Friday, February 29, 2008

IT ISN'T FAIR!

An Editorial by StellaStarr Soderstrom

Has this ever happened to you?

You need to make a few Lindens to upload a texture or buy a present for your mommie, daddie or a friend. You go somewhere that kids can camp safely like Playtime or Cutie Patootie. But when you finally get to that camping rug or bench, there's no room for you to park yourself for a while. GROWNUPS are taking up ALLLLL the camping spots, and you can't make any moneys!!!!

So, you go to another camping place...and another...and another. Kid at Heart Mall...Angelina's Little Girls Clothes...MAW. The scene's the same there, and There, and THERE. Big people hogging all the spaces, and some don't even look human...they're zombie-like avis who look really gross and are keeping you from making any moneys!

It's not fair!!! It's hard for a kid to make moneys in SL. Camping is just about the only way if you're not a model, a teacher or a shopkeeper. We can't camp just anywhere...we have to make sure it's a place where there's no bad stuffs and/or grownups won't be mean. And when these older peoples take spots at stores that cater to US, SL kids, well...that's just plain wrong!

One solution could be to only allow camping by members of a group that you'd have to join. Some adults could sneak in, but the group administrator can check profiles to make sure that only child avis could stay in the group. One bad thing about that is that most of us are maxxed out on our groups already, especially those of us who own stores in several places!

In the meantime, I have one piece of advice for the grownups who are taking our camping spots:

GET A JOB!!!!

SCIENCE CAN BE FUNS!



The Abyss Museum of Ocean Science

I took a trip to the Abyss Museum of Ocean Science and learned some things about sea life. Did you know there are five zones to the ocean? They are, from top to bottom:

The Sunlight or Epipelagic Zone
The Twilight or Mesopelagic Zone
The Midnight or Bathypelagic Zone
The Abyssal or Abyssopelagic Zone
The Hadeoplegic Zone

As the zones progress towards the bottom, the sea creatures get more fantastical-looking. The temperature drops and pressure increases. By the time you get close to the sea floor, you find creatures like starfish and tube worms.

The Museum allows you to "visit" the various layers of the ocean. I even got to "stand" on the ocean floor and see a creature that looks like a sea spider!

There are above-ground exhibits that discuss concerns like pollution and rising sea temperatures. I especially liked this billboard that told interesting facts. Did you know that less than 10 percent of the ocean has been explored by man? Or, like the picture says, oceans make up 99 percent of the living space on the planet?

I gathered plenty of notecards of facts that I want to read soon. I also picked up some free souvenirs like a wearable bathysphere, which is very silly when you're standing in your house! *giggle*

StellaStarr Soderstrom

LET'S GO THERE!


A Site Review
RACHELVILLE

I love reading, and I love visiting Rachelville. This site, which is on Imagination Island, has lots of reviews of children's books and plenty of places to explore. It's lots of funs to go there!

Rachelville is a tribute to a little girl with a vivid imagination. She made up stories about a fantasy world starring her favorite stuffed animals. Many of the tales that the girl made up were her way of making sense of her reality, in which she was being treated for acute myeloid leukemia. Rachel died shortly before her eighth birthday, which is very sad, and now her parents are honoring her memory with this site.

There are notecard reviews of childrens books written by librarians all over Rachelville. You will also find fanciful builds like the Dragon's Maze and a garden in the style of The Secret Garden, which was one of Rachel's favorite books. One of my favorites was the Castle of Dreams, which holds information about medieval times.

One time I visited Rachelville, there was a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King in the tp spot of Balance Point Plaza. Visitors were encouraged to learn more about his dream and work via weblinks.

Another time, our class visited a Children of Africa exhibit at Rachelville on Feb. 13. I was very surprised to be tped there, because I had left school early to see this exhibit the day before! I even got to meet Bono Vox, lead singer of the U2 in SL group; the real and SL Bonos both are sooo much into African causes.

The exhibit featured photographs taken by students in Namibian and Zambian orphanages. The pictures were so wonderful--the kids had the most beautiful faces you could imagine. I wanted to meet them all and be their friend!

CAMP HARDKNOCK WINTER SESSION: WE HAD A (SNOW) BALL!


By StellaStarr Soderstrom

Camp HardKnock held the third of its seasonal sessions from January 24 to February 3, and by all accounts it was a huge success. The theme of the session was "Kumbaya", as campers made new friends and abandoned the cliques that had made some kids uncomfortable during the first two sessions.

During the first couple of days of camp, campers stuck close to their friends and pulled pranks on other cabins. Head counselors Jill Caldera and her husband, Gattz Gilman didn't like the goings-on, and decided that everyone was going to live in one big cabin. Plenty of activities were held that made campers meet new-to-them people. The happy result? Lots of campers made new friends, and they soon were allowed to return to their cabins and well-decorated bunks!

