What is Australian Reading Hour?

On Thursday, September 20, 2018, stop what you’re doing and join us in Wyvern Library at 7:15am for one hour of reading. Rediscover the benefits of reading. Take the time to learn, grow, escape and relax.

In children, reading has been shown to help with identity formation, setting them up for success in the future. In adults, reading has been shown to reduce stress by 68% more than listening to music, going for a walk, or having a cup of tea.

Why read?

Studies have discovered some interesting outcomes concerning the importance of reading:

• Reading reduces stress by 68%, relieving stress more quickly than listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea
• Children who know adults who read for pleasure take it for granted that reading is valuable
• When tested for empathy, readers of narrative fiction achieved significantly higher than other groups
• Reading is closely linked to increasing our understanding of our own identities
• It was found by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research that reading to children six to seven days a week puts them almost a year ahead of those who are not being read to.

Morris Gleitzman on Reading 

Children’s Laureate and 2018 Australian Reading Hour Ambassador

“Most vital human functions are accompanied by pleasure, and reading is no exception. I’m proud and delighted to be an Australian Reading Hour Ambassador for 2018, and to use the opportunity to gently remind the adult community that young people deserve that pleasure every day. They also need it, because no other activity will better equip young people to embrace their futures in a sometimes dark and uncertain world with optimism, resolve and creativity. Our stories have saved us in the past, and in the minds of young readers they can again.”

We look forward to seeing Wyvern students, Senior School siblings, parents, grandparents, carers and staff at our Reading Hour on Thursday September 20th at 7:15am in Wyvern Library.

Kind regards,

Mrs Barnes & Mrs Mann