Everyone in St Patrick’s enjoyed a book‑filled World Book Day celebration. We all began the morning in our classrooms as we heard about the activities planned. The excitement of seeing each other in our PJs took a while to settle down.
Soon afterwards, we gathered in the hall for a relaxed reading picnic. Mr McGrath talked about how a recent study suggested that people who read books are happier and it seemed that most of the hall agreed. Mats were spread out, and pupils and staff settled down together with their chosen books. It was a lovely way to start the day and helped set a calm, joyful atmosphere. Mrs Sealey then read a story and in her own words, "You could have heard a pin drop."
One of the highlights was our story swap, where teachers and classroom assistants visited different classes to read aloud. Pupils really enjoyed hearing a new voice share a story, and it brought a fun sense of novelty to the morning. It was lovely to ‘hear,’ the quiet concentration as the children listened to some of their favourites from a different voice.
Later, pupils got creative by designing “book footprints” — colourful footprints decorated with illustrations, characters, and ideas from their favourite books. These are on display around the school to showcase the wide range of stories our children love.
After lunch, the whole school took part in DEAR: Drop Everything And Read. Classrooms became wonderfully quiet as everyone — pupils and adults — chose a book and read together.
To finish the day, classes continued with creative reading‑related activities, completing their footprints or sharing books with friends or enjoying some quizzes. It was a day filled with imagination, calm moments, and a shared celebration of stories.
World Book Day reminded us how powerful books can be in bringing everyone together. Thank you to all of our children and staff for helping make it such an enjoyable occasion. Mrs Cope has already started a campaign to get PJs as a new school uniform!
