When we run Professional Learning workshops, we focus on developing teachers’ confidence in embracing student agency, and allowing children as much choice as possible over their creative learning. Central to building student agency into the design of workshops (and lesson plans) is offering opportunities for them to share their ideas about what they would like to write, and how.

In short? You get 10 brilliant books in 10 years.

Every year, through our Early Harvest program, 100 Story Building publishes a book written and edited entirely by children. To celebrate the tenth year (and tenth book) of the program, we are breaking down the techniques we use that makes this program so successful.

We realised the other day that it’s been a while since we did an audit of the levels beneath the trapdoor of our very tall (or very deep?) building. So, we went down to Reception on Level 99, and we found four new staff members sitting in the waiting room!

“On behalf of the Board of 100 Story Building,  I am proud to announce the start of our quest for a new CEO,” said Board Chair Sandeep Varma.  

We teamed up with Story Factory, Storyboard, and the Story Island Project to create an anthology from 83 young writers around Australia. The result? “A User’s Guide to a Pandemic”

In recognition of the fact that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this land for more than 65,000 years, we’re celebrating NAIDOC Week!

We went on a choose-your-own-adventure across the Bass Strait with Warrane Primary School, based in Tasmania!

We hopped into our rocket and blasted off to the 100 Story Galaxy in search of new planets! Our co-pilot astronauts were grade 3/4 students from Preston North East Primary.

Banksia Gardens Community Services wanted to bring life and energy to their 2020 AGM, so 100 Story Building stepped in.

A new 100 Story Vending Machine has made its way to the De La Salle College! Students can visit the Library and use 100 Story Coins (or a shinny dollar) to buy zines made by their classmates.

A choose-your-own-adventure story by young writer Emily (9 years old)!

To accompany our most fantastic book title ‘Unboring Exploring’, the next step in the editorial process was to decide how to translate the graphic aesthetic of ‘adventure’ throughout our book!

Recently the team at the Royal Botanic Gardens invited 100 Story Building to host two Professional Learning sessions focused on helping them transition to creating engaging workshop experiences online.

Over the school holidays the young editors met for an important mission: to finalise the list of stories and poems to include in the next edition of Early Harvest for the theme Adventure! 

Meet Anthony Baressi, Head of English at CRC St Albans, as he discusses the challenges and hidden opportunities in remote schooling in the times of COVID-19.

We are seeking an addition to our team that will expand our storytelling in new ways, beyond our current knowledge and experience.

The Early Harvest editors have been through a very vigorous yet very colourful process of selecting a cover illustrator for this year’s Early Harvest publication - Kate Moon!

For this session our young editors met 100 Story Building facilitator Ben McKenzie who worked with us on the first draft of our Choose Your Own Adventure story for this year’s Early Harvest.

Thank you Australian Literacy Educators’ Association (ALEA), Tasmania South, for this fabulous feedback on our professional learning program.

To get the creative juices flowing for our forth Early Harvest workshop, we ran warmup activities that encouraged our young editors to be more comfortable collaborating, sharing ideas and bonding as a team.