Things I learned about today, all written in polished, engaging fashion:

The Titanic's sister ship that sank in 1916.

Jobs robots do.

Nutritional tips.

Exercise tips.

Holiday shopping tips.

Sports news.

Upcoming events.

How to bake delicious sugar-free cookies.

Much more.

Think I've been reading a major publication such as Good Housekeeping magazine or the Rocky Mountain News? Guess again.

Lisa Johnson's sixth grade class at Douglas County's Renaissance ELOB Magnet School in Castle Rock published Volume 1, Issue 1 of their delightful new publication, Sixth Grade Times, this week.

Though I had heard one of the sixth grade classes at this school was preparing their very own publication, I'll admit to not expecting much.

When shuffling through all the reminders and notices my son, Carson, age nine and a fourth grader at Renaissance, brought home in his Thursday folder this week, I grabbed the most attractively laid-out, ten-page one and began to read.

I did not at first realize I had grabbed something by sixth graders. Only after reading cover to cover and thoroughly enjoying each section, including hand-drawn cartoons, did I check to see who had published such a fine news piece.

When I realized this newsletter resulted from the combined talents and contributions of kids, I was wowed.

Following are the names of students with "by lines" in Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Sixth Grade Times, published December, 2007:

Analicia Matthews
Emma Swearingon
Nick Elacqua
Jayson Beech
Alex Newhouse
Dalton Averitt
Sage Adler
Colin Cool
Peter Gibbs
Jordan Havlik
Shae Telford
Athena Garcia-Hauzer
Kiana Murray
Coby Levy
Kyle Russell
Cody Dengal
Peter Gibbs

You, too, can enjoy the journalistic talents of these fine young students at:

http://mslisa.edublogs.org/

Congratulations to Lisa Johnson and students on this impressive first foray into publishing. A+ and two thumbs up! I eagerly await your next issue.