A selected group of Stage 3 students, attended the inaugural CBCA's A Lunch with the Stars - a wonderful celebration of books, stories and creativity!

Throughout the day, students enjoyed exciting book trivia, listened to inspiring talks from authors and illustrators, took part in interactive draw-alongs and collected plenty of signatures from their favourite storytellers.

We were very fortunate to share our tables with two incredible authors, Debra Tidball and Clayton Zane Comber, who generously shared their stories, answered questions and inspired our young readers and writers.

The fun didn’t stop there! Students also joined in a table centrepiece competition, with one of our groups crowned as the winner! And a special congratulations goes to Samma, who won a prize in the illustrator Tom Jellett’s draw-along.

A huge thank you to the CBCA, our authors and illustrators and all involved in creating such a memorable day for our students.

Our Teacher Librarian, Mrs Brien, surprised our Stage 2 students with an incredible opportunity​ - where they meet international bestselling author Jeff Kinney via ZOOM!

Jeff Kinney is the creator of the much-loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and he gave our students a special guided tour of his studio, all the way from America! It was an unforgettable experience that left our students absolutely buzzing with excitement!

Each year, CBCA Book Week brings schools across Australia together to celebrate the joy of reading and the richness of Australian children’s literature. In 2025, the theme was ‘Book an Adventure’, running from August 16th to 23rd.

The stunning theme artwork, created by illustrator Jess McGeachin, encouraged students to set sail on new journeys through the pages of a book.

At Gregory Hills Public School, our Book Week celebrations were full of excitement! We were delighted to host author duo Kate and Jol Temple, who entertained and inspired students with their lively stories. Other highlights included our much-loved book character dress-up day, the bustling Scholastic Book Fair, and engaging author ZOOM sessions. A special highlight was our Stage 3 students attending the CBCA Book of the Year Awards Ceremony, an unforgettable chance to see Australian literature celebrated on a national stage.

Thank you to our wonderful school community for making Book Week 2025 such a memorable adventure!

As part of our 2025 Book Week celebrations, we had the pleasure of welcoming award-winning author duo Kate and Jol Temple to our school on Wednesday, 20th August.

Kate and Jol delighted students with their humour, energy, and engaging storytelling, bringing to life some of their much-loved books including Bin Chicken, The Underdogs, Frog Squad and Trashy Tales. The visit was filled with laughter, fun, and plenty of inspiration, making it a truly memorable experience for all.

Students also had the opportunity to have their books signed and cherished meeting the creators behind the stories they love. It was a wonderful highlight of our Book Week celebrations!

Our annual Book Character Dress Up Day was a colourful celebration of imagination and reading! Students and staff filled the school with favourite storybook characters – from classic heroes to new favourites. The creativity and enthusiasm on display made it a joyful highlight of our Book Week celebrations.

In the lead-up to Book Week 2025, a group of 18 students had the exciting opportunity to travel with Mrs Brien and Mrs Dreon to the State Library of NSW to attend the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards Ceremony.

Students experienced the official announcement of the winning books across six categories and enjoyed listening to engaging discussions from authors, illustrators and industry experts. From page-turning adventures to thought-provoking stories and even live cartooning, the day offered fascinating insights into the world of Australian children’s literature.

It was a truly inspiring experience for our budding readers and writers – and a wonderful way to begin our Book Week celebrations.

What a wonderful day we had yesterday, celebrating the joy of reading together! Our school proudly took part in this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime event , joining over 2.2 million students across 16,000+ locations to read 'The Truck Cat' by Deborah Frenkel, illustrated by Danny Snell.

Our K-2 students gathered in the library for a shared reading and a fun, guided cat drawing activity, while our Years 3–6 students enjoyed the story in their stage groups and also unleashed their creativity through art.

A big thank you to all the students and staff for making this such a special event! Our Teacher Librarian Mrs Brien even dressed up as Yacoub the truck driver! What a fantastic way to celebrate books, storytelling, and imagination!

What an unforgettable day with the incredible Tim Harris! Our Stage 1 students had the best time laughing along to his quirky stories and meeting the author behind some of their favourite books, including the Ratbags series and This is MY Book!

Tim shared his creative process, inspiration and a whole lot of fun with our students, leaving them even more excited about reading and writing! A big thank you to Tim for visiting and signing books, making this day so special for our young readers!

On Monday, 3rd March 2025, all our Year 3 and 4 Students plus 5 Blue Tongue were lucky to have author Kristin Darell come to visit our school. During library lessons, students have been exploring her ‘Taronga Presents’ book series and researching animals found at Taronga Zoo.

Kristin brought her books to life with bucket loads of energy, enthusiasm and warmth, which made the session so engaging. She had the students hanging on her every word and it was wonderful to see them so captivated and inspired. Our students also found out that our very own Teacher Librarian, Mrs Diana Brien, was written into one of Kristin's Taronga books as a book character - Diana, Head of Education, Taronga Zoo (Book 4: Night Owls). How cool is that!

Kristin’s ability to connect with young readers, share her journey and encourage their own storytelling was incredibly special. It’s not every day that young readers get to meet an author who will surely make a lasting impact. The visit has sparked a buzz about her books, which we will enthusiastically keep building upon during our library sessions.