Innholdsfortegnelse for 317 i The Week Junior

On 25 December last year, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space on a mission that could change our understanding of the universe. The universe is the whole of space, including stars, planets and all forms of matter and energy in it. What is the James Webb Space Telescope? The James Webb Space Telescope is designed to look even deeper into the universe than the Hubble Telescope (see panel), which has been in space for more than 31 years. The Webb telescope is the largest and most powerful space science telescope ever constructed and will travel one million miles from Earth. The US space agency NASA is leading the project, with support from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. The project is thought to cost…

FINDING TREASURE Hoards of rare items have been found in two shipwrecks in the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Israel. The items include a rare “good shepherd” gold ring that shows Jesus holding a sheep. The ring probably belonged to an early Christian living in the Roman empire. APPEARING ON A FRONT COVER The Week Junior reader Rahma Alsad has been drawn on a book cover. Nine-year-old Alsad was one of three drawing competition winners to be shown on the front cover of the 2022 UK Guinness World Records book by illustrator Rod Hunt. Alsad said, “I am very proud to win and had so much fun participating.” LENDING A HELPING PAW A blind dog called Oliver is caring for two abandoned puppies. Oliver was a stray and rescued…

The Christmas holidays are over, the spring term beckons. Busy days will turn into weeks and months, and soon it will be Easter with the promise of longer days, warmer weather and, soon, some summer sun. Pupils, parents and teachers have always slotted into school terms’ familiar patterns, but some education experts and politicians have started to wonder why. Perhaps there could be a better way to organise the year than having one long holiday during the summer months. Some people love winter and all the festive joy it brings, and others prefer the new life, light and greenery of spring. Perhaps it would be better to even out the timetable so that terms and holidays are more similar in length. What do you think? Should term dates be changed?…

A hawthorn tree, whose twisted, thorny branches overlook a small beach on Scotland’s south-west coast, has been named the 2021 UK tree of the year. Each year the Woodland Trust – the UK’s largest woodland protection charity – runs a contest in which members of the public are invited to suggest their favourite trees and vote for a winner. The aim of the competition is to highlight the value of the UK’s trees, as well as the need to protect them. The winning hawthorn tree at Kippford, in Dumfries and Galloway, received 38% of the vote, beating nine other finalists to first place. It will now represent the UK in the 2022 European Tree of the Year contest. The tree was nominated by a tree surgeon called Drew Patterson, who…

On 9 January, the men’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will start in Cameroon. Afcon is a tournament that’s held every two years to crown the best men’s national football national team in Africa. This tournament was meant to take place in 2021, but was postponed twice, twice, first because of bad weather and then because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, after a long wait, Africa’s biggest football tournament is finally kicking off. Who will be taking part? There are a total of 24 teams taking part in this year’s tournament. Cameroon qualified automatically as the host nation. The last time they hosted the tournament was 50 years ago, in 1972. The other 23 teams had to play qualification matches in order to reach the tournament. Countries to have qualified…

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2021 PEOPLE’S CHOICE SHORTLIST…

The Euro 2022 football competition also kicks off in England this year, beginning on 6 July. It features 16 European women’s national teams, including England, Northern Ireland, Germany and France. The final will be at Wembley Stadium in London on 31 July. Group stage and knockout games are being held in Brentford (in London), Brighton, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Southampton, Rotherham and Wigan. The Netherlands are the current Euro champions.…

• Keep a daily diary, where you write down at least one positive thing that happened today or something you’re thankful for. This can remind you about what you do have, instead of focusing on what you don’t have compared with others. • Create a “vision board” (a collage of pictures an words that show where you would like to be at the end of the year or school term) This will encourage you to keep up the hard work to get there. • Write a “done list” instead of a “to do” list. This will remind you of what you have done already and just how far you’ve come.…

Charlie Morphs Into a Mammoth by Sam Copeland. Illustrated by Sarah Horne (Puffin Books) In the third book in this fun series, Charlie has gained control over the amazing superpower that allows him to change into different animals. Then several pets go missing across town and Charlie has to use his superhero skills to save the day. Stuntboy: In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds. Illustrated by Raúl the Third (Knights Of Media) Portico Reeves lives in a huge apartment block full of people and activity. In his imagination he’s a superhero called Stuntboy, solving mysteries in his neighbourhood, helping his friends and standing off against his arch-enemy. Can his superhero identity help him deal with problems at home? Pizazz vs Perfecto by Sophy Henn (Simon & Schuster) It isn’t easy…

