Book Week is a celebration of stories, imagination and creativity, but helping children love reading isn't just something that happens during one week of the year. The good news? It doesn't take expensive resources or hours of extra time. Often, it's the small, recurring habits that make the biggest difference.
1. Let them see you read
Children are more likely to value reading when they see the adults around them enjoying it too. Whether it's a novel, magazine, recipe or newspaper, showing that reading is part of everyday life helps build positive attitudes towards books.
2. Read together, even after they've learnt to read
Many parents stop reading aloud once their child becomes an independent reader, but shared reading continues to support vocabulary, comprehension and a love of storytelling well into the primary years. It also creates moments to connect and talk about ideas.
3. Give children the freedom to choose
Not every child will be drawn to classic novels, and that's okay! Graphic novels, comics, fact books and magazines all count. When children can explore topics they're genuinely interested in, reading becomes something they want to do rather than something they have to do.
4. Make reading part of everyday life
Ten or fifteen minutes before bed or reading together after school helps establish reading as a regular habit. Consistency matters more than long sessions.
5. Talk about stories
Asking simple questions like "What surprised you?" or "Who was your favourite character?" encourages children to think more deeply about what they've read. These conversations also help develop confidence and comprehension.
6. Celebrate curiosity, not perfection
Children don't need to finish every book they start or read at the same level as their peers. The goal is to nurture confidence and enjoyment. When reading feels positive, children are more likely to keep coming back to it.
Wondering how schools help children become confident readers?
At Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD), engaging literacy experiences, dedicated teachers and well-resourced libraries help students build the skills and confidence to thrive as readers and learners.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
-
06 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Heavenly Father, You entrusted Your Son Jesus to the care of Joseph, an earthly father. Bless all fathers and father figures as they care for their families. Give them strength and wisdom, tenderness and patience. Support them in their daily work, and let Your face shine upon them with grace and peace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. ๐๐ป Wishing all the special men in the Holy Family community a happy Fatherโs Dayโญ๏ธ๐โญ๏ธ04 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ A special morning celebrating all the incredible people who take on the role of a father in our childrenโs lives! ๐ We started our morning with a delicious Fatherโs Day Breakfast, bringing our school community together for smiles, laughter and precious moments shared with the special dads, grandfathers, stepdads and father figures who mean so much to our students. ๐ณโ๏ธ๐จโ๐งโ๐ฆ We then gathered for a beautiful Fatherโs Day Mass, giving thanks for the love, guidance, support and encouragement our dads and father figures provide each day. ๐โจ Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make our morning so special. ๐ Happy Fatherโs Day to all our amazing dads and father figures! ๐๐ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
More News
06 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Heavenly Father, You entrusted Your Son Jesus to the care of Joseph, an earthly father. Bless all fathers and father figures as they care for their families. Give them strength and wisdom, tenderness and patience. Support them in their daily work, and let Your face shine upon them with grace and peace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. ๐๐ป Wishing all the special men in the Holy Family community a happy Fatherโs Dayโญ๏ธ๐โญ๏ธ
04 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ A special morning celebrating all the incredible people who take on the role of a father in our childrenโs lives! ๐ We started our morning with a delicious Fatherโs Day Breakfast, bringing our school community together for smiles, laughter and precious moments shared with the special dads, grandfathers, stepdads and father figures who mean so much to our students. ๐ณโ๏ธ๐จโ๐งโ๐ฆ We then gathered for a beautiful Fatherโs Day Mass, giving thanks for the love, guidance, support and encouragement our dads and father figures provide each day. ๐โจ Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make our morning so special. ๐ Happy Fatherโs Day to all our amazing dads and father figures! ๐๐ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ ๐ฆ Year 2 Goes WILD! ๐๐ง Today, our Year 2 students headed off on an exciting adventure to SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium and WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo! ๐๐ฆ From discovering incredible underwater creatures ๐๐ข to getting up close with some of Australiaโs amazing wildlife ๐ฆ๐จ, our students had a fantastic day of learning, exploring and making memories together! ๐โจ What a WILD day for Year 2! ๐๐พ๐
01 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Celebrating Our School Community, Safely ๐ You may begin to notice some changes in the way we share photos of our students on our public social media pages. We love giving our families a glimpse into school life and celebrating the learning, achievements, friendships, faith experiences and special moments that make our community so wonderful. However, as technology continues to evolve, particularly with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and the ways images can be accessed, altered and shared online, we are becoming increasingly mindful of how we share identifiable images of our students publicly. Our studentsโ privacy and online safety must always come first. Donโt worry, our socials arenโt disappearing! We will continue to celebrate all the wonderful things happening across our school, from learning and sporting achievements to liturgies, excursions, performances and special events. You may simply notice fewer full-face or individually identifiable photographs of students appearing on our public social media pages. ๐ฑ Families wonโt miss out! More photos and special moments will be shared directly with our families through Compass, providing a more appropriate space for us to celebrate and share our studentsโ experiences. The way we share may be changing, but there will certainly be no shortage of wonderful things to celebrate. ๐ Thank you for supporting us as we continue to navigate an ever-changing digital world while keeping the safety, privacy and wellbeing of our students at the centre of our decisions. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
01 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ Support Staff Appreciation Week ๐ Today we celebrated our amazing support staff and the incredible difference they make every day. From supporting learning and navigating big emotions to offering encouragement and care, they are such an important part of our Holy Family community. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
28 Aug 2026
Our schools are cracking the reading code
Do you remember how you learned to read? For a vital skill that is linked to all other learning, itโs surprisingly difficult to explain how to go about learning it.
