Paint the Town REaD | Page 7 | Let’s all read, talk, sing and rhyme with children from birth

Congratulations, Michelle. Shire of Yilgarn Australia Day Active Citizenship Award

By Barbie Bates | 3 February, 2018

Michelle Calderbank was presented with WA’s Shire of Yilgarn Australia Day Active Citizenship Award for her significant contribution to supporting the Yilgarn community.

Michelle set up Paint the Yligarn REaD in her own time to provide the next generation of children in Southern Cross with the best possible chance to reach their potential. Michelle is a high school English teacher. She has witnessed first hand the significant challenges for young people who have missed out on important early literacy foundational experiences.

A long-time resident in Southern Cross, Michelle has had the connections and the respect in the community to engage everyone in supporting and spreading the PTTR message. This includes her high school students who eagerly took on the catering role at the launch event, and gained catering qualifications in the process.

Michelle has a number of other voluntary roles in the community, such as running the Young Entertainers program for the past 12 years and active involvement in sporting clubs.

Congratulations to Michelle — a great PTTR Champion.

Michelle with award — Michelle receiving her Australia Day Award.
And yes, singing is an important part of the PTTR message.

2018 – REaDy, Set, Go!

By Barbie Bates | 15 January, 2018

Paint the Town REaD groups across Australia are off and running, and especially Librarians, who are including children under school age in their Summer Reading Challenges at their local libraries. It’s a great way to give children starting school that final boost, and for younger children to model from older siblings is always a super opportunity. And you might even bump into your local PTTR mascot there as well.

Rooby Roo and Blacktown Council’s Children’s Librarian Lee Castledine enjoying a book together. And Poppy Possum is at Cumberland Library getting her books read too!

Thank you 2017 supporters

By Barbie Bates | 22 December, 2017

Thank you to everyone who has made this year so special by increasing the opportunities for children to enjoy the wonder of being read and sung with.

From our amazing local community groups – now 50+ over five Australian states, through to funders like the St George Foundation, the AMP Foundation, the Eureka Foundation, the Commonwealth Bank, private donors and the many many probono supporters.
Here are two of them – wonderful woman, Roxanne Kiely (song writer) and Anne Donnelly (author). Roxanne, ran a Songwriting Workshop for Early Educators in Paint Cumberland REaD NSW, and Anne visited a combined playgroup in Mt Druitt NSW, where she grew up, to encourage young mums to reach for the stars.

Educators workshopping with Roxanne Kiely

Four Birth Announcements

By Barbie Bates | 11 November, 2017

Paint the Town REaD is proud to announce the births of four new mascots over the past four weeks: Berky the Brush Turkey, Paint Mackay REaD (Qld), Parker the Platypus, Paint the Central Coast REaD (NSW), Agi the Red Tailed Black Cockatoo, Paint Shoalhaven REaD, Black and Yellow (NSW) and Lizzie the Lizard, Paint the Westside REaD (SA).

Berky wants to play the didge — Berky the Brush Turkey

Platypus mascot in deck chair reading — Parker the Platypus

Lizzie the Lizard with friends — Lizzie the Lizard with her friends Parker and Di from Paint the Parkes and Gardens REaD

The crowd gathered for Lizzie’s hatching at Woodville Town Hall, Adelaide

Books for Babies Launch for Doonside

By Barbie Bates | 18 September, 2017

Paint Doonside Read, whose partners include Wentwest’s Thrive@5, Relationships Australia, Crawford Public School, Community Health’s Child and Family Nurses, Blacktown City Libraries and Dr Michael Fasher, launched their Books for Babies project this month. Nursing staff, who have received training from PTTR Ltd, and Blacktown Library about the whys and hows of reading with your baby from birth, will be sharing books and information with all new babies born in Doonside this year – and their families!

The books were purchased from generous donations by the The Funding Network and the AMP Foundation. Thank you!

And for a completely serendipitous moment, See Me Move – the main book to be given to babies, is written by Sascha Hutchinson, a champion in one of our newest communities, Paint the Westside REaD, in Adelaide.

Dr Michael Fasher reading to Doonside’s first baby to receive a copy of See Me Move. He is ably assisted by Rooby Roo and Thrive @5’s Angela McCole.

Paint Parkes REaD Turns 20

By Barbie Bates | 11 September, 2017

On a near freezing day last month, just about everyone in Parkes turned out for the Reading Day with Friends, commemorating 20 years since Paint Parkes REaD began as Birth to Kindergarten. Children from birth were in attendance, through to High School students singing in shops and on the streets to children, shops were decorated in red, libraries took over a local club’s auditorium to act out a story, a local farmer sang and read with children in the Office Supplies store, carrier pigeons, and even Elvis spread the message of read with your baby from birth. Grandfathers spoke about it in the local pub, and young mums and their babies drove over an hour to get there.
Pietta Bridges, Reading Day Coordinator said that the day was a culmination of a few months of activities across children’s services, including pen pal writing, creating a friendship chain, and learning about being friends.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day

By Barbie Bates | 4 August, 2017

Today we celebrate and remember the importance of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day.

Thank you to the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aunties and Uncles and workers from across Australia, who are leading us to Paint Australia REaD, Black and Yellow so that our children will arrive at school loving books and ready to learn.

Karrak cockatoo mascot with two people — Tracey and Charlie from NSW’s Paint Shoalhaven REaD, Black and Yellow with Karrak, Paint Kwinana REaD WA’s black cockatoo Mascot. Karrak is holding Shoalhaven’s magic egg.

Paint Mackay REaD

By Barbie Bates | 31 July, 2017

Welcome to Paint Mackay REaD. Their magical REaDing Egg arrived at the Mackay Library, last Thursday. It was welcomed by a big group of children and their parents, supported by the Mayor, Cr Greg Williamson and Cr Ayril Paton.

As children read with the egg, their parents help them put their name on it. We can’t wait to meet the brush turkey which will hatch out! And how do we know it is a brush turkey? Because there have been two wonderful books written about the egg already by Pam Gargett and Carly St Clair, and beautifully illustrated by students from Slade Point State School.

Mackay’s Reading Egg has arrived!

Paint Western Australia REaD

By Barbie Bates | 17 July, 2017

A great article in the West Australian about Paint the Town REaD.

Red the Reading Roo mascot with Justine and children — Justine Roberts, WA Coordinator of PTTR, shares books with two-year-old Ava Laing and three-year-old Parker Sinclair in Middle Swan. Credit: Nic Ellis/The West Australian

Getting Rooby REaDy for NAIDOC Week 2017

By Barbie Bates | 6 July, 2017

Rooby Roo in her new vest with the young Aboriginal artists from North St Marys Public School, with Auntie Maureen Silleri and Maryanne Wallace.

Under the support of local Elders including Auntie Maureen Silleri and their Aboriginal Support teacher, Maryanne Wallace a mob of enthusiastic Aboriginal students at North St Marys Public School NSW, drew special pictures about what reading with Rooby Roo (the Paint Penrith REaD mascot) meant to them.

These images were then transferred onto Rooby’s vest with help of Frances Zammit from Community Junction Ins. The students gave Rooby a very big surprise last week when they presented her with the vest. ‘We want you to wear it for NAIDOC Week this year’.