Calling all writers! Are you interested in writing articles for the Scratch Weekly Magazine (SWEMA)? The SWEMA Leadership Team is excited to announce our first Writing Competition! We’re inviting everyone interested to submit an article about any topic you want: from a Scratch feature to an aspect of your daily life, the possibilities are endless! Here are some guidelines/rules regarding the competition: – You must have the Scratcher status AND at least one shared project. – You must remix this project and share your article in your project. You can choose to write it within the project itself, the Instructions/Notes & Credits, or in a forum post that is linked on your remix. – You may only submit ONE article. – All writing must be appropriate for Scratch and follow the Community Guidelines. – Writing must be written in English, following standard grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules to the best of your ability. – Articles should be between 100 and 700 words in length – Use of AI is strictly prohibited; any suspected use will result in disqualification. The deadline for submissions will be Sep 7/12pm CT. Afterwards, the SWEMA Leadership Team will select up to 5 articles to be included in a future issue. If we choose your article, we’ll notify you and credit you in the magazine! If you’d like to see how we’re scoring each article, check out this post: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/836653/ We look forward to reading your articles! Scratch on! Disclaimer: SWEMA is a Scratch Mentor-led program that provides weekly information and news about Scratch. All of our magazine issuers are planned, written, and coded by Mentors. SWEMA is not an official YLL or Scratch Team-led project.
What If Scratch Was A Superpower? - One morning, I woke up to a small glow on my hand. It moved gently, like it had a mind of its own, and I had no idea what it meant. I moved my fingers, and suddenly, images and ideas I had only imagined started to appear in the air around me. A tiny dragon flew across the ceiling, a castle rose from the floor, and little scenes from stories I had been thinking about came alive in front of me. I could make them move, dance, and even interact with each other, just by imagining it! At first, I laughed in disbelief. Could this really be happening? I tried a simple game idea next: a bouncing ball that changed color whenever it hit a wall. To my surprise, it worked perfectly! Every idea I imagined appeared instantly, like a secret world waiting for me to discover it. I realized that, somehow, I had been given a power to create anything I wanted! Eventually, the glow faded, and the scenes disappeared. My hand was just my hand again, and my room was quiet and still. But I realized something important: the glow wasn’t magic! Scratch itself is my superpower. It doesn’t make me fly or turn invisible, but it gives me something even better. With Scratch, I can bring my ideas to life, share them with others, and collaborate with people around the world! I’ve learned patience when fixing code, kindness when giving feedback, and determination when solving tricky problems. Mistakes aren’t fails, they’re lessons that make my projects stronger. Every time I create or remix a project, I’m using my superpower, and that power grows every time I share it with others! Scratch may not be a glowing symbol on my hand, but it’s the greatest superpower I could ever have.
