<![CDATA[Voice K - A Machine for Smart Kids - Letter from the editor]]>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:44:34 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Letter from the Editor-Issue 7]]>Tue, 27 May 2014 01:25:00 GMThttp://www.voicek.ca/letter-from-the-editor/letter-from-the-editor-issue-7Picture

On one Sunday morning in early May, I woke up to the little concert organized by the birds in the big tree in my neighbour’s backyard. The winter of 2013 was long and harsh. When I passed by the trees on the side of the streets in late April, nothing seemed alive—there were no green buds at all. I started to wonder whether spring would come at all. However, spring did come, and each year it returns and brings people hope and prosperity.

Sitting by my bedroom window, I took a deep breath and let the fresh smell of spring and the sound of the birds take me back in time. Every sunny day like this would remind me of my first summer in Canada. The fresh air and beautiful sky is what pulled our family to Canada. That’s also when my battles with English started.

I was 14 years old. I was shy, sensitive and scared of every new event in my life. Our family decided to land in Canada in summer, so I could have some time to adjust to the new environment before the school started in September. As September came, I entered the school as a high school student. I remember that one of my teachers got very upset with me because I could not pronounce her last name. I remember that my Grade 11 English teacher told me that there was no way I could pass her English class because of my poor grammar and sentence construction. I also remember that my professor in University told me that I would never land a job in any professional arts organization because of my English level. And even just recently, I have people telling me that I am not qualified to work in journalism and broadcasting because of my accent. Yet, here I am, embracing my passion and using my experiences to usher in the next generation of journalists.

I call these events in my life “my war with English,” because I know that the road to victory is tough and that there are many small battles to fight. One thing I’ve learned from spring is that life is both fragile and strong— people have the capacity to reconstruct and recover. After each battle I was shaken and broken, yet I became stronger. I chose to be a writer because of my deep love for literature. I chose to commit to Voice K because I believe the best form of education is for kids to explore, feel, ask great questions, and write.

Each spring, I look back at my life and think about how I can make the world a better place. Spring is a season for change. We talk a lot about environmental issues and protecting animals from cruelty in this issue of Voice K. As journalists, we visit, we listen and we write to inspire change. Each article in this issue is upbeat and brings the feeling of spring. I hope you enjoy this issue.

“Rise and rise again until lambs become lions” 
 ― Robin Hood

]]><![CDATA[Issue 6 Winter 2013]]>Sun, 23 Mar 2014 01:53:31 GMThttp://www.voicek.ca/letter-from-the-editor/issue-6-winter-2013Picture
I stepped into the mushy snow, and each step was harder than the one before. The noise of cars and of people’s chattering on the street kept disturbing my thoughts. Breathing in the fresh winter air, oddly, I felt so alive. Winter is the season of magic. No matter where you are, the illuminating lights and Christmas decorations give you a warm, fuzzy feeling. The winter issue of 2014 is all about children’s magical experiences. 

We packed a lot of interesting articles into this issue! Our young writers give you their exclusive experiences from learning ice skating, visiting the Ripley’s Aquarium, and travelling to Alaska. Our journalists also give you highlights from the Winter Magic Illuminite Festival, Soupfest, Butterfly Festival, and Astronomy Night at Heartland Forest in Niagara Falls. Our new column, Kid’s View & Parent’s View, will provide some insights into common issues parents encounter, such as “sibling rivalry”and “time with electronics.” Reading and editing all these wonderful articles has been a privilege.  

Speed is one of the most important parts of any modern business. In 2014, Voice K will work to ramp up our pace of publishing articles and producing quality content for our readers. Voice K will also focus on working on getting our journalists more resources and better training. Voice K wishes to create better networking opportunities for our young journalists to interview, write and create. 

On the note of magic, I give you this quote: “Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.” – Stephen King

I hope for your creativity to flow like water, and that you have a Happy New Year!

Joanna Liu   
Editor-in-Chief   
voicek.mag@gmail.com

Cover Art Story: Vicky Liu
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Vicky is a freelance illustrator in Toronto. She likes drawing animals pretending to be people, and people wearing animal hats. Vicky has been a Voice K illustrator for the past four issues! When she is not drawing for Voice K, Vicky pretends she has a pet bear and spends hours drawing their adventures. You can find them online at vcky.ca 
]]><![CDATA[Letter from the editor Summer/Fall 2013 Issue 5]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2013 14:55:28 GMThttp://www.voicek.ca/letter-from-the-editor/letter-from-the-editor-summerfall-2013-issue-5 Picture
While I sit on my bed, putting together the last bits of this issue, the scattered raindrops lightly tap against my window, and the soft rhythm comes to me like a whisper. The voice is telling me to be excited for the upcoming changes and to be proud of the growing Voice K family. 


