Live From The Southside has announced an amazing opportunity for local South side San Antonio students to be featured in their “Kid’s Korner Writing Program”. Students in grades 3-12, can submit anything from personal essays and poems to songs and speeches to other nonfiction family-friendly pieces that are up to 300 words and up to 4 images per piece. The students are even given a deadline for submissions of the 15th of each month. This is a great opportunity for extra credit programs or classroom challenges among students.
The program has already been a success. Joette Barnes, Principal of Oak Crest Elementary (part of East Central ISD) stated, “Last year, Oak Crest Elementary school had the privilege of partnering with Live From The Southside magazine. Every month our students worked hard to refine their writing skills, so that they could get published in the Live From The Southside magazine. Our students anxiously submitted their writing samples and were on pins and needles waiting to see if they would be published. This opportunity truly created an atmosphere of students wanting to write to express themselves!! Students had a purpose to write and the best part is that they were excited!!!I am beyond grateful that Live From The Southside magazine gave students at Oak Crest Elementary experiences that they will always treasure! We are excited to continue this partnership!”
Monica Cruz-Arellano, a 4th Grade Teacher at Freedom Elementary (part of Southside ISD), was asked about the program. What does this opportunity mean for your students? “Having some of my students be able to say they are now published authors is such a great feeling! I have seen such a boost in their motivation to write and express their thoughts and opinions. Seeing their photos and published pieces brings such pride to their faces. Our class is very grateful to be part of the collaboration and I strive for my students to see the endless opportunities available to those who seek them out. If they have a chance to show their community how talented they are, they need to jump at it! I already know how awesome they are and now the entire Southside community knows it too!”
Live From The Southside is a Latina-owned online and print publication that was launched in August of 2020 and helps residents and visitors find things to do on the Southside of San Antonio and throughout Texas. The publication and platform’s goal is to improve and expand community relationships through promoting positive stories, interesting people, and businesses. On December 9, 2020, Live From the Southside Magazine and KSAT announced they have launched a content-sharing partnership in an effort to boost the Southside’s community voices and news coverage.
If you are interested in your students becoming contributing writers for Live From The Southside, please don’t hesitate to contact, April Monterrosa, Live From The Southside Editor-in-Chief at livefromthesouthside@gmail.com.
