IndyKids is a newspaper for kids, written by kids. Meet our Youth Reporters!


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	Eliya Ahmad Eliya Ahmad, age 10, lives in Brooklyn, NY. She goes to P.S. 261, and she is in fifth grade. She loves to write anything, and has been writing for IndyKids since October 2011. She really likes reading, writing, fencing, playing clarinet, playing piano, hanging out with her friends, swimming and other activities.
	Alexia Almonte Alexia Almonte, age 11, lives in Manhattan, New York City, where she goes to Tompkins Square Middle School. She loves to write science briefs for IndyKids, where she’s been a kid reporter since August 2011. Her favorite hobby is listening to music.
	Faye Aston Faye Aston, age 11, lives in Queens, New York. She is currently attending the Louis Armstrong Middle School (I.S.227). A few of her many interests are reading, writing, drawing, and knitting. She joined IndyKids so she could learn how to improve her writing based off of others’ writing. She would like to write about the fact that many schools are having longer days.
	Oscar Aston Oscar Aston is 11 years old and lives in Astoria, Queens. He goes to school at the Louis Armstrong Middle School or IS 227. He likes to play with his friends, he likes to draw, play the violin, and play baseball or basketball. He also likes reading but it depends on what book. Oscar joined IndyKids because he likes writing stories.
	Alice Brennan I am in the 4th grade at the Earth School. I love to read, write and draw. I also love to play with my black Schnoodle puppy, Sammy. I like experimenting, making things out of yarn and/or popsicle sticks. Something I think would be a good topic to write about is doughnuts. Other good topics to write about are music, restaurants and books. I want to join IndyKids because  a classmate told me it was fun and I think it will be fun to tell people, by writing articles, about things I know.
	Sizwe Chapman Mokgwetsi Sizwe Chapman, age 14, lives in Jackson, Mississippi. He is homeschooled and loves reading, listening to music, playing basketball and hanging out with family and friends. He writes anything he can get his hands on. He joined IndyKids in the summer of 2012, because he wanted to write at a higher level.
	Kalani Chen-Hayes Kalani Chen-Hayes, 9, lives in Plainsboro, New Jersey and attends Princeton Friends School. He enjoys bicycling for fun. His favorite subjects in school are science, math and Spanish. He also enjoys performing in his school’s musicals. He speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese. He came to IndyKids because he enjoys writing.
	Jalen Croston Jalen Croston, 12, lives in Bronx NY and attends MS 180. He plays basketball, football and baseball. He also plays guitar, piano and drums. He came to IndyKids because he enjoys writing about current events around the world
	Zippy Cruz Zipporah “Zippy” Mary Elizabeth Cruz, 10, is from Queens, NY. She lives with her Mom, Dad and little brother. She has traveled through various states including New Jersey, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Philadelphia, Washington and Florida. She enjoys reading, writing, singing, jewelry-making and shopping.
	Maya Davis Maya Davis, 14, lives in Jackson Heights, New York, and has been writing articles, news briefs and reviews for IndyKids since she was twelve. She is currently attending Bard High School Early College in Queens.
	Zazil Davis-Vazquez Zazil Davis-Vazquez, 16, lives in Queens, New York, and was born in San Diego. She has been writing and volunteering for Indykids since 2009. She writes in English and Spanish.
	Roky Egorho Diez Irati “Roky” Egorho Diez is 9 years old and attends East Village Community School in Manhattan, New York. She is in fourth grade and loves horseback riding, karate and skateboarding. She also enjoys soccer and her favorite team is Real Madrid. She started writing for IndyKids in November of 2011 and looks forward to working on articles in different languages.
	Aurelie Franchitti Aurelie Franchitti, age 10, lives in Manhattan and goes to P.S. 59. She has been with IndyKids since August of 2011 and published her first piece the very next month about the Duck Billed Platypus. She enjoys singing, knitting, reading and writing fiction.
	Kylie Freyman Kylie Freyman, age 9, is a student at P.S. 95 in Brooklyn. She loves to write and dance. When she grows up, she wants to be a news reporter; writing about animals, entertainment and current events.
	Shawn E. Gilbert, Jr. Shawn E. Gilbert, Jr., 13, is a very good person and likes helping people. He attends East Flatbush Community Research School in Brooklyn, and likes just being himself. His favorite hobbies are writing, reading and singing. One day he would love to be on the singing show X Factor.
	Eleanor Hedges Duroy Eleanor Hedges Duroy is 9 years old (almost 10). She goes to school at Granville Intermediate School and lives in Granville, Ohio. She is excited to write for IndyKids because she enjoys thinking about and talking about events that are happening in the world. She is a ballet dancer and plays the piano. She really enjoys traveling and wants to see many different places around the world. In her free time she enjoys reading, spending time with her brother and writing.
	Daniel Ivko Daniel Ivko is 10 years old and writes for IndyKids. Daniel’s favorite hobbies are playing tennis, track and field and reading. Daniel is home schooled and lives in Staten Island, New York. He speaks Russian, English, Spanish and Latin. He can also write in Spanish and Latin.
	Robert Ivko Robert Ivko is 12 years old and is currently starting to write for newspapers. Robert’s favorite hobbies are tennis and reading. Robert is home schooled and lives in Staten Island, New York. He speaks Russian and English and can write in Spanish and Latin.
	Jalilah Jones Jalilah Jones, age 13, Lives in Brooklyn, New York, and attends the East Flatbush Community Research School where she is in 8th grade. She loves to bake, write poems, paint and draw. She enjoys sharing her recipes as well as writing news briefs with IndyKids.
