Student Blogging Challenge 2015

Hey Kids!

It’s that time of year for The Student Blogging Challenge!

This is our opportunity to meet kids from all over the world!  Already there are tons of kids registered and waiting to meet other kids, like us, through their blogs.

Making friends around the world

Making friends around the world

Check out this list of students who have registered so far.

  • Who is 13-years-old, is from the Philippines, and likes Taekwondo?
  • Who is 12-years-old, is from Australia and likes netball and cricket?
  • Who is 13-years-old, is from the USA and likes pinning?
  • Who is 13-years-old, is from the USA and likes bodyboarding?
  • Who is 11-years-old, is from Taipei and likes listening to music?
  • Who is 13-years-old, is from New Zealand, and likes rugby?

 

How many kids are middle school aged (11-14)?

Who likes things that you like?

Where is Taipei?

What is netball?  pinning?  bodyboarding?

Jornada de entrenamiento bodyboard con los deportistas de la Academia Surf&Rock Miguel Navaza via Compfight

How will you find out these answers?  Visit these students!  It’s super easy; just click on the link to their blogs.   Start a conversation; ask them about their hobbies and tell them about yours.  Ask them about their corner of the world and tell them about yours.  Ask them about their school and tell them about yours.  Make a high-tech pen pal!

In order to start connecting, we’ll join this year’s Student Blogging Challenge.  We’ll meet new kids and improve our blogging skills simultaneously.  Cool, right?  Register for the challenge here.

With whom on the list would you like to connect?  Why?  

The game is afoot!  (Does anyone know what that is an allusion to?)

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30 thoughts on “Student Blogging Challenge 2015

  1. Dear Mrs. Donofrio
    The person that I connected with was Abigail. She was 11 and liked reading and sports. She had just started her blog, but I think that she has a broad future. I mean it will, at first, be as hard as making a lion purr, but I think that she will do good. Did you know what figure of speech that I just used? I think that you will but let’s see.

    I don’t know what your question at the very end is an allusion too, but I have heard it before, maybe I will look it up later and get back with you. It was a very interesting question. What is your favorite hobby?
    Emmalee

    • Hi Emmalee,
      I love the simile in your writing. You do an excellent job at writing creatively and using imagery. I won’t tell you the allusion until tomorrow, so the game is still afoot! I’m glad you find a nice blogging partner. Abigail is lucky to have you as a blogging mentor.
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  2. Hi, Mrs. Donofrio!
    That picture is OUTSTANDING! I’ve always loved boogie boarding; at least I think that is what he’s doing!
    It took me a long time to find a blog I found interesting, but brigid2015’s blog was worth the wait! Her blog is over the top, out of the park, etc. Her background is eye-catching and she puts a lot of effort into her blog posts… I guess that is what we have in common! I actually really do love writing and she does as well! When did you discover your love for writing?
    Erin

    • Hi Erin,
      Your question has really made me think about my feelings toward writing. I actually wonder if I do LOVE to write, or if I am just fairly good at writing. I don’t write too often in my spare time, although I do occasionally. However, it might not be enough to show a true love of writing. On the other hand, I think about writing a lot, and truly would like to do it more; it seems as though time to write is an issue. I guess I realized that I was pretty good at writing in college; before that, I thought everyone I knew wrote pretty much the same as I did. I am so glad that you love to write. You are a very good writer, Erin. Do you think you might like to write as a career?
      I hope you and Brigid strike up a great blogging friendship. Where is Brigid from?
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  3. Hey Mrs. Donofrio,
    I love that picture. I have been boogie boarding several times and it is very fun. So answer your questions I connected with a blog written by a student named Rajeet I think. He plays soccer and so do I. He had a interesting post on whether college athletes should get paid. I said yes because they put a lot of time and effort into it. Do you think college athletes should be paid?

