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What's the most bizarre creature you've ever seen? Where did you see it? Why is it so bizarre?
Rare pink albino dolphin swims in the waters of Lake Calcasieu, Louisiana, just north of the Gulf of Mexico, March 2, 2009. The photograph was taken by charter boat captain Erik Rue, who regularly travels through the lake. (Photo: Erik Rue/Newscom)
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Have you ever been in a spelling bee? Do you remember the word that tripped you up or led you to a win? Send us your spelling bee stories!
(Photo: Mark Bowen/Scripps National Spelling Bee)
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Lots of people spend time in national parks and visit historic landmarks on vacation. What are your favorite parks and landmarks? Why are they your favorites?
(photo: istockphoto.com)
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What qualities do you think are important in a Supreme Court Justice?
Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
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By winning the Preakness Stakes, Rachel Alexandra became a symbol of equality in sports to many sports fans. Who are your sports heroes?
Photo: Jason Reed/Reuters
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Do you know what to do in case of a fire emergency? Does your family have a fire evacuation plan? How about your school? What ideas do you have about dealing with a fire emergency?
A helicopter carrying flame retardant moves into position for its drop in Santa Barbara, California, on May 8, 2009. Fourteen fire-fighting helicopters have been deployed to help contain the Jesusita fire. (Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
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What qualities do you think are important in a Supreme Court Justice?
Image composite. First image: photo of sitting Supreme Court Justices: Matthew Cavanaugh/epa/Corbis). Second image: U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter walks across his lawn in front of his home in Weare, N.H. in this July 1990 file photo. (Photo: Jim Cole/AP Images)
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What grade would you give President Obama's performance in his first 100 days on the job? What do you think are some things he has done well? What do you think are some things he has not done well?
Photo captions for top image composite:
Top Left
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pose with 2ndgrade
students at the Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.,
February 3, 2009. (Photo: Larry Downing/Reuters)
Top right
President Barack Obama signs the $787 billion dollar economic
recoverybill, with Vice President Joe Biden at his side, at the Denver
Museum ofNature and Science in Colorado on February 17, 2009. (Photo:
Gary C. Caskey/UPI Photo/NewsCom)
Lower left
President Barack Obama talks to workers following a plant tour at the
Trinity Structural Towers in Newton, Iowa, Wednesday, April 22,
2009.The company manufactures towers for wind energy production.
(Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP Images)
Lower right
President Barack Obama greets troops at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, April 7, 2009. (Photo: Jim Young/Reuters)
Today is a the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. It is a day of remembrance and commemoration. What is your school doing today to remember the victims of 9/11?
(Photo: The World Trade Center site is shown Thursday, September 11, 2008 at dawn in New York on the seventh anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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What do you think of the two vice presidential candidates? How do you think each will help their running mates in the presidential election?
Republican Presidential Nominee Senator John McCain and Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin celebrate at the end of the last day of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 4, 2008. Behind them are Palin's husband Todd, holding their son Trig, McCain's wife Cindy and other members of their families. (UPI Photo/Roger L. Wollenberg)
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No matter who wins the election—Democrats or Republicans—history will be made. Either a woman will be Vice President or an African-American will be President. What are your thoughts about this turning point in American history?
Photo: Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, right, holds her son Trig, as she is joined by her family on stage after her speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, Wednesday, September 3, 2008. From left are son, Track, daughter, Bristol and her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, daughters Willow and Piper and husband, Todd. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
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Kid Reporter Abigayle Lista evacuated her New Orleans home as Hurricane Gustav approached. She also evacuated when Hurricane Katrina hit. She said it was a stressful experience having to evacuate. Have you ever had to evacuate your home as a natural disaster approached? What did you do? Do you have any advice for other kids who might have to go through an evacuation?
Photo: ©Eric Gay/AP Images
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What do you suggest the Republicans do this week to both hold their convention and help the Gulf Coast region survive Hurricane Gustav?
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John McCain selected his running mate today: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She is the first woman to be selected as a vice presidential candidate in the history of the Republican Party, and only the second woman to be on a major party ticket as Vice President. What do you think of McCain's choice? How will Sarah Palin impact the election?
