Reading challenge answered in force by remote schools
Tens of thousands of pages were turned in this year’s Chief Minister’s reading challenge. Read which school topped the list.
Northern Territory
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Natasha Fyles has congratulated remote students for reading a phenomenal 30,000-plus books in response to the Chief Minister’s reading challenge.
Territorian students achieved the incredible figure in less than six months following the launch of the challenge in March this year.
The challenge, aimed at fostering a culture of family reading and improved literacy among young Territorians, involved 12 books per student over a 24 week period.
Ms Fyles acknowledged students and teachers alike for the massive response.
“Over the past 24 weeks thousands of Territory students have read an incredible number of stories which have taken them on twists and turns, highs and lows and of course triumph,” she said.
“The reading challenge creates the perfect opportunity for students to love books across a multitude of languages, all while improving a core learning tool.
“Well done to all of you who participated and thank you to our superstar teachers for making this all possible.”
A total of 63 schools and 2560 students consumed the 30,000-plus books with Larapinta Primary School topping participation numbers with 286 students partaking in the challenge.
In second place was Bradshaw Primary School and its 282 participants while Tennant Creek Primary placed third with 219 students.
Minister for Education Eva Lawler said it was important students understood reading was more than just educational, but also about “imagination” and “creativity”.
“It is crucial that students develop key literacy skills from a young age, but also understand that reading is much more than an educational task, it fosters imagination and creativity while immersing you in a story,” she said.
“It was fantastic to see such high participation rates in all schools around Alice Springs and Tennant Creek this year, it is truly impressive to see the number of books you have read over the past few months.”
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