    • Hi Anthony,
      Glad you liked the photo. Erin commented on it as well!
      Very interesting question about college athletes. They sure do put a lot of time into their sport and they bring a lot of money into the school by filling up stadiums with ticket holders; however, many, if not most, college athletes are on scholarship, so I think that is sufficient payment. They get a lot of perks as well: trips, sneakers, uniforms/clothing, etc. We should do a survey about paying college athletes. It’s an interesting topic.
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  4. Hi Mrs.Donofrio,
    I connected with a girl named Laura. The reason I connected with her is because she said that she likes netball and reading. She is also from Australia! I also thought that we could connect because I happened to play a version of net ball, basically basketball, while I was in Australia. Her blog is just starting but I think it’s off to a great start! Have you connected with anyone through the blogging challenge?i have another question that I may have already asked before. What made you start blogging?-Sydney

  5. Hi Mrs. Donofrio,
    I think that the person that I would connect with most on the list is Ava. I say this because we have a lot in common from what I’ve read from her blog! A few examples are that we are the same age and we have the same views on most things. For example on her post about Sea World whales, we both felt that more people should speak up for the whales because they don’t have a voice of their own. What are your thoughts on whales in captivity?
    -Raina

  6. Hey Mrs. Donofrio!

    I’ve been looking for a blogging mentor/ buddy for almost twenty-five minutes now!! I still haven’t found one because the people that have the same hobbies as me either don’t have the right link to their blog, the link is broken, or the blogs have about ten words on each post! Anyways, besides all of that i think i would want to chat and comment on an American thirteen year old boy that likes body boarding, because i think that is very fun and i have done it before. another reason is that i don’t think i like the other hobbies the other kids have! Have you ever been body boarding before?

    -dom

  7. Hey Mrs. Donofrio.
    It’s Matthew I also did Rashid the kid Anthony did. I agree I think athletes should get paid a salary because there’s a chance that they won’t get in the pros. I also love the picture and bodyboarding in general. I went a lot in New Jersey during the summer with my friends. Have you ever gone body boarding? And if you haven’t you really should.

    • Hi Matthew,
      I have never been bodyboarding, but I have done bodysurfing, if that means riding the waves in without any board. I do love that feeling of rushing forward with the wave, feeling it pull me faster and faster toward the shore. I will try to bodyboard this summer. I got a paddle board for Christmas, so you might see me working on that at Nokomis Beach this summer!
      Have you ever done paddle boarding?
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  8. G’day Mrs Donofrio’s Kids,
    Welcome to the March 2015 student blogging challenge. I hope you enjoy the activities to choose from each week. Make sure you connect with other classes around the world. These can be found in the header area of the blog.

    Maybe your teacher could add a link to the challenge in the sidebar of your class blog.

    PS What a great activity you have to get to know some other students in the challenge.

    • Thank you for welcoming us to the Blogging Challenge, Miss W. We just love blogging with Edublogs! We have already started to connect with students from around the world, as you can see from the comments to this post. Thank you for organizing all the activities for the Challenge. We sure appreciate it; coming to school would not be quite as much fun without our blog, and we couldn’t blog without you and the whole Edublogs team, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  9. Hey Mrs. Donofrio,
    That photo of the kid surf boarding is really cool! Do you happen to know where that picture was taken? To get to the question, I connected with Lucas’ Blog. His blog was really neat and organized but it was also REALLY cool!! Almost every single post was something I had in common. I also choose his blog because he had two hobbies that I loved!! They were baseball and football!
    What are your favorite things to do except for blogging(:
    ~Evan

    • Hi Evan,
      I am glad you like the photo; it seems to be catching the eyes of a lot of our students! I’m also glad you found a good blogging buddy in Lucas. I will have to read his blog as well! Aside from blogging, I like to participate in sports, but not baseball and football like you! I am too old for those sports! I like to run, swim, and ride my bike. In fact, I participate in a sprint triathlon every year. This year will be my 7th one.
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  10. Hi Mrs. Donofrio,
    I found an answer for one of your questions on the post. Yea is 11 years old, is from Taipei Taiwan and likes listening to music.
    P.S. The game is afoot is an allusion to Sherlock Holmes! What gave you the idea to use this allusion and why did you choose it. Are you an even bigger fan of Sherlock Holmes than Shakespeare! If you are I will be super di duperdi shocked! “Don’t waste your love on someone who doesn’t value it” William Shakespeare ( Romeo and Juliet)
    ~Blythe

    • Hi Blythe!
      I used the Sherlock Holmes allusion because I used to play a game called 221B Baker Street, which was Sherlock Holmes’ address. I played the game relentlessly with a friend of mine when we were both about 12-years-old. It was all about solving Sherlock Holmes’ mysteries. I loved it! Each game began by reading a card that had the beginnings of a mystery on it, and the card always ended with “The game is afoot!” which is how Sherlock Holmes’ books begin as well, I think. I loved that phrase because it let me know the fun of solving the mystery was about to begin. That’s the way I like to think about school. Each lesson is like a little mystery; we wonder how this sentence will be diagrammed, what will happen in the book we’re reading, what’s the best way to write this paragraph, whom will I meet on my blog? The game is afoot!
      How did you figure out the allusion?
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  11. Dear Mrs Donofrio,
    I like how we can do this awesome blogging challenge.I could not find any person my age.The website wasn’t letting me go in it,may you help me?
    Anyways I hope I can find some today.What would your two favorite hobbies be?

