Innholdsfortegnelse for 191 i The Week Junior

THE COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY The common blue butterfly is experiencing its best ever summer as a result of record heatwaves across Europe. The Butterfly Conservation charity said the species has been in decline for 40 years, but in 2018, the population increased by 104% in England. ED SHEERAN After a performance in Germany on 2 August, Ed Sheeran broke the record for the most-attended, and highest-earning tour of all time. The previous record was set by the band U2 in 2011. By the end of his tour on 26 August, Sheeran will have played 255 shows in 43 countries to more than 8.5 million people. THIS SKATEBOARDER Rayssa Leal, an 11-year-old from Brazil, has become the youngest person to win a stage of the Street League Skateboarding World Tour. Leal…

Describe yourself in three words. Educator, politician, optimist (someone who thinks positively about things). Who do you love? My family and Claudia – my partner – most of all. As a child, who did you want to be like and why? Fred Astaire (a famous dancer, singer and film star). One day I will learn to tap dance, although I will ever be a match for him! When you were 11, what did you dream of doing? Being a film star. What do you do now? Chief education adviser at TES (an organisation that supports teachers and schools); member of the House of Lords; chairperson of a digital technology charity. How did you get there? As a child I appeared for six months in the musical Oliver! in London. In…

Matthew Robertson Keeper at ZSL London Zoo Unlike humans, cockroaches don’t use a single heart to pump blood along arteries to different body parts. Instead, blood flows freely around their bodies via a long, tube-like heart. They also have extra mini-hearts at the base of each leg, antenna and wing, as well as in their mouths. So you could say that cockroaches have 15 or more hearts. Do you love animals? ZSL London Zoo’s Junior Zoo Academy is a great way to learn about creatures from all over the world. Find out more at zsl.org/experiences…

On 25 July, a large asteroid (rocky objects that orbit the Sun) flew right past the Earth – and astronomers almost didn’t notice it. The asteroid, named 2019 OK, was between 53 and 130 metres wide. If it had struck Earth, astronomers say it could have destroyed an area several miles across, although the chances of it striking a populated area would have been very small. The asteroid might have whizzed by harmlessly, but it come within 45,360 miles of Earth – just one fifth of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. This near miss has led some people to wonder how well the systems to provide an early warning of asteroids are working. 2019 OK was eventually spotted by the SONEAR Observatory in Brazil only a few…

My Cousin Is a Time Traveller by David Solomons (Nosy Crow) In the latest book from award-winning author David Solomons, young hero Luke must battle with time-hopping relatives – not to mention a toaster that is trying to take over the world! Could this be the rise of the machines? Fans of previous stories featuring Luke and his incredibly zany adventures will love this hilarious new instalment. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (Puffin Books) When Penelope visits an old farmhouse she is unexpectedly whisked back into the past to the time of the Babington family, who are supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. Soon she finds herself forced to watch helplessly as tragic historical events bring danger to her new friends and their imprisoned queen. WARP: The Reluctant…

For the whole month of August, the Institute of Imagination is running the Mega Maker Lab in Lambeth, London. The Institute of Imagination is a charity that organises events to help young people develop their creative thinking. Mega Maker Lab is their biggest event yet, taking place in a huge warehouse. Inside, there are a range of activities to get you thinking creatively. It is located next to the Institute’s Imagination Lab, which is its dedicated space for workshops throughout the year. The Mega Maker Lab comes from the minds of 100 primary school pupils from London, who were invited to the Imagination Lab for two days in April to help design it. The Lab is made up of five areas. In the imagine and play zone, you can take…

Do you ever reach the final page of The Week Junior and wish you had more to enjoy? Do you wonder how each issue is put together? Do you want more information and facts about the week’s biggest stories? Then you’re in luck. Launching this week is a brand new free podcast from The Week Junior team, called The Week Junior Show. Each Friday, listeners can enjoy a behind-the-scenes peek at how the magazine has been made, hear members of the team discuss the Big Debate, and challenge host Bex (from Fun Kids) to guess whether one of the weirdest stories of the week is real or rubbish. The Week Junior Show is available from tinyurl.com/TWJshow-appleif you’re using an Apple device, tinyurl.com/TWJshow-google if you use Google Podcasts, or go to…

