Alumna Author Kate Abernethy Inspires Young Readers at Transition Day

We were delighted to welcome St George’s alumna and debut children’s author, Kate Abernethy, to our Junior School for the Pre School to Primary 1 Transition Day on Thursday, 13 June. What a fun and creative day for our young readers!

Kate’s rhyming picture book, The Great Highland Games Chase, follows mischievous dog Wee Rascal as she causes chaos at the Highland Games. To bring the story to life, our pupils dressed up as characters from each event, eagerly shouting ‘Stop, ye Wee Rascal!’ in time with Kate's reading.

Kate also shared insights into the life of a writer. She explained that being a writer involves a lot of observation and rhyming. Our Big Owls and Primary 1 pupils practiced engaging their senses by naming things they could see, hear, and even smell. They also enjoyed the challenge of finding rhymes for words like ‘dog’ and the trickier ‘guinea pig’. However, Kate emphasised that perhaps the most important thing a writer does is read. The children shared their favourite books, and Kate left a lasting impression with her advice: ‘Reading is even better for you than vegetables’ and encouraged the children to ‘read as often as you brush your teeth!’ The final activity was a colouring booklet inspired by The Great Highland Games Chase featuring illustrations by the talented Laura Darling. Pupils added their own artistic flair to the scenes from the book.

Reflecting on her own first day at St George’s years ago, Kate connected with the students on a personal level, making this Transition Day even more special.

We are grateful to Kate for sharing her creativity with us and look forward to seeing more of her wonderful stories in the future.