BMG 2021 Grammarian Issue 3

5 At Bacchus Marsh Grammar, we strongly believe that building a positive reading culture is paramount to the continued success of our students. While we will always strongly encourage reading habits being established and supported in the home, we also acknowledge that we have a responsibility as a school to provide opportunities for students to read among their peers and in the presence of adult role models who can guide and inspire them. As such, we are taking steps to ensure those opportunities and expectations are firmly embedded into our school day. We are very excited to announce that 2022 will see the launch of our S.T.A.R program. S.T.A.R stands for: Students, Teachers – All Reading. We know that it is not only important to provide time for reading, but also vital for children to see adults actively doing the same. We are making a school-wide commitment to provide 15 minutes of protected school time, at the start of each and every day, for our entire community to be reading as one. No exceptions. All students, all staff, all reading. We firmly believe that this is going to instil a sense of community and a common, positive mindset around the importance of reading. We also have no doubt that the impact of this program will be profound over time. The research around dedicating time each day to reading for pleasure and the resulting impact is irrefutable, and the links between vocabulary, background knowledge and student success are deeply rooted in evidence. Reading significantly enhances both of these things. When combined with our quality curriculum from Prep to Year 12, we are confident there will be tangible gains for our students and this, in turn, will ensure that we continue to deliver our mission of “…an education for life.” The school is in the process of ensuring our libraries are resourced with an appropriate and well-rounded range of fiction and non-fiction for students to enjoy, as we are anticipating a significant rise in student loans as part of this program. In addition to this, it would be wonderful to see students bringing in books from home. We hope that over time, students and teachers will engage in many discussions about their reading; with recommendations being shared among the community as our reading culture grows. We are certain we can count on the support of our parent community, and encourage every family to continue to nurture a love of reading in their children. Perhaps a book or two might even be a welcome addition to the Christmas stockings in your homes this year! Mrs Emma Kannar – Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning Mrs Kelly Dilges – Assistant Principal – Director of Literacy Education and Development