In response to the recent decline in the number of girls and young women reading books, a Catholic girl’s school in Clayfield launched a reading project for young ladies.
St Rita’s College in Clayfield launched the Read Like a Girl project with the aim to stimulate reading habits among young girls. The girl’s school for Years 7 to 12 is partnering with Mt Alvernia College in Kedron and Riverbend Books for the program.
Kathryn Schravemade, a librarian at St Rita’s College was alarmed at the decline in the reading rate among pre-teens and teens. According to official research in 2016, below 61 per cent of ladies above 14 years old had read a novel in any three-month period. This is a drop from the 2010 figure of more than 64 per cent.
The same study found that only 34.2 per cent of young women read non-fiction books, a decline from 39.2 per cent in 2010.
The launch of the reading project is a response of the staff and students of the college to the reading rate issue. “We wanted to do something vibrant and unique,” said Ms Schravemade.
The Read Like a Girl project officially started on March 7, with renowned young adult author Kate McCaffrey as featured guest. During the event, Ms McCaffrey discussed teenagers using social media, fitting in and growing up in the digital era.
The reading program will continue to hold reading events to instil a love for reading among girls. Such events will feature authors and book launches. On March 30, Mount Alverna College will be the venue for the book launch of Draekora, the third book in The Medoran Chronicles by author Lynette Noni.
St Rita’s will host international best-selling and award-winning author Kate Dicamillo on May 30 as she presents the paperback release of Raymie Nightingale, a famous middle grades fiction novel.
Interested in the reading project? Find out more from St. Rita’s College or Mount Alvernia College.
Locals in Clayfield and Ascot neighbourhoods are calling on Brisbane City Council to intervene and save a Poinciana tree on Alexandra Road.
A two-storey home is planned at 99 Alexandra Road, but part of the proposal is to cut down the Poinciana tree to make way for a new driveway.
Nearby residents are protesting the plan as it would damage the streetscape of the area. Joe Patterson, who lives beside the property, made a drive to inform the community of the plan and gathered support to save the tree. He called on supporters to contact Councillor David McLachlan and let the councillor know of their disapproval.
In the pamphlet distributed by Mr Patterson, he accused the councillor of not protecting neighbourhood rights. He stressed that the tree epitomises the amenity of the area and removing it would be detrimental to the neighbourhood landscape.
Inaccurate Plans
In response, Councillor McLachlan rejected suggestions that he supported the removal of the tree. He requested that the approval of the removal be taken back and asked the planners to update the plans. The developer will have to retain the tree even as they build the driveway. The tree should also be protected during construction.
Through the course of the dispute, it was discovered that there were errors and misinformation in the plans submitted to the town planners. In the construction plans, the tree was described to be much smaller than its actual size.
Cr McLachlan called on planners and architects to be more accurate in the descriptions they submit to authorities to avoid grey areas.
Home properties are becoming more and more expensive all across Australia, with 11 suburbs in Queensland now making it to the $1-million median price club. Clayfield is among the Queensland suburbs that have reached the million-dollar median value in 2016.
This is according to a report from CoreLogic, which noted the significant rise of the number of suburbs with median price of at least seven figures. The CoreLogic report indicates there were 760 suburbs with a minimum median value of $1 million in December 2016. This represents a 176% increase from 275 suburbs five years ago at the end of 2011.
The report can either be good news or bad news to residential property investors. Those who already own a home could see their asset value increase. But those who are looking to buy could find it more difficult to buy or invest.
The increase in housing prices in many suburbs nationwide is a result of continuing growth in home values in major cities like Sydney. Sydney accounted for 65 percent of the suburbs in the million-dollar club, while Melbource accounted for 16 percent and Brisbane, 3 percent.
Other Queensland suburbs that reached at least $1 million median house price in 2016 are Bulimba, Fortitude Valley, Ransome, St. Lucia, Pullenvale and Clear Island Waters.
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