[22-July-2010]
 
DALLASTOWN, Pa., July 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  It's the middle of summer, but high school Language Arts teachers across the US are planning fall curriculum now.  On the first day of class, they will most likely confront three months worth of time their students spent addicted to "constricted writing environments" such as Facebook, Twitter,and mobile texting – mediums that confine the expression of ideas to a limited character count.  By nature, this can lead to students throwing out proper grammar, sentence structure, and other traditional language skills needed for English class and the college application process.  To address this trend, teachers are looking for innovative ideas to encourage their students to write more (not less) during the coming school year.

To help in this mission, StageofLife.com, a blogging and resource website for high school students, released its first installment of lesson plans for Language Arts teachers.  The lesson plans provide writing prompts and describe methods for incorporating blogging into the curriculum for a real-world application to get students writing more outside the classroom.

Writing Contests for High School Students: One of the first strategies outlined in the blogging lesson plans talks about the use of the student writing contests to strengthen traditional language skills.

Laura Li, a student at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, was a finalist in a StageofLife.com teen writing contest themed around the environment – a timely topic stemming from the BP Oil Spill.  She heard about the contest from her AP English Teacher,

"My teacher was talking to our class about small actions making big changes in the world. The next day she offered us an extra credit assignment, which was to submit an essay to the StageofLife.com student writing contest.  And since I was also taking AP Environmental Science, I had a lot of knowledge of the environment and thought I would give it a try."

What makes this student writing contest unique, however, is that the entry process sets up each submission as a blog so other contestants and visitors may view, read and comment on the essay. 

Rebecca Thiegs, M. Ed, a Language Arts teacher at Red Lion Area High School in Red Lion, PA and curriculum consultant for StageofLife.com says, 

"The blogging aspect of the writing contest provides an incredibly positive experience for students.  Teens today get instant feedback from their peers, family, friends and others in their social networks.  Teachers should have a resource to provide this same level of interaction as they roll out pieces of their writing curriculum."

The current writing contest dovetails off of the popularity of TV shows like NBC's Biggest Loser and best selling books such as Michael Pollan's Food Rules as it pushes students to examine America's relationship with food.  The contest question asks, "Do we have an obligation to take better care of ourselves by making changes in the way we eat and/or buy and consume food?" 

The winning student of the food essay contest receives a cash prize, website swag, and "Featured Blogger" status.  Entry details and submission guidelines for the high school writing contest can be found on StageofLife.com.  A new contest topic is posted at the beginning of each month.

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About Stage of Life™:  StageofLife.com is a website for today's teens, Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomer generations to share a story, impart wisdom, ask for advice, give advice and find videos, statistics, quotations, must visit websites and other resources tailored to each stage of life from high school to retirement...and all of the major milestones in between.  The site also provides lesson plan ideas for Language Arts teachers and is nationally known for its monthly writing contests for high school students  and college students as well as its collection of merchant partnerships offering money saving discounts helping give visitors "Rewards for Life's Journey."

If you'd like more information about StageofLife.com or an interview with CEO/Founder, Eric Thiegs, please use the Contact Us form on the website

June 2010

DALLASTOWN, Pa., June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Each month, thousands of students in high school and college visit the monthly writing contest page on StageofLife.com.  Stage of Life LLC, a Pennsylvania start-up, kicked off the monthly writing contest geared toward teen and college students six months ago to provide a national venue for aspiring young writers and bloggers to share their viewpoints and perspectives on a monthly topic that's relevant to students. 

Last month's writing contest topic used the Gulf Oil Spill as the backdrop to ask the question, "What is one behavior you can either change or incorporate into your daily life that will reduce our negative impact on the environment?"  

Scores of essays and blogs were submitted by teens and college students across the US tackling environmental issues and topics ranging from the nation's dependence on oil, waste management, litter, carpooling, and more.  Six finalists were named and the winner, Michael, a high school student from San Diego, who found out about the contest from his AP English teacher, was notified about his winning essay this week by CEO Eric Thiegs.  Michael is receiving a gift card, T-shirt, and permanent status as a Featured Blogger on StageofLife.com for his winning essay addressing the Gulf Oil crisis entitled, "Preserving Nature's Splendor "

Past high school winner, Derek, of Baltimore said, "Though I was thrilled about winning, I'm more thankful that I am now a Featured Writer for the site. The site has taught me that by just being in 11th Grade and having survived two and a half years of high school, I do have something to say. And that's a really empowering feeling to truly believe that you have a voice and that your thoughts matter."

