Each year across Australia, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) brings children and books together to celebrate Book Week. During this time, schools, libraries, booksellers, authors, illustrators and children collectively acknowledge Australian children's literature.

Book Week, a highlight on the school calendar, runs this year from Saturday 18 August to Friday 24 August, themed "find your treasure", to inspire the celebration of Australian children’s books and reading.

Leading up to Book Week, the students at St Paul's, Albion Park have been reading a selection of the shortlisted books together during their library time and participating in engaging activities - like daring to walk the plank! - connected with their favourite stories around this year’s theme.

The students have also had the opportunity to enter a number of fantastic competitions available at their school ahead of Book Week, with the winners to be announced during the school's Book Week assembly on Friday 24 August.

Some of the competitions have included:

• Discover my treasure competition, where the students were asked to creatively describe and present something they treasure more than gold, and to provide a photo of their treasure and a description of why the particular treasure is important to them.

• The 'Colleen Easton Writing Competition', referencing their school Principal, where the students were asked to write and illustrate a short fictional story, with the theme of “treasure”. The stories needed to be produced in a book format with a cover, with attention given to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.

• Guess the treasured staff member competition, where students were asked to guess the staff member in a collection of 'mystery' photos on display in their school library.

• Guess the Book Week winning books competition, with students able to make their own predictions about which shortlisted book might win!

Principal, Colleen Easton shared, “Each year, I sponsor the ‘Colleen Easton Writing Competition’ to encourage students in all stages to win a prize. The competition is proving to be bigger each year, with many writing entries of all text types. I am so blessed to have such enthusiastic writers at St Paul's.”

Further organised activities will include a game of trivia, to be held on Tuesday 21 August. The trivia teams will be organised by the students themselves and must consist of 6 students, with 3 students from infants and 3 students from primary.

St Paul's celebrations will culminate with the much anticipated assembly and annual dress up parade, with a BYO picnic ahead, where families have been invited to join their children for lunch. 

For the parade, the students have been asked to explore inside the pages of their favourite books, to attend school dressed as either: a much loved book character, something to do with this year’s theme, or as a character from one of the shortlisted books - such as a Viking from “Boy”, a bee from “How to Bee” or a ballerina from “Swan Lake”.

Each grade will parade their creations through the school hall, with Kindergarten to also perform a song. The selected ‘best dressed’ students will be announced at the assembly.

Additionally, the hard-working staff at St Paul’s may look to add some humour to conclude Book Week 2018, with an innovation of "Cinderella" at the assembly.

Extending the focus beyond Book Week, on Tuesday 28 August the infants classes will be treated to a special visit from a local librarian.

St Paul's and all our Catholic school communities across the Diocese are looking forward to enjoying a 'treasured' Book Week, fully embracing this year's theme!