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan The book in three words: Sinister, mysterious, thriller. “I really love this book because it’s creepy but warming at the same time.” YOUR TURN Email your book review to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk. If your review is printed in the magazine you’ll receive a Roving Reporter badge. Sum up the book in three words and write one sentence telling us what you liked about it. Please include your name and address.* *If you are the competition winner, we will only use the details you provide to contact you and arrange delivery of your competition prize. Further details about how we manage the data you provide can be found at www.dennis.co.uk/privacy-policy…

Holly King-Mand Holly King-Mand is the nation’s favourite English teacher, having had thousands of young people join her online lessons during lockdown. She loves Shakespeare and sharing her love of learning. Here she shares her top advice on how to write a diary. 1 Why bother? Keeping a diary is a great way of recording your life for posterity (for future generations of people) that will tell your own personal story. It is also a brilliant way of expressing your thoughts and feelings and helping you to explore the good (and difficult) things in your life. 2 Who are diarists? People who write diaries are called diarists, and you can be one too. You may have read, or at least heard of, famous diaries such as The Diary of Anne…

Another year is over and a brand new year beckons. Some people get a bit gloomy after Christmas – taking down the Christmas tree and packing away the decorations can feel like the fun is over – but I love the first few days of January, even when the weather is cold and windy and spring feels like a long way off. It’s a chance to make some promises with yourself for the new year, think about fresh starts and resolve to take on new challenges. It’s a time to brush off the cobwebs, shed your skin like a snake and emerge from your chrysalis. Head to page 19 for some top tips on how to start the new year on a positive note. There’s already so much to look…

In 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. It was the first telescope of its kind and has sent back a huge amount of important data to scientists about stars, planets and galaxies. It has also taken lots of stunning pictures. Hubble has made more than 1.5 million observations and has travelled more than three billion miles. It circles the Earth every 95 minutes. In the 30 years that Hubble has been in space, five missions have been launched to allow astronauts to upgrade its technology, and it is still sending back images.…

On 1 January, the UK had its warmest ever New Year’s Day, with record temperatures in England, Scotland and Wales. The highest temperature was 16.3° C at St James’s Park in central London. A temperature of 15.9° C was recorded in Achnagart in the Highlands in Scotland, while in Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, temperatures reached 15.6° C. The record highs were caused by winds bringing warm air from the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean.…

“A big part of my book Frankie’s World is about discovering who you are and knowing that it’s ok to be different,” author and illustrator (someone who draws pictures for books and magazines) Aoife Dooley tells The Week Junior. Her book is a funny adventure story about Frankie, an 11-year-old girl who knows she’s different but isn’t sure why. To find out, Frankie tracks down her father who left when she was young. The story is loosely based on Dooley’s own experiences. “I knew I was very different from everyone in my family,” she says. Dooley was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 27. Autism is a condition that affects how people feel, hear and see the world. Dooley says it is important for all young people to be…

Scientists and birdwatchers are joining a hunt to find some of the rarest birds on Earth. The Search for Lost Birds list, released in December 2021, features 10 birds that have not been seen in the wild for at least 10 years. The list is a joint project between three nature organisations – American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International and Re:wild. The birds on the list have not been seen for many years but they have not yet been ruled extinct (meaning scientists think they no longer exist). Their long disappearances could be because there have been no studies in areas where they live, or simply because experts don’t know where or how to find them. If the birds have become rarer or gone extinct, it could be for several reasons,…

AUS spacecraft has made history with a flight through the Sun’s outer atmosphere. In April 2021, the Parker Solar Probe flew closer to the Sun than any vehicle has ever been. It skimmed into a region of superhot gases called the corona to learn more about what it is made of and how it behaves. Launched in 2018, the probe follows an orbit that brings it close to the Sun occasionally but keeps a safe distance at other times. Each orbit has brought Parker slightly closer to the Sun, and scientists had been waiting for it to cross a boundary called the Alfvén point. This marks the point at which the Sun can hold on to most of the hot gas that surrounds it. It is considered to be the…

