I was invited to attend The School Magazine Contributors’ Luncheon held last Monday in Sydney. Australia. I have contributed a number of articles to The School Magazine over the years. Most recently, my story about sea turtles was republished in Blast Off last August. (The School Magazine is produced by the New South Wales Education Department and is read by school children all over Australia and, now that it is online, throughout much of the world.)
Flying to Sydney was out of the question for many contributors, including me. Instead, we were given the opportunity to attend online for a celebration of the wonderful contributions of writers and artists to The School Magazine, far and wide. Participants included authors from the United States, New Zealand, and as far away as Austria. (Because of the time change, the event was actually Sunday evening in California where I live.) While it took some time to get all the technology in order, the program began and we were introduced to the staff and treated to a summary of the history of The School Magazine, from its beginnings in 1916 to the present day. Here are a few examples of the changes that have taken place over the years.