2025 – Our Year of Hospitality : Welcoming All

At this time of the academic year, our Library hears both the murmurs of VCE study and the up-beat conversations as each exam ends. We take this opportunity to wish our Year 12s every happiness and success in the future; we will miss your contagious energy and friendly faces in the Library!

Navigating Social Media Influence on Student Reading Choices

Social media platforms like TikTok – especially communities such as BookTok – are increasingly shaping the fiction reading choices of young people. While it’s wonderful to see students enthusiastic about books, many titles trending online may contain themes or content that aren’t always age-appropriate. Students often select books based on peer recommendations or viral popularity, which may not align with their maturity or comprehension levels.

We encourage parents and carers to stay informed and involved in their child’s reading journey. A great resource is Common Sense Media, a non-profit site offering detailed reviews of books, movies, apps and games with age-based ratings and content breakdowns. Other helpful reading and literacy sites include The Children’s Book Review, Australia Reads and Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA).

Our school Library actively uses Common Sense Media and regularly discusses book choices with students, including how and where they discovered their selections. We value working in partnership with families to ensure students are reading material that supports their development and is appropriate for their age and understanding. Please feel free to reach out to our Library team if you’d like support or recommendations.

Library ‘End of Year’ Borrowing

As we wind down our very busy Library for 2025, we have some very timely reminders for students to return, re-borrow or borrow their books for the holidays. We very generously allow an (almost) unlimited number of books to read and borrowing times are now extended to the first week back of 2026.

As exams conclude, all students, especially our out-going Year 12s, also need to return all library books and resources including dictionaries and laptops.

Reflections on Reading

As a lead into choosing their summer reading, the Reading Connections students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have been busy this term reflecting on what they have been reading in 2025 by writing book reviews. Some are showcased here. All the reviews written are indicative of the depth and breadth of literature that our students are engaging in and reflecting on.

Reasons to write a book review:

• To help build a database of reviews that all readers will benefit from when considering what to read next
• To reflect on the aspects of the book you liked and didn’t like
• To contemplate the importance of what the author brings to the reader
• To grow as a reader and a writer

Here are some examples of book reviews:

Year 7

I just finished reading ‘Powerless’ by Lauren Roberts, and I really liked it! The story is about a girl named Paedyn who lives in a kingdom where everyone has magical powers except her. People think she’s weak because she doesn’t have powers, but then she has to compete in something called the Purging Trials, which is like a dangerous game where only the strongest survive. The book is full of action and some romance too, which made it really exciting to read. I liked how Paedyn never gave up, even though things were really hard for her. It made me think about how important it is to believe in yourself, even if others don’t think you’re special. Some parts of the story were a little predictable, like you could guess what might happen next, but the characters felt real, and I cared about what happened to them. The world Lauren Roberts created is cool because it’s full of magic and danger, but also friendships and love. Overall, I would definitely recommend Powerless to anyone who likes fantasy stories with a mix of adventure and romance. It’s easy to read and really fun! I’m curious to see what happens next because it’s the first book in a series.   – Evie

Year 8

‘You Don’t Know What War Is: The diary of a young girl from Ukraine’, by Yeva Skalietska, is a story about Yeva and her grandma who were escaping from the war in Ukraine. From the first day when the war started, Yeva was writing a diary where she was writing everything that was happening with her and Yeva’s grandma. There was a lot of shooting, explosions and bombs. Yeva and her grandma were moving places many times and going to other cities. Two weeks after the beginning of the war, Yeva and her grandma decided to leave Ukraine. Yeva and her grandma make their way across Ukraine, through Budapest, and then to Dublin. The big idea that Yeva brings to her readers is ‘until you’ve been there, you don’t really know what war is.’  – Sophia

Year 9

‘The Way of Dogs’ by Zana Fraillon is a touching and emotional story about loyalty, survival and friendship. The book is told from the point of view of Scruffity, a scruffy street dog who dreams of belonging to a boy of his own. The story follows Scruffity’s journey from a life of hardship to finding love, loss and hope again. What makes this book unique is that it’s written in verse so the sentences are short and poetic, which really helps you feel what Scruffity feels. Fraillon does an amazing job of showing the world through a dog’s eyes. You can sense Scruffity’s joy when he plays, his fear when he’s alone and his love for the boy he bonds with. The language is simple but powerful, and it makes you think about how animals understand the world and the people around them. One of the main messages of the book is about kindness and how every living thing deserves love and care. It also shows how humans and animals can help each other heal. Some parts are quite sad, but they make the story more meaningful. Overall, The Way of Dogs is a beautifully written and emotional book that makes you think deeply about loyalty, love and what it means to belong. I would recommend it to anyone who loves animals or stories that make you feel something real. I really enjoyed the book and I rate it a 9 out of 10.  – Gisele

Season’s Greetings from the Library

Our Library team – Angus Pearson, Katie Albrecht and I – would like to warmly wish all of our students, parents and staff a safe and joy-filled Christmas and holiday season; may it be filled with delicious food, family and literary delights! We look forward to engaging with the College community in 2026.

Joyce Sendeckyj

Head of Library and Information Services