Book Week parade caps off school’s long-standing tradition

A LONG-STANDING tradition took place last week for a local primary school despite most students being off-site due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Torquay College again celebrated the conclusion of Book Week last Friday, with students and teachers dressing up as their favourite book characters in the school’s annual parade.

A partial number of students from Foundation level to Grade Six were in attendance due to COVID-19, lining their school hall in their best costumes to participate in the parade and made the most of the special occasion that has become familiar with the school.

Students dressed up like characters such as Matilda, Specky Magee, Spider-Man, Wally from Where’s Wally and many more.

Proceedings were led by school principal Christian Smith and vice-principal Victoria Long, who dressed as Harry Potter characters, but Book Week provided more than just the chance to dress up according to Mr Smith.

“It is one of my favourite weeks on the school calendar, but I think why the kids love it so much is because obviously it gives them the opportunity to dress up,” he said.

“But secondly, it allows each student in the school to create their own book. They draft the book, then they publish it, and it then gets displayed in our library for the rest of the students to read.

“They really enjoy being an author and illustrator for the week.”

Students who were unable to attend the parade in-person due to remote learning did not miss out entirely said Ms Long.

“Remote learning has not actually dampened the spirit at all,” she said.

“The kids were still so excited, and every class online did their own Book Week parade, so they were still all showing off their own outfits from their screens.”

The college has approximately 1,000 enrolled students but currently has up to 100 students per day.