Photo: ©John Gress/Reuters
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It has been three years since Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast. There has been progress in rebuilding New Orleans, but there's still a lot of work to do. Now, a new storm, Tropical Storm Gustav, might hit the area and cause more problems and hardships. Has the country done enough to help New Orleans since Katrina? Why or why not? How should the country help New Orleans if Gustav destroys more of the city?
Photo: White House/Eric Draper
Senator rallies supporters to unite behind Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama
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Are there female historical figures that inspire you? Who are they? Why do they inspire you?
(Photo: Senator Hillary Clinton addresses the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 26, 2008. (Credit: ©Mike Segar/Reuters)
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Do you play team sports like Little League Baseball? Which sport is your favorite? What do you think is the greatest benefit kids get out of playing sports?
(Photo: Waipahu, Hawaii's Tanner Tokunaga, center, is greeted by teammates as he
crosses home plate after hitting a two-run homer in the second inning during
the championship baseball game of the Little League World Series against
Matamoros, Mexico, Sunday, August 24, 2008, in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Credit: ©Carolyn Kaster/AP Images)
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What do you think of Barack Obama's VP pick? Do you think Senator Joe Biden strengthens the Democratic ticket? Why or why not?
(Photo courtesy Kid Reporter Joe Wlos)
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Do you think your community would benefit from a bike-sharing program like SmartBike DC?
(Photo Courtesy The Clear Channel Outdoor SmartBike Program)
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Do you think companies or individuals who cause damage to the environment and economy of a local community should have to pay for the cost of cleanup and reimburse that community for lost business? Why or why not?
(Photo: ©Alex Brandon/AP Images)
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In the Disney Channel Games, Disney stars are competing against one another in Olympic-style events and challenges. But they're also working together and with kids from around the world to try to achieve victory. How important has teamwork been to you in the sports and games you have played? Is teamwork more important than winning? How do you and your friends work together in things other than sports and games?
Photo: Garth Vaughan
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In this Presidential election, some people think that Republican Senator John McCain is a stronger candidate when it comes to dealing with foreign affairs. Critics of Democratic Senator Barack Obama have said that he doesn't have enough foreign policy experience to be the President. Which candidate do you think is the best to deal with leaders and conflicts in other countries? Do you think that Obama's trip to the Middle East and Europe will make him a stronger leader?
Photo: ©NewsCom
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What are your ideas for ways to honor the men and women who serve in the U.S. military?
(Photo: ©Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI Photos/NewsCom)
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What do you do to stay fit and healthy? Do you like to play sports or dance? What do you think your school and community can do to better promote physical fitness in kids and adults?
(Photo: courtesy Abigayle Lista)
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Have you or your loved ones ever had to leave your home (evacuate) because of a natural disaster like a fire, flood, hurricane, or earthquake? Do you know what to do if there is a fire in or near your home? Does your family have a fire escape plan?
(Photo: ©Phil Klein/AP Images)
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How are you celebrating Independence Day? Do you have any favorite books or movies about the Declaration of Independence? What are they, and why do you like them?
What does having the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" mean to you?
Photo: ©Lane Hickenbottom/The Sheridan Press/AP Images
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Do you think the Supreme Courts' ruling that individuals have the right to own guns will make your community more safe or less safe? Why?
(Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA)
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Have you been affected by the floods in the Midwest? Do you have friends or loved ones who have been affected? Do you think it is wise to build cities and towns so close to such a powerful river? Why or why not?
(Photo by Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA)
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When a natural disaster happens like the floods in Iowa communities come together. Everyone pitches in to help. No one is too young or too old. How do you think kids can help their neighbors in Iowa? How should kids help other kids around the world hurt by natural disasters in places like China and Myanmar?
©Brian Ray/Cedar Rapids Gazette/Rapport Press/NewsCom
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In 2008, 288 kids competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. But all across America, thousands of kids took part in spelling bees at their schools. Have you ever participated in a spelling bee at your school? How well have you done? What was the hardest word you had to spell?
Photo: ©Mark Bowen/Scripps National Spelling Bee
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After such an intense battle through the primaries and caucuses, do you think the Democratic party can come together to support Senator Barack Obama's campaign for President? Why or why not?
(Photo: ©Joshua Roberts/Reuters)
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Senator Hillary Clinton is the first woman to come this close to winning the U.S. presidential nomination. Do you think the U.S. will ever elect a woman President? Why or why not?
