Letter from the editor - Winter 2012

A new year signifies a new beginning, new excitements and new challenges. With 2013 approaching, Voice K is preparing to take a leap with many new programs for our young journalists and added value to our readers.

I am happy to announce that Voice K has received the 2013 Youth in Action Grant from the United Way of Peel Region United Way of Peel Region and Region of Peel to build a 12 session training program for our young journalists. With the support of our sponsoring charity, Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre, the Voice of Kids: Future Journalist Training Program will start on Feb.5 2013. 

This program will invite 12 media and publishing industry professionals to provide lectures to our young journalists, aged 7 to 15. The seminars cover a wide range of topics such as writing skills, interview techniques, and photojournalism. Through the program, we aspire to create a place where children from various socioeconomic, educational and cultural backgrounds can communicate, interact, and empower each other by sharing their thoughts and ideas and in turn contribute to a youth magazine that they will be able to share with their peers and family.

In this new issue, many readers are sure to be surprised by Kida’s encounter of the pirate ships and Captain Ky’s true identity in the fiction story, Chasing the Archangel; we have also added expansion questions and introduced the “Learning Toolbox” for students to improve writing skills. We hope our journalists’ interviews with crime-fiction authors, politicians, and nuclear engineers will broaden our young readers’ view of the world. Furthermore, our dazzling edition of winter fashion and holiday gift ideas will help both children and parents to pick out the essential items for the holiday.

The fast changing trends and the coming and going of information not only challenges the operations of media publications, but also challenge teachers to find a new way of teaching in the classrooms. I
hope Voice K will be the tool that teachers use to captivate students’ interests in literacy.

I wish everyone a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year! And last bits of advice for children:

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein

Cheers,
Joanna Liu
Voice K, Editor-in-Chief