The Commonwealth Games, which begin on 28 July and will be held in Birmingham and the West Midlands in England, will be one of 2022’s biggest sporting events. Emma Lou, aged 11, is especially excited because she designed the mascot. Emma, who lives in Bolton in north-west England, entered a national competition to create the mascot. Her idea uses a sport-loving bull called Perry, because Birmingham has had a market called the Bull Ring for hundreds of years and also has the Bullring shopping centre. “I was thrilled that my design was chosen to be the official mascot of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games,” Emma told The Week Junior. One of her prizes was four tickets to the opening ceremony. “I can’t wait to see Perry in front of a…

Do you compare yourself to other people? Perhaps your best friend received something you really wanted for Christmas, or you’re not allowed to go to a concert but your brother or sister is. Even though comparisons are normal and can sometimes be helpful, focusing on your own progress is important for your wellbeing. Why does focusing on me matter? “We tend to compare ourselves to others who are doing better or not as well as ourselves,” says psychologist (an expert on the brain and its functions) Nicola Abbott. “But comparing your achievements to your past self (where you started) and your future self (where you’d like to get to) can be more positive.” This can make you feel proud of what you’ve achieved and excited about what you might do.…

Take a trip through the remarkable history of Peru – one of the most extraordinary countries on Earth. A new exhibition at the British Museum, in London, lets visitors explore thousands of years of Peru’s rich history, beliefs and culture, and to view artefacts that have never been seen in the UK before. Peru: A Journey in Time, is the British Museum’s first major exhibition of Peruvian culture. It is timed to mark the 200th anniversary since Peru became an independent country in 1821. Peru is on the west coast of South America. The geography of the country is dramatic, ranging from the high Andes mountains to deserts. Yet despite this challenging climate, many cultures have flourished there. One of Peru’s most celebrated cultural attractions is Machu Picchu, an ancient…

Eternals From 12 January on Disney+ One of Marvel’s biggest films, Eternals tells the story of a group of immortal beings who have been living secretly on Earth for thousands of years. In this film, they must protect the planet from their arch-enemies, the Deviants. Hotel Transylvania: Transformania From 14 January on Prime Video Dracula and his friends return for the fourth and final film in the Hotel Transylvania series. After a “monsterfication ray” turns Dracula and his fellow monsters into humans, they must find a way to change back.…

(Chicken House) Jummy can’t wait to go to the River School, the best girls’ boarding school in Nigeria. At her new school, beside the Shine-Shine River, she’s soon making lots of friends and exploring an exciting new world of midnight feasts, sporting prizes and house competitions. Then Caro, Jummy’s best friend from home, turns up. Caro’s not there as a pupil — she’s working as a maid. Can the resourceful Jummy bring all her new friends together to help Caro get the opportunities she deserves? Inspired by the author’s own experiences at boarding school in Nigeria, this is perfect for readers who love school stories by authors like Robin Stevens and Enid Blyton. It also has a strong message about friendship, making a difference, and the importance of access to…

Described as a mixture of netball, basketball and football, handball is fast and exciting and simple to learn how to play. Handball can be played outdoors but most players take part in indoor events. A full-sized court is 40 metres long and 20 metres wide, with a goal at each end that’s protected by a team's goalkeeper. Each team's has six outfield players who throw the ball between their team, or dribble (bounce) it like in basketball, as they try to attack and throw the ball into their opponents’ net to score a goal. Each player can only hold the ball for up to three seconds and can only take three steps while holding the ball. This means the attacking team moves quickly, and the defending team tries to block…

Word fill in All these words fit in the grid. Can you work out where each word goes to complete it? 4 letters Ramp Seat Stop 5 letters Aisle Doors 6 letters Engine Euston Porter Wheels 7 letters Network Whistle 8 letters Carriage Electric 10 letters Embankment Footbridge Word jumble Rearrange the scrambled letters to form four words connected with flowing water. Spot the difference These two pictures appear to be the same, but take a closer look. There are actually five differences. Can you spot them? Wordsearch Can you find all of the words listed here? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and may read forwards or backwards. ARENA BALANCE BOOTS FOOTWORK FROZEN GRACEFUL ICE LEAP LOOP MUSIC PIROUETTE PIVOT RINK ROUTINE SKATES SPIRAL SWIRL TECHNIQUE TURN TWIST…

