Packs prepared to help Victoria’s newest school students to thrive at school

Every Victorian child starting at a government school this week will begin with a new library bag and bundle of books to help them “spark the joy of reading”, Victorian Minister for Education James Merlino announced late last week. 

The bags have been delivered to more than 1,200 schools, ready for the 60,000 children who will start school in Victoria this week. 

Alongside the books, the bags contain valuable information and resources for families, and fun activities for prep students to complete, a water bottle, ruler, and some stickers. 

The Australian books included in the bag were selected by an expert panel of teachers, librarians and literacy experts, including:

• Silver Buttons, written and illustrated by Bob Graham
• The Dress-Up Box, written by Patrick Guest and illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom
• Where is Galah?, written and illustrated by Sally Morgan
• Hello from Nowhere, written by Raewyn Caisley and illustrated by Karen Blair
• Edward the Emu, written by Sheena Knowles and illustrated by Rod Clement.

The quality of the characters, illustrations and use of language in these books will help families to engage their children with reading and literature, Mr Merlino said. 

The picture on the front of the bag is the work of Ana Lívia Maiorino, who won a competition to design this year’s bag. Her design aims to encourage prep students to make new friends and learn new things on their first day of school.

Mr Merlino noted the importance of starting school in the lifetime of a child and their family, saying the Government provided the bags because “every child in every classroom, regardless of their background, deserves the best chance to succeed”.

For more information about the Prep bags, please see here.