If you’re interested in plants, whether they’re in your garden or a nearby park, wood, field or your school, there’s now an app that can help you tell your moth orchids from your cornstalks. The app is called Candide Labels – Plant ID, and it uses augmented reality (AR) to help you identify any plants you don’t know. AR is the technology that shows you digital information (plant info in this case) on your camera’s view of the real world. The app also lets people create virtual labels, filled with information about the plant and how to look after it. Once created, they’ll appear whenever the person points the app at that plant again. It’s not the only example of AR technology being put to green-fingered use. A French company…

Polo is a sport played on horses and often watched by royals, so it may seem difficult or daunting to get involved. Don’t be fooled, though; it’s easy to understand and fun to play. Polo is one of the oldest sports in the world. A version of it was played in Asia more than 7,000 years ago, and it was used to train horses and soldiers for battles. Matches are played between two teams of four players on horses, which are known as polo ponies. The field can be a maximum of 274 metres by 150 metres, which is around four times the size of a normal football pitch. The aim is to ride and hit the ball with a long mallet (hammer) into the other team’s goal. Players can…

The two shootings in Ohio and Texas in the US in which 31 people died made headlines all over the world – our story on page 2. As I wrote this letter, President Trump was on his way to El Paso, in Texas, the site of one of the attacks. It was unclear what sort of response he’d receive. Although he has said that “hate has no place in our country”, many people are angry with him. They say that some of the racist language he has used has fuelled this violence. Words are powerful. We can use them to comfort and inspire, but they can also cause fear and hatred. Remember to talk to an adult you trust if you’re upset by this story. In better news, I’m happy…

The 10th anniversary of the RBC Race for the Kids is happening on 12 October in Hyde Park, London. The course involves a five-kilometre race followed by a family fun day. All money raised from the event goes to support children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Anyone under 15 can enter for free and adult tickets cost £21.50. Racers will receive an official shirt when they enter, and a medal and goody bag when they finish the run. You and your family can sign up at tinyurl.com/TWJracekids…

Teacher’s name: Miss Herbert School: Lydiard Millicent CE Primary School, Swindon “I would like to nominate my amazing teacher Miss Herbert as Teacher of the week. This is because Miss Herbert is a fantastic teacher who floods the classroom with happiness and laughter every day. Miss Herbert has a huge passion for reading and has turned our school library into something magical.” Jaya If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll send your school three free issues of The Week Junior. Send your nominations, along with a picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…

Jack Allsop-Smith and his hen, called Cooked It, won the World Championship Hen Race in Bonsall, Derbyshire, on 3 August. Cooked It completed the 20-metre sprint in 4.2 seconds, winning Allsop-Smith his seventh trophy in eight years. Allsop-Smith, whose hen beat other competitors including It’s No Yolk and Great Eggspectations, told The Times newspaper, “Most of my friends play video games... but I would rather spend time with my hens.”…

Now that you’ve read a bit more about it, tell us what you think by voting in our poll at theweekjunior.co.uk/polls. Vote YES if you think that Fortnite should have its own World Cup, or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. The aim of the Big debate page is to present two sides of an issue fairly and objectively, in order to stimulate discussion and allow our readers to make up their minds. The views on the page do not reflect those of The Week Junior, and the page is not funded by third parties. The page is created in association with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping young people discover their voice and realise their full potential. For more information, please see esu.org…

Birthday party for pandas Eighteen Chinese pandas, born between June and September last year, have celebrated their first birthday together. A party at Shenshuping Panda Centre in south-west China included bamboo-shoot snacks, a crushed ice cake and a toy car made from bamboo. Porpoise population drops There are thought to be fewer than 19 vaquita porpoises left on the planet, according to new research. In 2016, there were 30 of this rare species, but a new study suggests the population has fallen further. The porpoises only live in Mexican waters and often get caught in fishing nets.…