(Photo: ©Todd Heisler/The New York Times/Redux)
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The race for the Democratic presidential nomination has been a long one. Do you think the extended contest has been good for the country? Why or why not? What have you learned about how the President of the United States is elected from the primaries?
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Do you think the DNC Rules committee decision was fair to voters in Michigan and Florida? Why or why not? What solution would you offer?
(Photo of HIllary Clinton: ©Ana Martinez/Reuters. Photo of Barack Obama: ©Chris Carlson/AP Images)
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Should residents of U.S. territories have the right to vote in presidential elections? Why or why not?
(©Ana Martinez/Reuters)
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Americans have been traveling into space for more than 40 years. But not everyone thinks that space travel is worth the cost. Some say the money the U.S. spends on space travel should be used to fix problems on Earth. But others say space exploration has helped us make important discoveries and advance our technology.
Is space travel worth the money spent on it? Do you think space exploration is important?
Photo: JPL/NASA
From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Allie Sakowicz
The afternoon session featured athletes from the Paralympics and BMX, the newest sport to be added to the Olympic Games. One thing that I noticed this afternoon is the fact that all of the athletes are so determined to succeed. This was especially true with the athletes from the Paralympics, who are not hindered by their disabilities.
Joshua Olson was very interesting to me because he said that his injury turned out to be “a blessing in disguise.” Without it, he said, he wouldn’t have been able to travel around the world and participate in the Paralympics. Olson would be the first active-duty soldier to compete in the Paralympics.
Another trait that I noticed throughout the day was a sense of humor. All of the athletes in the Paralympics were extremely fun to be around and joked with us throughout their interviews. I found them to be very inspiring, and their advice echoed throughout the room: Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean that you can’t do the things that able-bodied athletes do.
Scott Winkler, an Iraq War veteran and Paralympian, holds the world record for shot put. He is inspired by other people who have disabilities, and is currently the hospital chairman of the Paralyzed Veterans Association, which helps disabled veterans live a normal life. When we were taking pictures with him, he pulled a shot put out of his backpack and handed it to me like it was a regular ball. It was HEAVY!
All in all, it was a very fun day here at the Olympic Media Summit. I got to meet many Olympic hopefuls, and I can’t wait to watch them compete in Beijing!
Allie Sakowicz with Iraq War veteran and Paralympian Scott Winkler at the Olympic Media Summit in Chicago, Illinois, April 16, 2008. (Photo by Suzanne Freeman)
From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Joe Wlos
Olympic athletes all have someone who inspires them to carry on in their sport. Many say their inspiration comes from their parents. Some of their parents encouraged them to start the sport to get them away from the furniture!
"I used to have a lot of energy when I was a kid, jumping and bouncing around on my mom's furniture and she didn't want me to kill myself, so she got me involved in sports," said gymnast Shawn Golden.
Other parents encouraged their young athletes to stay in the sport no matter how hard it was. These athletes depended on their families for inspiration, and they've decided that they want to be inspirations for other people too.
To pass on their inspiration they have chosen professions where they can help people like grade school teachers. Many of their students find it very exciting to be taught by Olympians who compete in fencing or track and field events. Their students probably have very exciting lessons!
Today, athletes have also told us how much work it takes to be a participant in the Olympics. Some of them leave their jobs, and begin training every single day for hours at a time. Also, the athletes
Reese Hoffa, who participates in shot put, said that the most difficult part of sports is "probably the travel. When I first started out, I loved seeing all the other countries," he said. "But now that I'm married, I just like to stay home as much as possible."
Being an Olympic athlete isn't all about the fun and games. A lot of work goes into to being a success!
Gymnast Sean Golden (center) with Joe Wlos and Allie Sakowicz.(Photo by Suzanne Freeman)
From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Allie Sakowicz
Hello Scholastic Kids! We are here in Chicago at the Olympic Media Summit for yet another day of exciting athlete interviews. The experience of being in the room with such remarkable athletes has been very exciting. The men and women that have come through the room so far have a real chance of winning a medal in Beijing.
All of the athletes that Scholastic interviewed came from unique situations. Lashinda Demus is a mother of twins. Tim Morehouse was a 7th grade teacher for Teach For America. Nicole Davis has a black belt in martial arts. As different as they are, all athletes have one thing in common: the desire to win a medal.
