An important day on Thursday for curious children in the municipalities of Roerdalen and Roermond. The first edition of children’s newspaper ‘t Roertje has appeared. The newspaper was founded by journalist Hanneke Drohm from Posterholt, who previously said goodbye to the daily newspaper De Limburger.
Hanneke Drohm proudly enters the class of groups 7 and 8 of the Martinusschool in Vlodrop. In her hands she has dozens of copies of the first edition of the children’s newspaper for the municipalities of Roerdalen and Roermond.
No big people
She is assisted by some students who participated in it and by mayor Monique de Boer of Roerdalen. The mayor is presented with the first copy, but in her speech Hanneke makes it clear who and for whom ‘t Roertje actually belongs. “Kids asked me for lots of color, lots of pictures and stories about children and not adults.”
Serious business
After a word of thanks from the mayor, the newspapers are distributed. The reactions are positive, children browse and read and some quickly start puzzling. Thinking that the newspaper is only for games and local news is wrong, says Drohm. “It also contains very serious matters, such as the war in Ukraine. In this edition, a lot of attention is paid to children who have taken actions to collect money for giro 555.”
book boss
In the newspaper also an extensive interview with 11-year-old Diewertje Cox from Melick. She is known as a book boss at her primary school. “I make vlogs and tell about my favorite books and what they are about.” The next edition will be even more special for Diewertje. Then she interviews someone else for ‘t Roertje, namely a children’s author. She enjoys working on the children’s newspaper. “I want to become a writer myself, so that fits nicely with this. Moreover, there are many articles here that interest children, and it is nicely made with drawings and pictures. That makes it fun.”
Children’s newspaper ‘t Roertje is distributed across all primary schools in Roerdalen and Roermond and is published ten times a year.