“My grandma lives in Moscow, Russia, and is always cooking these dishes for us when we come to visit as they are our favourite. I am so glad Grandma taught me how to make them – they’re so simple and delicious. I made this cookbook with my grandma for all of our favourite recipes. I also did the illustrations for the book myself. I am very happy to share it with everyone and hope you like it as much as I do. To download a PDF and try the recipes, head to tinyurl.com/TWJ-Russianrecipes” What have you been up to lately? Which books have you enjoyed reading? What have you made? Have you written a poem or drawn a picture that you’d like to see published on this page? Whatever you…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam @TheWeekJunior. You can download the PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Last issue we asked you if it’s ok to regift Christmas presents… “I guess it could be ok if the person who gave it to you doesn’t know.” “If they are in perfect condition, because recycling helps the environment!” “No, you should be grateful! The only exception is if you already have that gift.” “If you don’t like it and you know someone who really would, it’s ok.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

An astonishing pair of giant meat-eating dinosaurs were among the 551 species identified by London’s Natural History Museum in 2021. The museum said that despite coronavirus restrictions, it had been a particularly good year for dinosaur finds. According to the museum, the biggest and most fearsome new species identified were two carnivorous (meat-eating) spinosaurids. The dinosaurs, which have been nicknamed “riverbank hunter” and “hell heron”, were found on the Isle of Wight, England, by researcher Jeremy Lockwood. The museum also identified three other dinosaurs, including the bizarre Spicomellus afer, which is the earliest ankylosaur and the first found in Africa; the Brighstoneus simmondsi, a new type of iguanodon with an unusual snout; and Pendraig milnerae, which is the earliest known carnivorous dinosaur to be found the UK. Scientists also identified…

Brussels, Belgium One of the world’s tiniest books is sold A buyer has paid £3,500 for one of the world’s smallest books at an auction. Measuring just five millimetres square, it contains versions of the Lord’s Prayer in several languages and was first published in Germany in 1952. Auctioneer Henri Godts explained, ”You cannot read it with the naked eye but need a strong magnifying glass.” Colorado, US Disaster declared after wildfire The US president Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the state of Colorado on 1 January after a wildfire burned through 6,000 acres of Boulder County. The blaze destroyed at least 1,000 homes and businesses. The area will get government money to help those affected. At the time The Week Junior went to press, rescuers were still…

Every year, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) runs the Big Schools’ Birdwatch. Schools across the country are encouraged to take part; classes can register online. Once you’ve signed up, all your class needs to do is find a one-hour slot during the first half of spring term. This could be during a lesson, a lunch break or after school. During this time, make a record of all the birds you can spot in your school grounds. Once you’ve finished, send in your results to rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch, where you can also register and find more information. This research will help the RSPB to protect the country’s birds, and you can also use the data you collect for classroom activities, such as making such as making graphs and posters.…

It really depends on what type of insect we’re considering. Some butterflies, such as red admirals, will find warm places to shelter, usually inside people’s homes and garages. Crickets and grasshoppers lay eggs in the ground, which will hatch in the following spring or summer. Honeybees will all huddle together in their hive and vibrate their wings and bodies to generate heat. Enjoy unlimited visits to ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoos, plus a host of other benefits with ZSL Membership. Find out more at zsl.org/membership/zsl-membership…

On 9 December, NASA launched a satellite to learn more about the most mysterious objects in the universe. Black holes are the collapsed remains of the heaviest stars; they weigh more than the Sun but are squashed into a tiny point in space. Anything that gets too close they pull to its doom, and they hold on to everything – not even light can escape. Just before material falls into a black hole it is heated to millions of degrees, emitting a final burst of high-energy X-rays. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) satellite is designed to detect these rays from the edges of black holes.…

Leicester Tigers The rugby union team beat Newcastle Falcons 31-0 to maintain their perfect start to the Premiership season. They have won all 11 league games so far. Manchester City They have a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Their most recent league game was a 2-1 win at Arsenal. Nasser Al-Attiyah The racing driver won stage one of this year’s Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. Al-Attiyah competes in the car category. Trucks and motorbikes are also racing. Peter Wright Wright won the PDC World Darts Championship for the second time after beating Michael Smith by seven sets to five in the final.…

