Coomera is a rapidly growing urban community at the very northern end of the Gold Coast. Its current population is approximately 10,000 but is expected to be 65,000 in 10 years time.
The Let’s Read community program in Coomera is currently being delivered by the following agencies: Oxenford/Coomera Youth Centre, Studio Village Community Centre, FSG Australia Coomera, Upper Coomera Child Health, Kalwun Indigenous Health Service, Save the Children Playgroup ,Coomera Springs Early Years Centre Connect to Kindy Home Visiting Program and Beenleigh Family Day Care Coomera Educators.
Links have also been established with the new Gold Coast Upper Coomera Branch Library with weekly Let’s Read story sessions and participation in library community events.
Stories by Desley Affleck, Let's Read Project Officer, The Smith Family.
July 2013
Let’s Read holds regular storytime sessions at the Upper Coomera library. These sessions continue to attract over 30 children and their parents, grandparents and Family Day Care Educators. In particular, families who have received Let’s Read book packs attend weekly with their babies and toddlers. Two wonderful, local volunteers recruited through View Clubs assist the Let’s Read Project Officer every week with these sessions.
NAIDOC Week 2013 was celebrated by with a reading of ‘How the Birds Got Their Colours’ and families and their children participated in feather collage activities.
Child Health Nurses who have completed the Let’s Read training in Upper Coomera report feeling better equipped to promote early literacy messages whilst delivering book packs to parents and their children during individual consultation. There has also been an increase in the number of new parents regularly attending monthly Let’s Read sessions at the new Upper Coomera Library that are facilitated by the Let’s Read Project Officer. The Child Health Nurses report that this link with Let’s Read has been a wonderful addition to the service they already offer the local families. This collaboration has resulted in 100 new parents receiving Let’s Read book packs this year and an increased understanding amongst these families of the importance of reading with the babies from birth.
2012 Children's Week Family Fun Day
Children’s Week 2012 was celebrated in Coomera with a Family Fun Day at the Studio Village Community Centre. The Let’s Read program was showcased with a reading tent, literacy craft activities and 300 pre-loved books so that every child attending could take home a free book.
The Mobile Library recently reviewed its children’s book collection and generously donated many children’s books for the event. Other books were sourced at a minimal cost from the Friends of the Library Book Store who also ensured that all the books were quality children’s titles. The books were sorted into age levels and a Let’s Read volunteer managed the stand supporting families and their children to chose a suitable book to enjoy at home.
It was hard to say who was more excited making their selections as families and their children sat down in the tent to read many stories before choosing. Collecting the hundred of pre-loved books did require quite some organization in the weeks leading up to the event but was well worth the effort to ensure no child left without a book to take home.
March 2013
Let’s Read Coomera celebrated the end of the National Year of Reading by attending a number of community events to promote the value of early literacy experiences, including a combined playgroup celebration at a Community Centre and also at a Bunnings Family Fun Night attended by 200 children!
Children attending the weekly Coomera Mobile Library sessions received Let’s Read hats to wear to the 2013 outdoor sessions, which will continue until the new Coomera library opens in April. Let’s Read will then be part of a suite of literacy programs offered to families at the new library facility where Let’s Read book packs will be delivered to any new families with children 0-5 joining the library.
June 2013
Upper Coomera Library opened its doors to the public on 29 April 2013. Let’s Read took part in the opening celebrations running story session with over 60 children and their families. Let’s Read has commenced story sessions for families with children from birth to five years every Monday that incorporate songs, rhymes, stories and activities. The majority of families that have attended so far have children aged between 2-3 years. Children and their families are encouraged to participate and puppets, felt and song bags are used every week.
A favorite activity has been going on a Green Sheep search throughout the library after reading the story ‘’Where is the Green Sheep?’. The branch librarian is thrilled with community attendance at the Let’s Read story sessions - furniture often has to be moved to accommodate all the prams! The Let’s Read project officer and 2 volunteers stay back after the story sessions to answer questions from families about book choices for children and also read with smaller groups modelling Let’s Read concepts to the mums, dads and grandparents attending.
The Let's Read program in Coomera/Gold Coast North is sponsered by The Smith Family.
E letsread@thesmithfamily.com.au