of being able to come in and select books for free, the book swap fair was a vital new part of the school's literacy strategy.
"Especially since COVID we have learned that kids need to be offered many different ways to gain a love of literature and books," said Joanne. "Aside from our library and classroom teaching, initiatives like today aim to create a love for books and to encourage students to be 'active learners' in selecting books that they are interested in."
Year six student Danielle Cooper also was a big driver of the event and said the school had conducted a raffle with prizes to those who donated books for the day. "Five raffle prizes will be drawn and awarded to some of the people who donated for our book swap," she said.
Joanne said the looks on students' faces when told they could just take a couple of books home without having to pay anything was one of the most fun parts of the day. "We are taking the approach that it takes a village to foster students' love of learning, and seeing the looks on the kids' faces today has been proof of the book swaps success."