The campsite had so much to do, it was hard to choose what to do next! So many activities, and so little time to enjoy them! I especially liked the sit-up mat in the exercise room and the ice fishing game.

I caught so many fish, I've had them for dinner night after night and should be growing gills by now! There were also plenty of building classes, a talent show, a skiing contest and more.

No camp would be complete without a little drama! The first night of camp, severe snows and possible avalanches were forecast. Kids and counselors were hurried into a bunker, where we all waited out the storm. Some kids cried, others considered it a big adventure, one even had an "accident" in the hallway! After about an hour, the avalanche warnings were lifted and we all went back to our cabins.

Camp HardKnock was so enjoyable that some campers protested when it was time to go home! They even tied themselves to trees and refused to leave! They finally were persuaded to go when they were assured there would be another session in the springtime.

KIDS SPEAK UP!

We Asked...You Answered!
The reopening of HardKnock Elementary School made the SL STAR FOR KIDS wonder what kids thought of the schools they'd attended. So, we asked what was their favorite school and why:

Ipamt Jewell: "Happy Days, cause the teachers were so nice and helpful too. Though some of the kids did not behave it was fun and we had a playground on the roof. I miss Happy Days."

Katie Lehmann: "Tu Amor HardKnock hands down—best staff and kids in SL."

Lovley Day: "HKE. It totally rocks!"

Danni Ohara: "HardKnock Elementary, because it was the best run of the ones I've been to."

Carly Bombacci: "HardKnock WOOT!"

Emiko Morigi: "So far 3H, cause Mr. Jace is cool, HKE was cools but new memories forget the old one heehee."

StellaStarr Soderstrom: "I loved Happy Days because I loved my class and my teachers, and I also love 3H because Mr. Jace is awesome!"

Aline Athens: "The school of life, the streets, the life."

HARDKNOCK ELEMENTARY IS BACK!


Happy Days. Rosebud Academy. Unique Carter Elementary. Sunshine Elementary. All of these schools have come and gone since HardKnock Elementary closed in the summer of 2007. Many of its former students wished that this school had stayed around instead.

Well, sometimes wishes come true! HardKnock Elementary is back, bigger and better than ever! HKE Principal Jill Caldera and her husband, Gattz Gilman, had spent their time running Camp Hardknock. But many kids, most notably Chelsea Gregg, persuaded them to reopen the school. Abby Callisto, owner of Abby Lane kids furniture store, kindly donated land to rebuild the school and it looks beautiful!

There are MANY MANY kids who want to come to HKE. The open house was so packed, people couldn't get into the sim! Ms. Jill introduced the staff, including popular teacher Ms. Ava Breyer and nurse Fatima Lycra, and said that the school would have a 9am to 11am (SLT) session and a 5:30 to 7:30 pm (SLT) session. Hours are still being decided for European students who can't miss their sleepies to go to school!

HKE is going to have several clubs and activities, like swimming, cheerleading, theater, soccer and fencing. The gym is really cool and has exercise machines! There's a BIIIG playground too!

When the reopening of HKE was announced, kids who go to 3H Academy were scared that they would lose their school—rumors were flying! What is happening is that kids who were in Mr. Jace's class are following him to HKE! They will have their own classroom, but the style of teaching will stay the same...more studying things that YOU want to learn!!!

One adjustment for 3H kids will be wearing a uniform. It is in the school's colors, blue and gold, and actually is kinda nice! 3H kids will start school on March 13; the rest of the school starts on March 3.
—StellaStarr Soderstrom

A NEW BLOG JUST FOR US!


SL STAR FOR KIDS!
For Those Who Act Young
Vol. 1, No. 1
February/March 2008

Hi everybody!!! I'm StellaStarr Soderstrom, and this is the first blogpost of the SL STAR FOR KIDS! I want this blog to be full of information that children in SL can use and enjoy. I love to write and want to tell peoples about what's going on in our world. The stories will be available in notecard form in-world too.

I wrote the stories in this first issue, but I want other kids to help me! I need news stories about what's going on in school or your sims, reviews of new stores, editorials about things that make you happy or sad--anything you want to write, really, as long as it's something interesting to kids. You can write about good things that happened to you, too! Because I don't have much moneys, I can't pay for articles. :-) BUT I can give you two items of your choice from my With Love From StellaStarr stores! You can pick from the outfits, hats, and playground equipment I sell.

I'd also like to thank my teacher/principal at 3H Academy, Mr. Jace Corvale, for inspiring me to finally put this blog together. Mr. Jace, you are awesome and I love being your student. And while I'll miss our cute red schoolhouse, I'm so glad we'll all be together at HKE!!!

Thankies for reading this, and I hope to hear from YOU!

Love,
StellaStarr Soderstrom
Editor/Publisher, SL STAR FOR KIDS