Terrence Trammel, a track athlete, has won two silver medals in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games. This year, he is going for the gold. "It is an honor just to make it to the podium, but this year I want to stand there with the gold medal around my neck."
Allyson Felix, a track star from California recently graduated from USC with a degree in elementary education. She hopes to be a teacher when her run with athletics is over. She looks forward to being "just a regular schoolteacher." But, until then, she is lighting up the track with her amazing sprinting ability.
Stay tuned to this blog throughout the day, as Scholastic will be conducting more interviews with athletes from the Paralympics and BMX.
Joe Wlos and Allie Sakowicz with track and field star Lashinda Demus, the mother of 10-month-old twin boys. Photo by Suzanne Freeman
From Joe Wlos and Michael Geheren
Recently, we interviewed athletes who compete in the pentathlon. The pentathlon consists of swimming, shooting, horse back riding, running, and fencing. Because of the variety of the sport, the athletes have very difficult training sessions. Many times they can only train in a few areas at a time, because there aren't enough hours in a day!
But they don't have to be masters at every event. Two of the pentatheletes we talked to said that they never worry when a performance isn't good enough, because they always have another area to compete in. Pentathlon athletes really show how to be confidant no matter what.
These athletes had very different attitudes toward their sport, based mostly on their own individual personalities. While one said he enjoyted getting out there and feeling the rush of racing, another said he preferred the precision and slow pace of shooting.
Eli Bremer prefers the fast paced sports.
"Shooting is more methodical," he said. "It doesn't fit my personality. I'd rather get out there and run and swim my hardest than stand and shoot."
Dennis Bowsher is just the opposite. He prefers the shooting event. Why? "You get to stand there," he said. "It's a calm sport and I'm a calm person."
Fashion Madness
Tonight the world will learn what the U.S. team uniforms will look like. Nike, which designed and produced the uniforms, is hosting an "apparel presentation." We use quote marks here because the media insist on calling it a "fashion show." Nike doesn't like that. "It's a presentation, not a fashion show," one representative scolded us. "Stop calling it a fashion show." Done!
The players are as interested in the clothing as the rest of us. One of the athletes most interested in the clothing is swimmer Kaitlin Sandeno who said that after she retires as an athlete she wants to design the swim suits for future Olympic games.
Scholastic will have more blogs tonight and tomorrow. We will cover the Apparel presentation on tomorrow's blog posting.
From Scholastic Kid Reporters Joe Wlos and Michael Geheren
You know that Olympic level athletes are amazing at their sport, but something you might not know is that they feel very strongly either about superstitions or rituals or NOT having superstitions or rituals. One swimmer likes to eat dark chocolate just before she jumps into the pool. But most say they work to relax and "just be in the moment." Many shy away from rituals in case they don't have time to do them before their competition begins.
"If I win or do badly it's because of the way I performed, not because of some ritual or superstition," said one athlete.
The tough job at the media summit is not for the athletes I think—it's for the reporters. The questions are tough to think of and you have a lot of competition from other reporters to get your questions in and to make them good. (Some of the journalists have stolen our questions!)
But the athletes are also having a tough time, especially when ask some of the tougher political questions. We have asked most of the athletes how they feel about the call from some people to boycott the opening ceremonies because of China's human rights violations. We are also asking about how the athletes will deal with the pollution in Beijing.
So far we've interviewed nine athletes—with more coming. Each has a different and fascinating story to tell. Some of the swimmers talked about being, "water-babies" since they have been swimming since they were really young. We found that interesting. A lot of the athletes started with their sports really young.
Other athletes struggled to find their niche as kids, trying out different sports before landing on their specialty. All of them are now world-class athletes who concentrate on their sports.
Despite their dedication to training, they also have a world-wide perspective on current events. Some swimmers, runners, and soccer players expressed concern about conflicts in the world today. They don't think the Olympics should be part of that conflict.
"Sports and politics should be kept separate," said Casey Burgener, who competes in weightlifting. When he's not lifting weights, Casey likes to read, listen to music (including classical), and play his guitar. These athletes are all really smart, well read, and just plain interesting people.
They are all big on teamwork. The USA swimming team has an especially tight bond. They have been working together for years. "We travel and work together and share so much time together, we have really bonded," said swimmer Tara Kirk. At one time, Tara's sister was on the team. Talk about growing up together!