Megan, of Red Lion, PA, another previous teen writer winner, shared in the excitement, "When I found out I won, I was really proud of myself. This time last year, it would have killed me to write that (essay). But my eyes were opened to the love of writing, and having it recognized as a winner was absolutely fantastic."

The monthly writing contest offers a chance for students to share and compare ideas across sensitive or difficult subject matter.  Past contest topics included, "Policy change:  If you could effect political or social policy change in the United States on one issue - what would it be and why?" and, "The 2000's in review:  What would you name the last decade?  The last ten years from a student perspective."

The student writers' essays must be no longer than 500 words and must address the monthly question or topic proposed.  The essays are open for the general public to read and the site also allows for people to rate and post comments or give writer feedback on the individual contest submissions.

The current writing contest question for June uses a USAToday web series entitled Degrees of Difficulty as the backdrop to pose the question:  "What is the most difficult thing (for you) about college?"  

And this is not a hypothetical question.  Stage of Life wants to know.  The June writing contest ends at midnight PST on June 30 and a panel of judges are ready to review the next batch of writing contest submissions.

The organic and viral success of the student writing contest and its subsequent increase of traffic by teen, college and student writers to StageofLife.com has energized Thiegs.

"We didn't know what to expect when we started the student writing contest.  Six months ago, our first topic had maybe a dozen submissions.  This is an organic experiment and when you suddenly have thousands of teens and college students looking at your site AND participating...it's exciting.  We've always been about changing the world, one story at a time, and this is a real chance for students to have their voices heard and their words read about important issues by a growing and diverse audience...and to us, that alone is a prize for aspiring writers."

Sponsorship opportunities for national brands are currently being considered by Stage of Life in conjunction with the monthly student writing contest for the 2010-2011 school year.  

Stage of Life™ is a free website for the generations of today's teens, Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomers to share a story or some wisdom, ask for advice, and get deals and discounts from well known brands and merchants for every stage of life between high school and retirement...and all the major milestones in between.  Stage of Life gives you "Rewards for Life's Journey."

If you'd like more information about StageofLife.com or an interview with CEO/Founder, Eric Thiegs, please contact here

October 2009

Stage of Life Founders, Eric Thiegs and Joe Thiegs, were invited by Spring Hill College assistant professor Michael Piafsky (Asst. Professor of English/Writing) to conduct a webinar for his class about the challenges of running a blogging site, launching and maintaining a blog, and other aspects of the Stage of Life blogging mission. 

The 90-minute session was held live via an interactive web demo through which the entire writing class was able to view and participate in the discussion.

July 15, 2009 – Website start-up, StageofLife.com, will be recognized as one of three finalists in the “Coolest Website” category at Central Penn Business Journal’s 2009 Best of the Web Awards on July 27, 2009.

Stage of Life LLC’s web site, www.STAGEOFLIFE.com, was selected by an independent panel of judges for its functionality and usability; information and content; technical innovation; visual design and creativity; and its overall user experience.

StageofLife.com is a free online community in which users may share their life wisdom, ask for advice, and get deals and discounts for every stage of life from high school to retirement and all the major milestones in between, e.g. college, having a baby, home ownership, raising a family, grandparenting, etc.

“We wanted to build a site that a 16-year-old high school student could quite literally grow old with through his or her entire life.  It’s all about providing ‘Rewards for Life’s Journey’ – whether the reward is information, wisdom or a discount based on your stage of life.” says Eric Thiegs, CEO/Founder

The Best of the Web awards luncheon will be held as part of the Internet Summit event taking place on Monday, July 27, 2009, at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center in Camp Hill, PA from 7:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

The summit will begin with morning presentations from Web experts on topics including social media marketing, e-mail marketing, search marketing and SEO, Web site design, as well as Disaster Recovery & Security. During breaks, attendees will have the opportunity to visit and network with exhibitors. Following the presentations will be a luncheon and the Best of the Web Awards, where finalists will be recognized and the winners of each category revealed. Awards include several industry-exclusive categories, as well as “Best e-Commerce Process,” “Best Use of Technologies,” “Coolest Web Site,” “Web Site of the Year” and “Design Company of the Year."

The Internet Summit and Best of the Web Awards are programs of the Central Penn Business Journal and are sponsored by D&E Communications, Inc., Embarq, Maltese Process Management, and TECHQuest Pennsylvania. For more information or questions about either program, contact Colleen Jones from the Central Penn Business Journal

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