Washington Mystic's Home Opener

Mystics Mania hits D.C. basketball courts.

After an on-the-court interview with the Washington Mystic’s newest star Katie Smith, I got to go see a game. It was the Mystic’s home opener and I was seated at the press table with a terrific view of all the action.

A great roar of approval escaped the crowd as the WNBA Mystics trotted onto the court. Each player was introduced by a booming and enthusiastic voice over the loud speaker. I received a high-five from Katie as she loped past the table.

The game started off slow-paced, and as I sat at the long media table packed with reporters and shiny laptops, I began to wonder if the action would ever pick up.

The first quarter ended, with the Mystics at 9 points, and Liberty (the opposing team) maintaining 18. Ouch.

The second quarter was better. The players seemed more determined, crouching low and menacingly, streaking down court, and supplying good defense. It ended with the Mystics' score being 31 to the Liberty's 28.

After half time, the third quarter started, transforming the court into a battlefield. The players, their faces dark and determined, thundered down the court, plowing through the defenses of the opposing team. With each score for the Mystics, a deafening din arose from the stands. Signals passed between the players, allowing them to execute brilliant plays that bypassed the defenses of the enemy team.

Occasionally, the ball would spin out of control, resulting in the ref's whistle and a call that usually provoked boo's and insults. WNBA fans are certainly passionate!

As the game picked up, the action brought more penalties. Anne Donovan, the head coach for Liberty rushed up and down the sidelines, stepping in front of me literally every time I was about to take a picture. The back of her brown suit became all too familiar!

My ears were assaulted by a women sitting next to me, who was yet another coach or advisor for Liberty. She kept yelling calls to the players such as, "Slice! Chop! Slice!" and, "Screen the screener, screen the screener!"

All the excitement left me holding my breath with the rest of the crowd during the last few minutes of the game. The Mystics held Liberty at 61, gaining a lead of 16 points. The game ended with the Washington Mystics at 77 and the Liberty 61.

After the game I spoke to Katie and asked her opinion of the game.

"It was a great game, and our defense really helped create opportunities for us to score," she told me.

With that, I met up with my Dad and my friend Ellen and her dad, and headed back to the car, my ears still ringing with the shouts and chants from the crowd. I asked Ellen what she thought about her first live professional women's basketball game. Did she think it was different from men's? She, my dad and her dad all agreed that it was a great game that wasn't necessarily better or worse than men's basketball. It was different, and definitely something they would do again.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

—Nick Berray

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Nick Berray watches the Washington Mystics during their home opener with the New York Liberty. (Photo Courtesy Nick Berray)

Shrek Forever After

At the premiere for Shrek's final chapter.

It was a rainy night in New York City as my dad and I ran to the red—I mean GREEN!—carpet for the premiere of the new Shrek movie, Shrek Forever After.

As we walked inside the media tent, we were given special press passes and directed to our spot on the carpet. I caught my breath and started filming my video report.

It was a very hectic event, but there was also a lot of waiting around for the celebrities as they made their way down the carpet, stopping to talk to different reporters along the way.

Filming the video report was a lot of fun, but the best part was meeting the stars. This was no time for being nervous!

Before the stars of Shrek: Forever After arrived, other celebrities who came to see the movie arrived. Donald Fasion, the star of one of my favorite movies, Big Fat Liar, stopped to say hello. He was so excited that I knew and loved his movie, he gave me a hug!

The stars of Shrek began to make their way soon after. First was Cameron Diaz, the voice of Fiona. She was very nice and let me ask all of my questions. She treated me with a lot of respect and I really enjoyed talking with her. When you see her in the interview, you can see that she’s a very nice down-to-earth person.

The next big name was Eddie Murphy, the voice of Donkey. Unlike Donkey’s voice, Mr. Murphy’s real voice was so much softer and calmer. It was really exciting to talk to so many famous people in one night.

I’ll never forget my ‘green carpet’ experience and even though it’s all over I am still excited just thinking about covering the Shrek Forever After premier.

—Alexis Wiseman

PHOTO: Eddie Murphy, the voice of Donkey, with Kid Reporter Alexis Wiseman at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Shrek Forever After. (Photo Courtesy Alexis Wiseman)

Latanna Stone: Youngest Golf Pro

Heads up! Golf newcomer and Kid Reporter on the links.