    • Hi Will,
      I will help you today. My two favorite hobbies are running and reading, but not at the same time! (Although the author Stephen King, who lives near us, has been known to walk and read.)
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  12. Hi Mrs. Donofrio,
    I love the pictures you used in the post! I want to connect with Sophie because she is a swimmer from NZ. I don’t swim and compete, but I love to do it. Her post is also about swimming. It interested me very much because she wrote about her goals and accomplishments. What interested you to join the student blogging challenge? Do you think we will enjoy it as we go further into it?
    ~Grace

    • Hi Gracie,
      I’m glad you liked the photos, and I hope you and Sophie hit it off as blogging buddies during the ten weeks of the blogging challenge. I think it’s really neat to connect with someone on the other side of the Earth! I do think we will all enjoy the Blogging Challenge. In addition to meeting new people, we will learn how to create better blogs, through our writing and also through the widgets and tools available to us.
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  13. Hi Mrs. Donofrio,
    I’ve connected with Aj’s at http://abel2015.edublogs.org and his blog is really interesting, I highly recommend checking out his blog. His topic is well thought out and you can tell he works really hard on his post. I really like his topic on High schoolers joining the army. He makes some valid points and has evidence to back up his topic. I agree with his argument that High schoolers shouldn’t join the military until their older. They should wait until their around 22 and try. This is just so they can better handle the situation. Also, your “The game is afoot.” allusion is the allusion to Sherlock Holmes. What do you think about boys or girls going into the military at the ages 16,17, and18?
    -Alicia

    • Hi Alicia,
      Like you, I think any of the teenage years are too early, even 18 and 19. Kids can’t drive a car until 16 (16 1/2 in some states), and then in 18 more months they are driving Jeeps in strange countries toting machine guns. It is crazy in my opinion. Going off to college is a tough adjustment for a lot of kids; it’s their first time away from home. I can’t imagine how hard it is for kids going off to fight in a war at age 18.
      I’m glad you met a good blogging buddy, and I hope you continue to exchange ideas throughout the blogging challenge.
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  14. Hey Mrs.Donofrio
    Sorry I forgot to do the comment last night but here it is

    I think the the game is a foot is an allusion to Sherlock holmes

    And the person I connected with was Kane I decided on connecting with him because he had a really cool background that the person who was on the blog could change the background and I wanted to find out how to get it or what it was called.

  15. Hi Mrs.Donofrio! It is always a pleasure to comment on your wonderful posts. I am very excited about the Student Blogging Challenge too! I highly enjoy connecting with kids across the world that are my age. I have connected with a girl named Ashley . I chose her, because one of the things she’s interested in is art. I have always loved doing art! I can express myself when I do it. I bet Ashley feels that way to. I will have to get to know her more! Isn’t that the point of all of this? Just as you said, we can become virtual friends with someone!

    The quote you left at the end of your comment sounds fairly familiar. If I took a guess I would say maybe Shakespeare ?

    What’s one way you connect with other teachers?
    -Cooper

    • Hi Cooper,
      It’s always nice to comment on your wonderful comments. I’m glad you found a good blogging buddy; I’m interested to see how the next ten weeks go as everyone gets to acquainted with their new high-tech pen pals.
      I connect with other teachers just as you do with students, through blogging. Teachers are a busy lot, though, so our interactions are sometimes sporadic. Even so, it is always great when we do connect and find a kindred spirit, someone who loves teaching and always wants to learn and do more to make learning exciting for her (or his) students. Sometimes these connections are brief, but if we are lucky, they last years. I feel so fortunate to have connected with Ms. Smith at Huzzah!, even though we haven’t done much communicating as of late. I’m sure our schedules will coincide again soon, and we will have lots to share with each other.
      Weren’t we lucky to connect with Dana Hankins and Graham Salisbury these past few months, and especially today on Skype?
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

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