Dear Editor:

Dummy, masthead, and ledes were some of the fascinating new terms our home educated students learned during a recent field trip to The Pioneer office. Special thanks go to Kelsey, Kate, Dave, and the rest of The Pioneer staff for the warm welcome and informative tour of their office.

Our mix of Grades 3-8 students were impressed by the massive amount of work that goes into producing a newspaper each week. They enjoyed a demonstration of the software that is employed to design the paper layout, edit photos, and add captions. One student marvelled at the size of the camera equipment reporters use to capture the news.

The fact that The Pioneer does not have a printing press, but is printed and trucked in from Calgary was a surprise. Students expressed their sympathies for the people who add the flyers by hand each week. Thanks for your labours whoever you are!

Another interesting tidbit was that some of the best news stories have come from reporters mingling in the community. Just going for coffee and overhearing a conversation can be the start to a great article.

Over the next few weeks the students will be busy scouting out leads of their own and creating a mock Pioneer. If you see kids out with notepads and cameras, watch out! Thanks to Kelsey for encouraging our students to create their own newspaper and for her willingness to bring their stories to press through the computer software at The Pioneer.

The Columbia Valley Home

Learners Writing Club