Book Week Parade 2023

By Mrs Gemma Wilson, Junior School Teacher Librarian

Our annual 2023 Book Week Character Parade was another resounding success! Our last-minute change of venue, which meant two parades, still showed the love of reading is alive and thriving at Radford.

Dressed as characters from a wide range of books, our Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students danced and paraded through R.A. Young Hall. The smiles were big, and some of the costumes were even bigger. We had princesses and bears, fairy-tale characters and firefighters, even Bluey and the Titanic paraded past. The level of creativity and imagination was obvious, and we are so grateful for the enthusiasm everyone demonstrated.

After recess, our Year 3-6 students gathered on The Ridge lawn. Complemented by a stunning early spring day, students again danced and paraded with unmatched energy and enthusiasm. From classic fairy-tale figures to modern-day heroes, the variety of characters on display was truly astounding. Hogwarts wizards walked alongside intrepid explorers and storybook creatures mingled with historical figures, all to demonstrate the breadth of reading at Radford.

The success of the Book Week Character Parade is testament to the culture at Radford. All students engaged enthusiastically with the day, and the staff teams showed creativity and cryptic-ness through their costumes, often linking to Units of Inquiry being taught in the classrooms. It was a remarkable celebration of connection to literature and books.

Thank you to our parent community, which supported students and helped them with costumes. We encourage families to continue to foster and celebrate a love of reading.

Until next year’s parade (when we will gather as a whole Junior School community in the Collegians' Centre), let’s keep turning those pages, exploring new books and meeting new characters.