Parents and guardians
Premier's letter
February 2011
Dear Parent/Guardian
I am pleased to declare the 2011 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge open and I invite your child/children to participate in what promises to be an exciting event this year.
The Challenge promotes the importance of reading among students in Victorian schools and encourages parents and families to support their children’s reading in and beyond school.
As patron of the Premiers’ Reading Challenge, I am proud to invite former Premiers to lend their support and prestige to this important literacy initiative.
As this year is my first Challenge, I’d like to encourage students who haven’t participated before to sign up, and join their classmates in reading as many books as possible.
For students in Prep to Year 2 the challenge is to read or ‘experience’ 30 books and for students in Years 3 to 10 the challenge is to read 15 books. If your children are learning to read, you can help them to ‘experience’ books by reading to or with them and talking about the story. As your children become better readers, you can continue to build their confidence, help them select appropriate books, read with them and talk about books.
Very soon, I’ll announce some exciting new Reading Challenge Ambassadors, as well as our new Challenge Champions, who will be talking and writing about their love of reading and encouraging children to read more books than ever before.
It is also with great pleasure that I announce our collector’s series of certificates will continue in 2011, with another special guest illustrator designing this year’s masterpiece. We’ll unveil that design later in the year.
For more information about the Challenge and the new initiatives, visit this website or contact your child’s school.
I look forward to recognising the achievements of students who successfully complete the 2011 Challenge and to working in partnership with you to promote a lifelong love of reading in our children.
Yours sincerely
The Hon. Ted Baillieu, MP
Premier of Victoria
The Premier's letter to parents can be downloaded here (PDF - 4.0Mb). The Premier's letter is available in: Arabic (PDF - 3.8Mb); Chinese (PDF - 4.2Mb); Dari; Hindi (PDF - 4.2Mb); Karen (PDF - 5.6Mb); Sinhalese (PDF - 5.2Mb); and Vietnamese (PDF - 4.4Mb).
Home-schooled students and home-based readers
A student who is home-schooled or whose school is not participating in the Challenge may register as a home-based reader. Parents can download the home-based reader registration and consent form (Word - 36Kb) and return it by mail to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
The Challenge Book Lists
The Challenge book lists have been developed by a Reference Group of experienced teacher-librarians and experts in children’s literature, and are therefore extensive and diverse. The Challenge book lists include books which exemplify quality in literature for children and young adults as well as books which engage students in voluntary reading.
The inclusion of a book on the list does not mean it is a recommended text for all students. The book list provides a broad range of books from which students, parents and teachers can choose appropriate reading material for individual students. If you have any concerns about the content of titles on the Challenge book lists we encourage you to become involved in the selection of books your child reads for the Challenge to ensure they are appropriate.
Former Premiers get involved