Golf is not as easy as it seems. Recently I met 8-year-old golf pro Latanna Stone and her golfing buddy Lily Berry on the links near their home in central Florida. Lily is only 7!

They both offered to show me pointers on how to perfect my swing—a swing that didn't exist until I got this assignment.

Obviously they didn’t know what they were getting into when they agreed to work with this non-golfer. My swing compared to theirs was like a toddler to a pro golfer who has been playing her whole life. Well, pretty much they have, but I had never set foot on a golf course before. It was quite a challenge for all three of us.

Latanna taught me how to hinge. Hinge means to take your arm and hold it straight and only move your elbows to drive the ball—don’t move your arm or wrist. Suddenly my short drive of five inches turned into two feet! That was good for me, but not Latanna, who usually drives about 106 yards.

When it was time to putt, Lily and Latanna taught me how to sink it in the hole. Showing me as they spoke, they said to lightly swing the club back and forth barely above the green without moving my wrist. Both of them efficiently reiterated for me to keep my eye on the ball. I obviously had a problem with that. After the tenth try, I finally sank it. Those two girls are miracle workers!

Golf takes both grit and patience, qualities that these young ladies have in abundance. Me, not so much. After one short hole I was beat. Sweat was pouring down my face.

Latanna and Lily both encouraged me: "You did fantastic. That was really great for a beginner."

I laughed, knowing that I was nowhere near their status. Hey, maybe a legend wasn't born that day, but a new interest definitely was.

—Shelby Falllin

Academic Games Tournament

A magical experience at Academic Games

Each year the Academic Games Leagues of America National Tournament is held to discuss, debate, laugh, and play games to challenge young minds.

Students play games that engage their language arts, math, and social studies skills. The organization is dedicated to developing “Thinking Kids” of character and integrity.

Most school districts practice and compete at a local level before they move on to the national tournament, which is hosted in a new location each year. This year’s National Tournament lasted from April 23-26 and took place in Cincinnati, Ohio.

My school district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, traveled by bus to the games. The competition was intense. We had to study for long hours, and tournaments lasted for many hours each day.

But it was so much fun learning new things, meeting new and interesting people, and enjoying the camaraderie of my teammates.

While I was there, I also heard a very inspiring story about a man who played Academic Games as a child. When he grew up, he flew to Taiwan, where he decided to help the children in the schools there learn Academic Games!

I hope this story inspires every kid who reads this to start an Academic Games League at their school. If you want to learn more about Academic Games, then log on to the website at: www.academicgames.org . There, you will find more information about all of the games.

If you want to start an Academic Games League at your school, find a teacher you like who will help you.

The Academic Games National Tournament was a magical experience for me—maybe I will see you there next year!

—Susan Hepburn

PHOTO: Academic Games winners from Kid Reporter Susan Hepburn's school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo Courtesy Susan Hepburn)

Teachers Honored in D.C.

Meeting the nation's best teachers at Vice President's home.

Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden honored teachers recently by holding a reception at the Vice President’s resident, the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. A teacher herself, Dr. Biden held a reception for Teachers of the Year from all 50 states.

I was curious as I stepped into the Vice President’s house. I was amazed about all the rooms. The walls were either striped or painted in different colors. In the middle of the front hall was a magnificent black podium. The podium was right near a swirling white staircase. At the top of the staircase, the Vice President’s dog Champ peered out at the humans milling about below.

Pictures of the former Vice Presidents were lined up on a glass china table. In the dining room, a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.

The podium room was loud with chat. All these great teachers from across the country mingled with Dr. Biden and Department of Education officials, sharing fine moments in their teaching career.

Dr. Biden apparently had a lot in common with these teachers, being an educator herself for almost three decades. She even declared that after the reception she would have to go upstairs and grade a big stack of papers.

She made these “best of the best” teachers feel right at home. Even the Vice President changed his schedule and made a surprise appearance at the reception!

Before Dr. Biden gave a speech to welcome the teachers, she took time to recognize the only 4th grader in the room. She singled me out, asking, “Alexandra, are you here from the Scholastic Kids Press Corps?” That surely put some “spark” in the event! The teachers all looked my way and murmured acknowledgment as I nodded a greeting.

