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Bulldogs and Young Academics team up for Book Week
Freya Lucas
Aug 22, 2024
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Early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider Young Academics have paired up with NRL team the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs to boost children’s literacy during Book Week through the ‘Share a Book’ campaign.
The ‘Share a Book’ campaign supports the work of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), and sees communities come together to donate books to those in need, and to take part in interactive literacy activities.A popular activity has been reading sessions hosted by Bulldogs players Toby Sexton, Jeral Skelton and Jake Turpin.
The Young Academics community of children, families and staff have all contributed to the campaign through donating new and used books to their local centres. The books will be distributed to schools, preschools and community centres in targeted regions across Australia, including Tennant Creek, Palm Island, Groote Eylandt, Kempsey, and Wagga Wagga.
The ALNF will use the books to create libraries within these institutions, allowing community members to borrow books freely, and encouraging personal home libraries.
As well as the ‘Share a Book’ campaign, Young Academics is hosting various literacy-based activities in its centres for Book Week, including the all important opportunity to dress up as a character from a beloved book.
Children also took part in arts and crafts sessions related to characters and themes from popular children's books, including Pig the Pug and Wombat Stew. Western Sydney-based children’s book author Nicky Mee also visited Young Academics’ Greystanes centre to inspire children with her stories, and to lead a workshop about writing and storytelling.
Encouraging children to read from a young age is vitally important, Jenni Gaffney, Director of Operations at Young Academics, said."The Grattan Institute recently found a third of Australian children cannot read proficiently,” she said.
“Addressing this issue early is essential, and a great way to engage young children is through their heroes, whether it’s those in the pages of a book, or those on the football field.”
“We hope that the Share a Book campaign fosters a love for books among the children at our centres, and plays a part in extending this vital and enjoyable skill to communities in need.”
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