The Monster Who Wasn’t by T.C. Shelley Down in the vast underground lair where monsters dwell, a very odd creature has come into being. Much to the disgust of those around him, the hatchling doesn’t look much like a monster at all. Instead he looks just like a human boy – and what’s more, he seems to have a heart and a soul. Soon “Imp” has been adopted by some grumpy gargoyles and taken to live on the roof of a cathedral, but with one foot in the monster realm and one in the human world, Imp doesn’t feel like he really fits in anywhere. As he tries to come to terms with his peculiar identity, little does he realise that Thunderguts, King of the Ogres, has a terrible plan…

Playmobil: The Movie Showing at cinemas nationwide Siblings Marla and Charlie are caught up in a whirlwind tour of different Playmobil worlds in this new comedy animation based on the popular toy range. It’s packed with dinosaurs, pirates, Romans, spies and Vikings – there really is something for everyone. Football Focus 1pm on 10 August, BBC One As the new Premier League season gets under way, so does the new series of Football Focus. Dan Walker and his guests look at the first matches and analyse the teams playing them, including champions Manchester City. Athletics European Team Championships 2019 2.30pm on 10 August and 1.30pm on 11 August, BBC Two Great Britain will be one of 12 nations taking part in Poland as some of Europe’s top athletes compete to…

The recent celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 space mission may be over, but there are still ways to relive the famous Moon landing and learn more about it. One of them is a mobile app called Moon Walk – Apollo 11 Mission, which was recently released for Android and iPhone smartphones. It’s another app that uses AR technology, in this case to make your real-world surroundings a replica of the Moon’s surface, as it would have been experienced by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first two people ever to set foot on the Moon. The app also uses the real recordings of the astronauts’ conversations during the Apollo 11 mission, as they took their small steps (or giant leaps) on the Moon. The app…

How old must you be to play polo? There’s no minimum age limit, but you must be confident riding a horse. The Pony Club, a group that organises pony events in the UK, runs Pony Club Polo for players between six and 21 years old. Is there safety equipment? All players must wear a protective helmet with a secure chinstrap. In tournaments, kneepads and leather or rubber riding boots are also needed. Team shirts help you spot your teammates in a game. Are competitive polo tournaments ever held? Yes. The World Polo Championship is an international event held every three years or so. Argentina are the current champions. The Gold Cup is one of the biggest competitions in the UK. The final was on 21 July at Cowdray Park, West…

The Stuart Low Trust aims to create social and therapeutic activities for vulnerable local people in Islington, north London. It is run by a core group of 16 volunteers and two part-time staff. The majority of the Trust’s activities take place at evenings and weekends, which is often when people feel at their lowest. Its Friday Evening Socially Therapeutic Events run 52 weeks a year, and between 70 and 100 people attend each week. To find out more, visit slt.org.uk…

Email your news, views and pictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Please ensure you include your full name and address so that we can send you one of our Roving Reporter badges if your contribution makes it onto the page. We will only use the details you provide to arrange delivery of badges, and we will not share them with anyone else. By submitting your reports and pictures, you give consent to The Week Junior to print them in the magazine and digital editions. Please get your parent/guardian’s permission before sending anything to us.…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the free PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Palaeontologists in France discovered a two-metre-long dinosaur bone. Here’s what our PopJammers had to say about it... “Wooah!! That is so big and probably pretty old” “It must have been huge! I would have loved to have been one of the scientists who got to see it!” “Coooool, that is giant” Last week we asked you if passengers should stop taking flights. You said... “Yes, as it is polluting our planet with all the fumes used” “I’m going on holiday but I’m going on a boat rather than a plane” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue. We’ll give you a shout-out if your post is printed here.…