From left: Scholastic Kid Reporter Joe Wlos, weightlifter Casey Burgener, and Scholastic Kid Reporter Michael Geheren. (Photo by Suzanne Freeman)
From Scholastic Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke
Athletes aren’t the only interesting people at the Olympic Media Summit
this week. We met a lot of cool reporters today. One group, from the TV
Guide Channel, gave us some tips on how to do a better job. Vanessa
McDonald is the reporter. She shared a lot of her experience with
interviewing on camera. She said she loves to interview celebrities
like Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana).
“I thought she was really cool,” Vanessa said. “She was really nice.”
Her producer Patrick Rampson showed us what he called “high tech”
equipment. It was a wooden clothespin, which he called a C-47 (as in
clamp number 47). An actual C-47 costs a lot of money, he said. A
clothespin costs just a few pennies and works just as well. Patrick
uses it to hold gel filters (like plastic wrap for sandwiches) over the
lights to dim them.
The director of photography Don Murphy has his own trick, which
involves masking tape. The TV guide channel displays a daily guide to
TV shows on the screen. Programming runs in the upper right-hand
corner, taking up only about a third of the screen. They don’t shrink
the picture to fit the space. Don has to be sure that he shoots his
footage so that the image is mainly in that corner. He puts tape on the
screen to mark where the image has to be.
What a Day!
We interviewed almost 70 athletes today, working from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30
p.m.! We learned more than we could ever imagine—about the Olympic
games, China, sports and reporting.
The afternoon highlight was when two archers came in with their gear.
We had to make room for them to get past us. Brady Ellison and Jennifer
Nichols showed off their bows, which come with sights and balances.
Each one costs about $2,000—not including the arrows!
We also talked to Voice of America cameraman Roger Hsu, whose first
language is Chinese. We are currently learning that language at our
school, Walt Disney Magnet in Chicago. We learned how to write his
first name in Chinese characters.
After a long hard day of on-camera interviews, we found out something
else important: most of the journalists and athletes are jealous of OUR
jobs! They all said they wished they could have been kid reporters when
they were in school.
More importantly, however, we learned that determination and families
working together are all important ingredients to Olympic success. We
also learned a lot about reporting on deadline and thinking on our feet!
Gabyliz and Rudy with the gold medal winning Lopez family (top from left): Jean (the coach) and Mark, (bottom from left) Diana and Steven. The Lopez’s are from Nicaragua and have turned tae kwon do into a family business. (Photo by Gary Norcross)
From Scholastic Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke
After interviewing Olympic athletes for a few hours, we received our gift bags. We got Nike book bags filled with a lot of awesome gifts. Inside the bag was a bag of dark chocolate Hershey kisses, a camera, two Nike hats, another smaller book bag, a water bottle container, a disposable camera, and some other stuff.
The lunch boxes were super expensive so we went out to go get a quick bite to eat somewhere that we could afford. Instead of $125 for lunch boxes filled with food we couldn’t see, we ate pasta and sandwiches at the corner bakery for less than $50!
We are now about to begin our second half of the Olympic interviews, which includes speaking to softball, judo, wrestling, boxing, and fencing athletes. The athletes are as young as 15, and as old as 39. Age doesn’t seem to make a difference to the athlete’s motivation level. The youngest and oldest Olympians are equally excited for this year’s Olympic Games.
We also learned that there is a new scoring system for gymnastics this year. The perfect 10, the ultimate goal for Olympians for decades past, no longer exists. The new scoring system is more complicated.
Most of the gymnasts said they were fine with the new scoring code.
“I don’t like it [the new scoring system] as much,” said gold medalist Paul Hamm, who came in with his brother Morgan. “It’s harder to understand and I think people will be more confused, but it’s OK.”
Athletes don’t seem too worried about the pollution in Beijing.
“Hey, I’m from New York,” said fencer Ivan Lee, with a laugh.
Softball players said that once the spirit of the Olympics hits you, you don’t notice anything but the competition.
“We played there [China] in 2006,” said softball gold medal pitcher Jenny Finch. “It’s fine.”
The athletes all talked about training hard and staying focused. They don’t let anything stand in the way of working and training hard. Some of the athletes practice 12 hours a day!
Photo: Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke with Crystl Bustos and Jennie Finch, members of the U.S. Softball Team. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Freeman.
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