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<p><span data-contrast="auto">Shannon Meyerkort wears a lot of hats, one of which is part time staff writer at the Australian arm of <em>School News</em></span><span data-contrast="auto">. Over the past year, Shannon has penned some popular articles for the magazine and website. Occasionally, her work will crop up in <em>School News New Zealand</em>. To get to know Shannon a little better, we asked her to answer some questions about herself!</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto"><a href="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/latest-print-issue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Read the Term 3 edition of <em>School News</em> HERE</strong></a> </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">Please introduce yourself and explain what you do at <em>School News</em></span></b><em> </em></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">My name is Shannon Meyerkort and I am a journalist for <em>School News</em> <em>Australia</em>. I’ve been working primarily on the digital magazine but occasionally also the print mag for about a year.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">Where are you based?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I live and work in Perth, Western Australia on Whadjuk boodja.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">Do you have any other current jobs?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I currently have a few jobs, but all are writing-related. I work part-time as a bookseller at a fabulous and friendly store in Subiaco. I am also an author, my children’s book </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Brilliant Minds: 30 Dyslexic Heroes Who Changed Our World</span></i><span data-contrast="auto"> came out in October 2022, and I also write novels for adults and am working on a series of chapter books as well. I always have a few projects on the go at any one time.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<figure id="attachment_27599" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27599" style="width: 228px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-27599 size-medium" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Shannon-Meyerkort-and-Poppy-228x300.jpg" alt="" width="228" height="300" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-27599" class="wp-caption-text">Industry reporter Shannon Meyerkort and her dog, Poppy.</figcaption></figure>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">What were some of your most recent or relevant positions?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I’ve been writing freelance for well over a decade. One of my favourite stories to write was a piece on the etiquette of ‘share plates’ back when restaurants were suddenly introducing them to menus and no one quite knew how to handle it. It was fantastic because then I got a call from the West Australian newspaper, who then interviewed me about the story and I got to go along to a restaurant for a photoshoot, and there I was, eating prawns and pasta at ten in the morning. I also ran a website called Fundraising Mums for five years, which specialised in all things fundraising for schools and community groups. I sold the content to The Fundraising Directory in 2020 so I could focus on writing my novels.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">What was your very first job or your weirdest job?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">My first job was as a cashier at Chicken Treat back in the early 90s and from there I moved to Blockbuster Video, back when videos were still a thing. I was there when the transition to DVDs came in, and in the first year there was a single bay of about 30 DVDs compared to the thousands of video titles. Part of our job was rewinding all the videos that customers returned. It was as thrilling as it sounds.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">Did you know you always wanted to be a writer or editor? What did you want to be when you were at school?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I wrote my first book when I was in year 4, it was self-published, which at the time meant my Mum stapled the pages together for me, and helped with the neat lettering. It was called ‘Tales of Daphne the Goose’ &#8211; so yes, I always knew I wanted to be a writer. However, my very sensible parents warned me it probably wasn’t the most financially secure of jobs, so when I went to uni I trained as an anthropologist and did a Masters in Public Health and became a researcher instead. I am now a fully-fledged author (my first book was published last year), but Mum was right, and it’s not very financially viable so I also work as a journalist at <em>School News</em> as well as a bookseller.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">How are stories chosen for <em>School News</em>?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I choose stories based on a few different ways. I often get sent press releases or links to stories that my editors have seen, or they want a story on a topical issue. But I also get many ideas from things I might read in the paper, or just what I observe in the day-to-day at my daughters’ schools. Now that I’ve been at the magazine for a while, people contact me directly with story ideas which I love. I’d like to hear more from schools and educators directly with stories they want to share with the country.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">What is your most memorable or popular <em>School News</em> story? </span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I love writing stories where I get to go behind the scenes and share those unknown aspects of the everyday. Interviewing writers about </span><a href="https://school-news.com.au/classroom-resources/the-who-what-why-of-teachers-notes/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">how Teachers’ Notes are written</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> was really interesting and it was a very sad but fascinating story about </span><a href="https://school-news.com.au/external-learning/how-a-teacher-made-it-onboard-challenger/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">the teacher who was on the Challenger shuttle</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> when it exploded.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I also love doing stories that directly help teachers. My mum was a teacher for many, many years so I grew up seeing all the unacknowledged work and effort that went in out-of-hours. So I was glad I could write stories like how to </span><a href="https://school-news.com.au/teachers-desk/teachers-tax-deduction/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">maximise tax deductions</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> and the one about the </span><a href="https://school-news.com.au/classroom-resources/free-teachers-store/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">free teachers’ store in WA</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> and also saving them time by writing </span><a href="https://school-news.com.au/classroom-resources/novels-with-neurodivergent-characters/" target="_blank"><span data-contrast="none">lists of books with neurodivergent characters</span></a><span data-contrast="auto"> to help them stock their classroom libraries. </span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">If you could introduce one thing into all schools (a program, a position, a philosophy or rule) what would it be?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I’d like to see university programs that train teachers to recognise and help kids with learning disorders like dyslexia as part of their basic training, not as an optional extra. For every year a child waits for a diagnosis and help, it feels like they’re missing three years and by the time all their peers are reading to learn in upper primary, they’re still learning to read, and it’s so difficult for them to catch up.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">I was in the choir in high school and can play four or five chords on the guitar which was enough for me to write a dozen or so very angsty songs when I was a teenager.</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><b><span data-contrast="auto">What do you do in your spare time?</span></b><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Apart from spending time with my daughters (I’m currently teaching my eldest to drive!) and working as a bookseller a few days each week, when I do have time, you will find me either writing or reading. I’m a very early riser, and will often be at my computer working on my novel by 5am every day. I’m a history lover, so everything I write focuses on a different era. Currently I’m researching and writing the late 1800s and my story is set – where else – in a bookshop!</span><span data-ccp-props="{";201341983";:0,";335559739";:160,";335559740";:259}"> </span></p>

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