On 4 August, French inventor Franky Zapata became the first person to cross the Channel (the body of water between France and the UK) on a jet-powered flyboard. The flyboard, which is an invention of Zapata’s, lets the person piloting it fly through the air unconnected to anything else. Zapata left from Sangatte, France, at 6.17am and landed 22 minutes later in St Margaret’s Bay in Dover, in the UK. He travelled a total distance of 22 miles and reached a top speed of 106mph during the flight. When he landed in the UK, Zapata said, “I’m feeling so happy, it’s just an amazing moment in my life.” This was Zapata’s second attempt to cross the Channel. The first was on 25 July, which was supposed to mark the 110th…

14 and 15 August 1947 The creation of Pakistan and India Pakistan was created on 14 August 1947, and India was created the following day, as both countries became independent from the British Empire. India became a mostly Hindu country, while the new Pakistan was mostly Muslim. Pakistan was divided into two parts, West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). As a result of the split, known as the Partition of India, violence broke out. Around a million people died and 12 million people had to leave their homes.…

For Iain Cameron, almost every day is a snow day. He spends his free time hunting for the white substance and climbs the mountains of Scotland every year to keep track of how fast the snow at the top has melted. Cameron’s snow hunting started at an early age. When he was nine, his family moved to a new house near Port Glasgow in Scotland, where they had a view of the mountain Ben Lomond. Around the end of March, Cameron spotted a patch of snow at the top of the mountain that hadn’t melted yet. He became fascinated by it and made a note in his diary on the day that it finally disappeared. This simple act became the start of a lifetime’s work. Now, at the age of…

This much-loved area near Swansea is full of things to do. It marks the edge of the beautiful and castle-studded Gower Peninsula, and has several coastal landmarks. Take a trip to a lighthouse built in 1794, then wander along Mumbles Pier. Built in 1898, it has an amusement arcade, café, restaurant and a bowling alley. On sunny days Pier Beach is great fun, and if it rains there’s always the option of tasty fish and chips under shelter. Find out more at tinyurl.com/TWJ-Mumbles…

The Scottish government is considering plans to make the Sea of the Hebrides, off Scotland’s west coast, the world’s first protected area for basking sharks. The huge fish gather there in large numbers between May and October. ● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: Unknown, but believed to be around 50 years. ● HABITAT: The waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ● DIET: Zooplankton – tiny animals found drifting in water. ● FUN FACT: The basking shark is the second biggest fish on Earth, after the whale shark.…

Doctors at the University of California, San Francisco, in the US, have developed a piece of software that can (almost) read minds. The project, funded by Facebook, hopes to help people who, due to a range of medical conditions, are unable to communicate with others. Until now, technologies that have helped people with these conditions to communicate have been too slow to allow a natural, flowing conversation. People find these devices frustrating to use. This new approach uses brain signals to convert a person’s thoughts into text. When we want to speak, the brain sends signals to make the lips, jaw and tongue move in the precise way to make an understandable sound. By detecting these brain signals, the new software was able to predict what a person wanted to…

What would you do if you won the lottery? I have won the lottery. I won 12 Australian dollars (about £7). I bought chocolate with it. If I won a huge amount of money, I think I would buy my husband a boat, or get a swimming pool. What would you name your pet monster? Well, it depends what type of monster it was, as different types have different names. Ogres need big thumping names like Gutbuster, and gargoyles have watery names like Gutter. If I had a pet monster, I hope it would be a gargoyle. I’d call it Aquaduct. What is one thing you’ve always wanted to do? This will surprise you – I have always wanted to be a writer. Something I’d like to do that I…

1 What is the name of the French inventor who crossed the Channel on a flyboard? 2 True or false? A report has found that most of England’s rivers are too dirty to swim in. 3 Fans in South Korea are upset because they didn’t get to see which of these players in a football match? a) Lionel Messi b) Cristiano Ronaldo c) Harry Kane a □ b □ c □ 4 Where was the first Fortnite World Cup held? 5 True or false? Iain Cameron keeps track of how fast snow in Scotland has melted. 6 The population of which animal in India has risen by a third since 2014? 7 In which city did the Peterloo massacre take place? a) London b) Manchester c) Newcastle a □ b…