NSW Premier's Reading Challenge - 2026

The last time I devoted an entry to the NSW Premier's Challenge (PRC) was in 2018. I did make references to the PRC in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, I had mentioned that there were no spine labels to identify PRC Books while commenting on Genre Labels on the spines of books and in 2024, I mentioned PRC medals being presented to students as part of the school's annual presentation day at the Sydney Opera House.

Firstly, I can mention that last year I finished labelling the spines with books featured in the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge in 2025. I had done this largely unassisted, carefully going through our fiction collection, item by item. We had countless books that were meant to be listed as PRC books, but because they had a different ISBN number from the one officially listed on SCIS, I had to manually add them in OLIVER.

This also meant that I could update the PRC lists and also created a general list to consolidate the reading lists for secondary schools into one list. In effect, I doubled the number of available items with a PRC listing. I estimate around 1000 books in the fiction collection at my school are in the PRC.

I designed my own label using Microsoft Word and an RAECO template and applied it as a standard label to all PRC books, since the Year 5-6 reading list can also be accessed by secondary school students. Any PRC Books that were not Year 5-6, Years 7-9 and Year 9+ were not stickered.

Feel free to email me at fabian.amuso@det.nsw.edu.au if you would like a copy to use when labelling PRC items in your collections.

For our PRC display, just having the label on it has saved time setting it up.

In 2024, I also began presenting Gold and Platinum awards at our school assemblies each year. I enjoy the opportunity to recognise the students who commit themselves over a sustained period of time. It is an advocacy tool in itself, encouraging students to challenge themselves to set reading goals and realise that reading for pleasure can be rewarding. You can be rewarded for reading regularly. For some students, it may be the only time they are recognised at a whole-school level for their efforts in anything. 

Let's see what 2026 brings. I know one student who has not participated for a few years wants to give it a go this year, and I feel encouraged when a student seeks assistance with filling out their reading records, even at this early stage.

What I am also encouraged to is how its easier to participate than ever e.g. books read aloud by teachers in high school count towards the total of 20 books read, whereas it was previously for primary school participants only, an additional month added for students to participate and complete the challenge but also only needing to read just 10 books from the official list (down from 15).

How Australia’s university students are using to AI to cheat their way to a degree (The Weekend Australian Magazine Article)

On February 7, The Weekend Australian Magazine published a feature by Ros Thomas focusing on the reliance by University Students on artificial intelligence (AI) to help them complete assessment tasks, especially essays and take-home exams.

It is concerning because it could produce university graduates with next to no knowledge of their field, relying entirely on AI to complete their assessment tasks. They are, in fact, not showing their lecturer or marker what they really know about a topic, because they let the computer do "the talking" for them. 

They also lose the opportunity to develop skills in critical thinking and information skills, such as how to locate, select, and communicate their knowledge, thoughts, and ideas on a topic. Finding information that is relevant, reliable and trustworthy is part of the process as well, particularly in a world where information can easily deceive and mislead us. We need to be able to filter truth from untruth.

While some may have been able to use AI to mould the perfect assignment, AI is not perfect either.  Thomas refers to an account by one student in which incorrect information appeared in a group assignment they had worked on with AI. They, along with another member, had just three hours left before submission and had to rewrite their assignment to ensure they could land a good mark.

From my own experience using AI, I have had to hold AI to account when it omits information, incorrectly quotes information, or provides inaccurate information. More frustrating is wanting a direct quote from a document, only for AI to reword it or ignore it altogether. Even asking for academic papers on a topic (even relating to Teacher Librarianship) has yielded inaccurate results. I still get results that may not answer the question. AI models have improved in reliability, but they can still be inaccurate. There are times my prompts are ignored.

Even in our schools, we face the same situation where students rely on AI to complete homework or research tasks. 

Whether at the school or tertiary level, we need to ensure we set standards for how we use AI. I am not against AI because, in my role, it can simplify tasks. It can help me organise library research lessons or recommend books for a reluctant reader based on the profile I give them (and even upload a reading list or a catalogue listing of books). I then have to check to ensure what I got is accurate. 

If I need to write a report, it can provide a scaffold, template, or draft that I can then tweak to suit what I want to write or present.

It leaves me thinking, what can I teach my students to do? I think I'd have to emphasise the following to encourage AI to be useful, while still encouraging critical thinking and the information skills process.

• Checking the usefulness and reliability of information provided by a chatbot - Is it relevant? Is it correct?
• Organising summaries of notes
• Proofreading written content. Tools such as Grammarly have AI embedded in it. I have found that it has improved my writing skills after regular use of it. 
• Summaries of Pdf files. 
• Fact Checking - Checking to make sure AI-generated summaries are correct. If searching for content, conduct a usefulness and reliability check - Does it answer the research question
• Scaffolding - helping the student to organise their information
• Avoiding situations where one copies and pastes AI-generated content into an assessment task
• Expecting students to edit and reedit written work to ensure that the content complies with assessment requirements and marking criteria, and that it is expressed in their own words. I'd encourage them to think of themselves as the marker and consider what the marker might think of their work. Do they use a word in which they don't know the meaning or usage? I'd tell them not to use it and that teachers know how they typically write. 

These are a few ideas. You may have other ideas.

The first week of students back

The first week of classes for students is over. Being in a NSW public school, classes resumed last Monday (2 February), which was Week 2 of term (Week one was allocated for staff development days).

At 8 am on Monday, I opened the library doors for the first time in 2026. There is always at least one student, and sometimes several, waiting outside. This time, no one was waiting, and even on the previous first days, there would be at least one student outside. I still remember 2024 and meeting two year 7 students on that very first day and introducing myself to them. They are regulars to this day and one loves a chat.

It was certainly quiet, but interestingly, those who came came to borrow, especially for our 20-minute READ sessions that we run schoolwise each day, along with a massive number of returns which extended into the week. The Library Prefects were overloaded with returns. It was great that those who borrowed were generally prompt in returning their holiday loans.

Which day of the week could I say felt that activity was back to normal - Thursday. Sydney had its hottest day since January 10, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees. My school would have its temperatures linked to Sydney Olympic Park, which had a reading of just under 39 degrees. The heat pushed everyone indoors, and an air-conditioned library provides comfort. Friday was cooler, yet the crowds remained.

As the week progressed, the work piled up for our students. Students need to get the work done and I give them the space that they need to get it done. 

I will concede a few regulars have yet to come back that use the library and hopefully they do come back. One gets used to their presence, even to where they choose to sit.

I am looking forward to doing the Year 7 orientation sessions with my colleague in the next few weeks as it gives us a chance to meet them. I did have a chance to meet some of them informally at their orientation back in December as I supervised them completing activities around the school. We have seen a few use it, but I've had to reach out to them via Sentral to tell them that they are welcome and if they want to borrow, to start doing so.

Don't forget NSW Premier's Reading Challenge is around the corner as well - February 23.