27 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ถ๐ A SYMPHONY OF STORIES! ๐๐ถ Today, our school was filled with characters, creativity and a whole lot of BOOK WEEK MAGIC! โจ๐๐ญ In celebration of Childrenโs Book Week 2026 and this yearโs theme, โSymphony of Storiesโ, our students brought the pages of their favourite books to life! ๐ Just like a symphony brings together different instruments to create something wonderful, stories bring together different characters, voices, adventures and ideas to create a world of imagination. ๐ถ๐๐ซ From magical creatures and courageous heroes to much-loved storybook characters, our school was certainly making some beautiful literary music today! ๐งโโ๏ธ๐ฆธโโ๏ธ๐ป๐ A huge thank you to our wonderful families and staff for helping make today such a special celebration of the joy of reading. ๐ ๐ถ Every story has a voice. Every book has an adventure. Together, they create our Symphony of Stories! ๐โจ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
25 Aug 2026
From Facebook
In Maths, Year 2 has been learning about 2D shapes ๐. We explored the language of quarter-turns, half-turns and full-turns ๐. We used the Beebots ๐ to strengthen our understanding of the language and compared it to the clock โฐ to discuss clockwise and anticlockwise. Check out our Year 2 mathematicians hard at work! ๐บ๏ธ Mapping Our Way! ๐งญโจ Year 3 students have been learning how to draw and read maps using legends and symbols! ๐๐ They have been practising how to use symbols to represent different features and using a legend to work out what each symbol means. ๐๐บ๏ธ Theyโre becoming confident little mapmakers! ๐โจ
23 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐โจ BOOK WEEK IS HERE! โจ๐ Get ready to celebrate Childrenโs Book Week 2026 โ Symphony of Stories! ๐ถ๐ We have a fantastic week ahead filled with books, imagination and plenty of fun, including our Book Performance, Book Fair, Author Visit, family picnic and our much-loved Character Parade! ๐ ๐ Thursday 27 August is our BIG celebration! ๐งบ 1:40pm โ Families are invited to bring a picnic blanket or cushions, find a spot on the grass and share a book with your child. ๐ญ 2:30pm โ Stay and enjoy our Character Parade on P2! Students are invited to come dressed as a favourite book character and donโt forget to bring your completed Character Profile with you! We canโt wait to see our school come alive with a Symphony of Stories! ๐๐ถโจ
20 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Year 1 students have been making their own promises as they begin to explore the meaning of a covenantโa special promise between God and His people. Through their promises, students are learning that covenants are about love, trust and keeping our promises to one another. ๐ Year 5 have been exploring the world of data! ๐ They have been interpreting a range of graphs and writing statements about what they noticed, before collecting their own real-time data by tracking how often they contributed to class discussions. ๐ฌ They will then use their data to create their own graphs and represent their findings visually! ๐๐
20 Aug 2026
Six Habits That Help Children Develop a Love of Reading
Book Week is a celebration of stories, imagination and creativity, but helping children love reading isn't just something that happens during one week of the year. The good news? It doesn't take expensive resources or hours of extra time. Often, it's the small, everyday habits that make the biggest difference.
19 Aug 2026
From Facebook
โ Vinnies Winter Sleepout โ Faith in Action โ Our students took part in a meaningful evening of prayer, meditation, learning and service as part of our Vinnies Winter Sleepout. Using Davidโs story and reflected on how quickly and unexpectedly people in our community can be one crisis away from homelessness. Students shared a simple meal of soup, a bread roll, fruit and water, before gathering in our Holy Family Prayer Garden for a Liturgy of the Word, where they led us beautifully in prayer and song. We finished the evening with a team-building challenge, constructing our own shelters. While this was a fun experience for us, it carried an important message, for many people, finding a safe place to sleep is not a game or a choice. It helped our students finish the night with a deeper sense of gratitude, compassion and responsibility to care for others. Through our Faith in Action initiatives, our Holy Family community has raised $1,277 so far to support the vision and mission of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW and the important work they do supporting people experiencing hardship and homelessness. Thank you to our students, families and staff for continuing to put our faith into action.๐ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Vinnies Australia
15 Aug 2026
From Facebook
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mary is being taken body and soul into heaven. The Assumption reminds us that Maryโs life was a perfect โyesโ to God, and because of that, she was drawn fully into His glory body and soul. It is a feast of hope. Her Assumption is not only a moment of triumph; it is a promise. A promise that holiness is not wasted, that love is not forgotten, and that every faithful โyesโ is gathered into eternity.
12 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ง BAKE SALE SUCCESS! ๐ง What a sweet success! ๐ A huge thank you to our generous teachers for donating delicious treats and to our wonderful students for showing up and supporting our Vinnies Bake Sale. Together, we raised an incredible $454 for our Winter Sleepout! ๐โจ Every cupcake, cookie and donation is helping us shine a light on homelessness and put our faith into action. ๐ฏ๏ธ๐ #Vinnies #WinterSleepout #FaithInAction #ShiningALightOnHomelessness Vinnies Australia
11 Aug 2026
From Facebook
๐ Year 5 Reward Day! ๐งขโฝ๏ธ Our first reward for following our school expectations! ๐ Year 5 enjoyed a fun-filled session at the local park, kicking off their reward with football skills, teamwork and plenty of energy! ๐ณโฝ๏ธ๐โโ๏ธ A well-deserved morning of mufti, movement and fun! ๐๐