Nicola Abbott explains how to deal with FOMO (fear of missing out). “Sometimes we only tell others about the best parts of an event. So it’s easy to think, ‘Oh, I missed out,’ but there are downsides to everything. If you find yourself making comparisons a lot and thinking ‘I missed this’, you could seek other activities instead. What makes us happy is good connections with people – so sending a message to a friend, calling them or arranging to go for a walk together is better than scrolling through their pictures and wishing you were there.”…

The Ande The Andes Mountains stretch for around 5,500 miles, from the southern tip of South America, in Chile, all the way to Colombia, in the most northerly part of the continent. Nasca lines In the Nasca desert, huge drawings on the ground of animals and other shapes can be seen from the air. They are more than 2,000 years old. Why the people who lived there created them is still a mystery. Machu Picchu Machu Picchu was built in around 1450 by the Inca people. It is thought to have been a palace for the Inca emperor Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui. It was discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham.…

Cats, Pokémon, Rabbids, super-fast hedgehogs and haunted chocolate shops are just some of the treats in store for gaming in 2022. Here’s a pick of the best games coming up. Perhaps the biggest is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. It’s the sequel to the Switch’s best adventure, putting you in hero Link’s shoes as he explores more of Hyrule. Slime Rancher 2 is another sequel, this time to a game that involved running a farm full of cute slime characters. The next game will feature a new location called Rainbow Island. Pokémon fans got new games in 2021, and 2022 is starting with another one. Pokémon Legends: Arceus will have catching and battling but with a few changes to the way battles work. Sonic Frontiers sees…

What’s your favourite river in the world? It has to be the River Thames because it’s the one I’ve had the most access to. I’ve walked alongside it for hours enjoying the calmness of it. What inspired you to write this story? I had the most exciting experience at boarding school in Nigeria and I have always wanted to capture the smells, sounds and energy of that time in a story. My most vivid memories happened there. Do you have any hopes or dreams for 2022? To read my stories out loud to children and hopefully write more stories. If you could visit anywhere, where would you head first? To be honest, New York. So many good movies were set in New York, like Elf and Annie. Can you speak…

How can I get involved? Your local sports centre may have handball facilities. British Handball is a group that helps to organise and run the sport. Its website (britishhandball.com) can help you find a local club. You can also try some basic skills, such as throwing and catching a small ball outside in a safe place with your friends. What is mini handball? Mini handball has the same rules as regular handball but each team has five players instead of seven and the court is smaller. It is designed for younger players and matches are usually much shorter than the adult version. There’s also beach handball, which is played outdoors in the summer.…

“Pigcasso” sells latest painting A painting drawn by a pig has sold for £20,000. The pig, known as “Pigcasso”, was rescued by an animal shelter in South Africa. She ate and destroyed everything that was placed in front of her, except for some paintbrushes. Joanne Lefson, from the shelter, said she put a canvas in the pig’s stall and encouraged her to paint, “and the rest is really history”. Lego is more valuable than gold It might sound strange but you could be better off keeping your Lego unopened. A study has suggested that unopened Lego sets could increase in value even more than gold. Researchers at the Higher School of Economics in Russia said some special edition and rare sets, including some Star Wars Lego, could sell for high…

Enter an exciting photography competition The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is a UK-based gardening charity. Its annual photographic competition is designed to get you outdoors taking photos that show how beautiful and thought-provoking gardens and plants can be. It’s free to enter and there are under-18s and under-11s categories. First place, second place and third place in each category will receive vouchers to spend on photography equipment. All entries must be submitted through the RHS Photographic Competition website before 1 February 2022. Head to tinyurl.com/TWJ-RHS2022 for information about how you can enter. GET INVOLVED Email your news, views and pictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Please include your full name and address so that we can send you a Roving Reporter badge if your contribution makes it onto the page. We will only…

1 What is the name of the telescope that was launched into space on Christmas Day? □ a) Michael Dalton Space Telescope □ b) James Webb Space Telescope □ c) William Shatner Space Telescope 2 True or false? Burger King is the first fast-food chain in the UK to serve burgers made of insects. □ True □ False 3 In which African country is thiebou dieune the national dish? 4 What is the name of the first minister of Wales? □ a) Arlene Foster □ b) Mark Drakeford □ c) Nicola Sturgeon 5 True or false? Aoife Dooley is an author and illustrator. □ True □ False 6 Where might you find a bird called a South Island kōkako? 7 Which country is hosting the Africa Cup of Nations football…