I talked to many teachers for my story, including Dr. Biden! I was so excited for the teachers here. Many were going to the White House the next day for the President's announcement of the National Teacher of the Year in the Rose Garden. I feel so fortunate that teachers like these are in our classrooms all over the country.  I can’t wait for school tomorrow!

— Alexandra Zhang

PHOTO: Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden talks to Kid Reporter Alexandra Zhang at the Vice President's official residence, the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. (Photo Courtesy Alexandra Zhang)

From Garbage to Fertilizer

Using compost for a healthy garden.

Composting is when you recycle organic food materials. It returns the compounds that are in the waste to the earth, where bacteria break them down and reuse them. But that’s just the official definition.

Basically, by composting, you recycle useful plant parts turning garbage into fertile dirt. That's what happens in the woods for example as foliage dies and decays. By collecting organic waste you can speed up this process and make your garden healthier. Once the waste is turned into compost, you put it in the ground around the plants.

Also, the waste you use in the compost does not get hauled off to a dump site, so, besides improving your farming method, you decrease the amount of rubbish you throw away.

My family has a big compost pile in our backyard garden. We use it to create organic fertilizer for the soil.

In our garden, we grow herbs, fruits and vegetables. We grow most of our own fruits and vegetables, so to keep them alive, healthy, and organic, we need fresh fertilizers.

Not all our compost is made of scraps from the kitchen. We also use another basic organic ingredient—horse manure. Yuck, I know, but it helps a lot!

What does your family do to live a healthy lifestyle? Send in your comments below!

—Lily Haffey

PHOTO: Kid Reporter Lily Haffey works organic waste into her family's compost pile. (Photo courtesy Lily Haffey)

The Writers are Rock Stars!

Scholastic kicks off Summer Challenge with live webcast and popular authors.

Summer reading got off to an electrifying start at the Scholastic World Headquarters in New York City recently.

Kids packed the comapany's auditorium for a live webcast that kicked off the annual Scholastic Summer Challenge. The four-month-long campaign challenges kids around the world to read for the world record. You can register and log in your minutes to participate at the Summer Challenge website: www.scholastic.com/summerreading.

Excited students cheered and waved colorful signs touting favorite book titles and authors as they waited for the book trivia game to begin. Right in front of me I saw a purple and green sign that read Goosebumps: R.L. Stine Rocks!

Students were thrilled to see the award winning authors on stage to test their literary trivia knowledge. Participating were Lisa Yee, R.L. Stine, Gordan Korman, and Christopher Paul Curtis.

Reactions from the students when questions appeared on the large screen behind host Jon Scieszka proved this was a well-read crowd! If one of the authors answered a question incorrectly, the crowd moaned. When one was answered correctly, the crowd ignited with cheers even before the answers were revealed.

Laughter erupted when a question came up asking for the title of the very first Goosebumps book and Lisa Yee buzzed in ahead of R.L. Stine, who wrote the series!

Yee looked to Stine for help. “Why don’t you try answer D,” he said. She unfortunately took his advice. BZZZZZ! WRONG ANSWER! Everyone roared with laughter, including me!

Stine then buzzed in and answered correctly—of course!

Another funny moment was when Gordon Korman buzzed in to answer a question about his own series, The 39 Clues. Host Jon Scieszka didn’t think Korman sounded too sure of his answer.

“I haven’t read it in a while,” he said. Did he get it right? DING! YES, HE DID!

After the show, students rushed to greet their favorite authors and get autographs. The authors were happy to oblige. Rock stars have nothing on these guys as far as enthusiastic fans!

What I noticed most about being at the Summer Challenge webcast was that the students were smiling, laughing, cheering, waving signs, and having a blast. Their reactions to both authors and questions made it obvious that a lot of joy has come from the work of these writers!

And I’m sure the kids who watched from across the world felt the same way, too. After all, reading really is fun!

You can watch the whole webcast on the web site at www.scholastic.com/summerreading.

And don’t forget: you can join Scholastic and Reading is Fundamental to break the summer reading world record! Log on today and register.

What are you planning to read this summer? Use the comment section below to send in your summer reading plans!

—Danielle Azzolina

PHOTO: Authors (from left) Lisa Yee, R.L. Stine, Host Jon Scieszka, Gordan Korman, and Christopher Paul Curtis. (Photo Courtesy Scholastic)