An astounding total of eleven schools will get a book party, the schools will get a book collection, and more than a thousand children will get their first book, thanks to the Year 2 students at Melbourne Girls Grammar School.

Ms Pauline Carras Kerr, the teacher, tells achieved this remarkable feat:

To help celebrate the National Year of Reading, the Year 2 students at Melbourne Girls Grammar School, Australia, organised a Readathon to raise money so that children in Laos could explore the gift of reading.

Our students could not imagine a life without books, so reading became an important symbol to show that we at Melbourne Girls Grammar School value books and the gift of reading.

Our students asked their family, friends and neighbours to sponsor them to read as many books as they could during the four week Readathon. For every book read, the students added a leaf to our Reading Tree. At the end of the Readathon our tree was covered with more than 80 book leaves.

Our Readathon was a meaningful journey that empowered our Year 2 students to understand that even small actions, such as the simple act of reading, can make a positive difference to the lives of others.

Please come see pictures of one book party sponsored by the school.