iT'S SUMMER! Time to kick back and relax, take it easy and surf the web for interesting stuff. This month, and through the beginning of school, News for Kids at bellaonline will feature articles about interesting things to do with your time and energy. There will still be news articles (hel-LO! We're NEWS for Kids), but there will also be interesting ideas on clubs, trivia and games you can participate in during the summer.

I hope you’re finding the information on the News for Kids site helpful and written in a way that’s interesting and easy to understand. The site will be updated weekly, and will have news about world and US issues, fun things to do and even a joke or two for you to enjoy.

Here’s the place you can sign up for the News for Kids Newsletter. Make sure and ask your folks for permission before you give us your email address, but let them know that we NEVER give anyone your information or send you junk. We won’t try to sell you the latest electronic anti-gravity roller skates, the coolest invisible tee-shirt or a course in underwater-basket weaving. We only send you a short newsletter letting you know that there’s a new article on the site waiting for you to read. There may be some ‘quickie news’ bits, a joke or a quote, but no junk.

We will be dealing with some pretty tough issues, things that are sometimes hard for even the grown-ups to understand, but we’ll do it carefully. No scare-tactics, no ranting and raving, none of my opinions – just news for you to learn about and use to figure out your world.


After you enter your email address and hit subscribe you’ll receive a test email. Don’t worry! It’s not a test for you, but one for your SPAM filter. If we ‘pass’, you’ll get the email and everything is ready. You don’t have to respond to receive future newsletters. They’ll just come every Sunday. If you don’t get the test email, we’re stuck in your SPAM filter. (AUGH!) Get your folks to go into the SPAM settings and allow us to get into your inbox!


My name is Debora Dyess, and I’m the editor of the site. I’m a full-time writer, and while I usually write fiction I also love to teach -- oh, no! Secret's out! I was once, in another time and plaace, a teacher. Now I write. Feel free to drop me an email and let me know what you think of the site. You can even turn the tables on me and give me a pass-fail grade if you’d like! Ask about things you didn’t quite understand, suggest news stories you’d like to hear about and let me know how to serve you better.

I’m also a mom and grandma (but a really young one!) and I still teach at my church. I’m around kids a lot, and really enjoy your company. I like to write, obviously, but I also sing, paint, bake, play games and love to ride my bike. I roller skate (when my husband, who is REALLY old, lets me!), play the piano badly and write music. I especially enjoy playing jokes on good-natured friends. And I look forward to getting to know you as we interact through OUR site – yours and mine – the News for Kids site.

Well, I guess that’s all. Here’s to seeing you at the site, hearing from you in email and in the forum and getting to know you. Thanks for signing up!

Deb