"Training to be a journalist with Voice K is about training to be confident.” That’s what I have always believed. Voice K hopes to provide to all kids the equal opportunity to be confident and creative, no matter what they do. Summer 2013 was a celebrative season for Voice K, as we successfully completed our Future Journalist Training Program sponsored by United Way of Peel and Region Peel. We have also trained many new journalists through our summer camp program. Voice K is growing steadily and we are thankful for all of our supportive parents and community partners.


This combined Summer & Fall issue focuses on the children’s various summer travelling experiences and Halloween activities. Our journalists really love to explore the world; they have travelled from Amsterdam to Barcelona, as well as many community events in the GTA. We hope to bring back our readers’ favourite summer memories and explore with us together.

Halloween is one of children’s favourite festivals. Parents also love to see kids in costumes and being creative. Our Top Ten Halloween Ideas is an article provided by kids age 8 to 13, featuring costumes that you can make on your own.

Sometimes, we are very surprised by children’s opinions and knowledge. How to Pass a Canadian Bill is an extremely educating article. I have to admit that I have learned so much about Canadian politics from our young writer, James Newman.

In our summer camps this year, we have added video editing components for the children. We believe every child should learn how to take good photos and edit their own videos in this era of new media. As I have mentioned to the Voice K parents, being a journalist can mean many things, and one of them is the ability to adapt to constant change. Voice K is a great training place for that. Training to become a journalist means training to become a leader.
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As Charles Darwin puts it,

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

Cheers,







Joanna Liu
]]><![CDATA[Letter from the editor -Issue 4 Spring 2013]]>Thu, 02 May 2013 05:54:17 GMThttp://www.voicek.ca/letter-from-the-editor/letter-from-the-editor-issue-4-spring-2013
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Earth Hour Concert article
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Top Ten Room Decorating Ideas
Spring is my favourite season of all. It is a season of hope, a season of readjustment, and a season for ideas to sprout. Spring is also an important time for the earth to rejuvenate and bring new life. I wanted our spring issue to focus on positive energy and love from the very beginning of the planning process. 


Being the editor-in-chief for Voice K has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Whether I was leading the Future Journalist Training Seminars with brilliant guest speakers, or visiting events with my junior journalists, I felt proud everywhere I went. The kids who are involved in the Voice K program are all truly talented. They are my Spring and my inspiration.

On March 23, I went to the Earth Hour Unplugged Concert with Wendy Wang, one of our best journalists. We sat in the media seats in the front row and enjoyed a solar power-generated concert. It was delightful to see so many people putting in a lot of effort to protect the earth. I have also received a lovely submission, “How to Recycle” from students of McKinnon Public School. We would like to spread the love for the earth, helping to build a better tomorrow for our future generations.

The “top 10” articles are many people’s favourites. In this issue, we have “Top 10 Room Decorating Ideas” by one of our youngest journalists, Dea Yu, with 10 adorable illustrations done by Michelle Soong.  Spring is also about having fun. In this issue, we invited online personality chef, Shauna Morgan, to visit Voice K and to decorate Easter cupcakes with our journalists. 

Voice K is working to improve and to adapt to the ever-changing publishing industry. In this spring, we have reviewed and readjusted ourselves, preparing for the new school year in September. In the summer, we will focus on building Voice K to become a stronger organization. Instead of publishing two small publications in June and September, we will have a combined issue of summer and fall, to be produced in late August. We promise you won’t be disappointed!

Lastly, spring is about trying new things. So I give you this wonderful quote by Mark Twain, 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Cheers,
Joanna Liu
Editor-in-Chief
voicek.mag@gmail.com

Let’s keep up the good work!
]]><![CDATA[Letter from the editor - Winter 2012]]>Sun, 06 Jan 2013 06:33:53 GMThttp://www.voicek.ca/letter-from-the-editor/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
]]><![CDATA[Letter from the Editor - Issue 2]]>Wed, 10 Oct 2012 20:53:58 GMThttp://www.voicek.ca/letter-from-the-editor/letter-from-the-editor
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