	Hayden Leary My name is Hayden and I am nine years old. I live in Washington Heights, New York and I go to school at PS187. My hobbies are video gaming and playing piano and I also like science and writing. I joined this program because some of my friends did this. I like writing and I want to know what it’s like to be a reporter. I want to write about either the new Pope or the new discovery on how old the universe is.
	Rose Marsh Rose Marsh, age 11, used to live in New York City, but currently lives in Maryland. She loves learning and writing about politics, which is what led her to write for IndyKids.
	Natalija Marshall Natalija Marshall, 10, is in fifth grade at PS 321 in Brooklyn, NY. She enjoys performing arts, playing the piano as well as track and field. She enjoys writing for IndyKids so that she is able to understand what is going on in the world
	Samuel Martinez Samuel Martinez is 11 years old and attends Columbia Secondary School. He lives in Washington Heights in New York City and enjoys both listening to and playing music. His favorite foods are lobster rolls and dark chocolate. He has always been interested in journalism and joined IndyKids because he feels it’s important for kids to understand the news in order to “know what is going on in the world around them.” He hopes to cover politics and the latest technology.
	Alejandra Paulino Alejandra Paulino is 11 years old and is in 6th grade at PS 86 in Bronx, NY. She enjoys writing in her journal, reading her Kindle and listening to music. She joined IndyKids to explore new opportunities to improve her writing skills and explore new activities.
	Ana Phelan Ana Phelan is 9 years old and lives in Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. She is in 4th grade at the Brooklyn New School. She enjoys dancing and singing, playing piano and the harp. She has performed at Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet and has played piano and harp in various venues. She joined IndyKids because she thought it would be fun to write stories for other people to read. She would like to write about ballet careers and astronomy.
	Tanya Porcari My name is Tanya Porcari, age 10. I live in Westchester, NY, and attend St. Anthony School. A few of my interests are flute, piano, and guitar. Also, I like volleyball, and basketball. I also enjoy aiming with my bow and arrow. One of my favorite things to do is write, and share my opinion. I also like to listen to what other people think.
	Yuuki Real My name is Yuuki Real and I am 12 years old. I live in Ithaca, NY. My interests and hobbies are video games, trombone, math club, book brigade, basketball, traveling/visiting national parks. My mom thought I need to improve my writing. She got me a subscription to IndyKids. I just finished reading Bill McKibben’s Earrth, so I would like to write about the environment for now, but I have many other interests.
	Georgia Reed-Stamm Georgia Reed-Stamm, age 9, attends Public School 8 in Brooklyn, NY. She loves reading, movies and having fun with her friends and family. She also enjoys writing and singing her own songs. That is exactly why she joined IndyKids!
	Zola Ross-Gray Zola Ross-Gray is 10 years old and lives in TriBeCa, a community in lower Manhattan. She loves reading, listening to music and doing handstands. She joined IndyKids because a friend recommended it. Zola is also a current subscriber to IndyKids. She is interested in writing about current events so that she can learn more about them as she writes about them.
	Malik Shah Malik Shah is nine years old and attends the Earth School in Manhattan, New York. He enjoys reading books, playing soccer, ice skating and dreaming of imaginary worlds. He joined IndyKids to learn how to gather his thoughts.
	Sundar Thomas My name is Sundar Thomas. I am nine years old. I live in New York City. I go to school at PS 187. I like to play video games. I like to play guitar. I like to play sports and I like to do karate and Kung fu. I joined the kid reporter program because I like to write about movies and science and I would like to share my writing online.
	Ayca Tuzer My name is Ayca Tuzer. I’m 10 years old. I live in New York for now. I am Turkish. I go to the United Nations International School (UNIS). I like drawing manga, reading and riding bicycle . I joined the program because I want to find some friends and learn how to write good articles. I want to write my opinion about the movies I saw and the books I read. I may also draw manga for the paper for the events that happened.
	Janaya Wilder Janaya Wilder, age 13, lives in Brooklyn, NY. She goes to New Voices Middle School, and is in the eighth grade. She has been writing for IndyKids since October 2011, and loves writing about culture and activism. She speaks Spanish and English, and her favorite hobby is dancing.
	Kanoni Wilder Kanoni Wilder, age 10, lives in Brooklyn, NY. She goes to New Voices Middle School, and is in the sixth grade. She joined IndyKids in October 2011. She loves to dance, sing and she has A LOT to say. She also loves to read. Her favorite book is the Percy Jackson series.
	Shemar Wilson Shemar Wilson is 13 years old and lives in Brooklyn, New York. He goes to East Flatbush Community Research School, and is in eighth grade. He loves to write and he is very good at it. He has plenty friends as he is friendly and cool to get along with. He is a new reporter at IndyKids and he would like to continue to write for them.
	Pedro Lahoz Wolfe Pedro Lahoz Wolfe, 10, lives in New York City. His favorite pastime is reading. He likes writing for Indykids because it is a political newspaper that shows the REAL world.
	Calum-Wolfe-Thompson Calum Wolfe-Thompson, age 9, lives in Manhattan, NY. He is in 4th grade at P.S. 187. He loves to read, write, talk, play pool, and ride his Ripstik. He also enjoys track and field, swimming and diving, and baseball. He is excited to find out what it’s like to write for Indykids
	Theo Yanos Theo Yanos is in 5th grade at PS / IS 187 in New York City. He enjoys rock climbing, reading as well as hanging out and making music with his friends. He began writing for Indykids because he thought it would be cool to write for a newspaper as a kid. He also hopes it will improve his writing skills
	Jackson Zavala Jackson Woolf Newby Zavala is 9 years old and lives in Inwood in Northern Manhattan. He enjoys making stop-motion videos, playing with LEGOs and playing the cello. He has also performed in his local theatre group. He joined Indykids because he wants to write articles for the world to see. He currently writes book reviews, but looks forward to writing other kinds of articles as well.