Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 136 i The Week Junior

A SPECIAL SURPRISE The actor Gal Gadot took a break from filming the Wonder Woman sequel to make a surprise visit to Inova Children’s Hospital in Falls Church, US. She dressed in the superhero’s costume and had photos taken with staff and patients. Staff said Gadot was “a true Wonder Woman”. UNCOVERING HISTORIC REMAINS A 12th century chapel that disappeared almost 400 years ago has been rediscovered. The building was destroyed in 1646, but its ruins have now been found by 90 archaeologists at Auckland Castle, in County Durham, ending a centuries-long mystery over its whereabouts. THE EASTERN QUOLL For the first time in more than 50 years, a rare species known as the eastern quoll has been born in the wild on mainland Australia. The marsupials (animals whose babies…

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 emojis are spoiling the English language, 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…

Francesca Servini ZSL London Zoo keeper The mountain chicken frog was given its name by Caribbean islanders, who compared its taste to chicken. It’s one of the largest frogs in the world and has been brought to the brink of extinction because of hunting, along with habitat loss, the introduction of other predators to their island home, and a fungal disease that the ZSL team hopes to help beat. 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…

The ground might feel pretty firm under your feet, but it’s actually far from stable. The surface of our planet is constantly on the move – rising, sinking and being stretched or squashed. Pressure builds up in the crust – the solid layer we stand on. The Earth’s crust is broken into huge sections, known as tectonic plates. Rocks at the edges of the tectonic plates push and rub against each other. When that pressure is released suddenly, the rocks break or slip. The energy ripples through the ground, making the surface buckle and shake. The greater the energy released, the more powerful the earthquake.…

Do you like the idea of rollerblading without the effort? You’re in luck – a company called Segway has created some electric skates. The Segway Drift W1 are motorised wheeled platforms for your feet. To move forwards, backwards or side to side, users must balance on the e-skates. When the user tilts their feet forwards, the skates will move forwards; when they tilt their feet backwards, they’ll move backwards. The skates use a combination of sensors and a control system to work out which way a user is tilting. It may sound a little dangerous but the new e-skates have been given American and European certifications for product safety.…

BOOK OF THE WEEK The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle (Bloomsbury Children’s) It is hard to believe in magic until it grips you by the shoulders and shakes you awake. Fionn isn’t keen on leaving his Dublin home to spend summer on the tiny island of Arranmore with his grandfather, but once he and his sister set foot on the island, extraordinary and magical things begin to happen. Fionn learns that once in a generation, Arranmore chooses a new Storm Keeper – someone who must be the island’s champion, keeping its magic safe from enemies. This spellbinding tale is inspired by a real island on the north-west coast of Ireland, as well as stories from author Catherine Doyle’s family history. It’s an unforgettable adventure. READERS RECOMMEND Name: @glitterunicorn9 The…

Two Words with Susie Dent Android / iOS (Free) Besides appearing on the TV show Countdown with her word skills, Susie Dent is The Week Junior’s resident wordsmith, responsible for writing Word of the Week on our Home news page. When it comes to vocabulary, she knows her stuff. Now there’s a mobile game where Dent will train your word-mastering skills. Two Words is a two-player game that you can play against friends, other humans or the game’s own Two Words robots – including a virtual Susie. You start with seven random letters and have to make words to score points, similar to Scrabble, but each time a player takes a turn, their last word is taken away, so only your word and your opponent’s word are on screen at…

Stan, 12, is an avid beekeeper who keeps his own bees. He says, “I love using the remote technology for checking the temperature and sounds inside the hive in my garden. We get honey from the honeybees, but bumblebees are my favourite.” Together with his mum, Stan runs a “pollination club” at Ovingham Middle School, so his friends can learn about bees and plant wildflower meadows. In 2016, the club won a Bees’ Needs Champions Award.…

The incredible rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand has gripped everyone in The Week Junior’s office. When we met on Monday morning to decide which news stories to include in this week’s issue, there was no doubt that it would be at the top of the list. What we couldn’t be certain of at that time was whether it would be a complete success, so it was a huge relief on Tuesday afternoon to hear that all of them had made it out. Within minutes of the news of their rescue, people all over the world began congratulating the rescue team, whose heroic actions brought them to safety. Those who risked their own lives to search for and…

Do you enjoy gardening? What about helping hedgehogs? In the last 10 years, Britain has lost a third of its hedgehog population due to intensive farming, the disappearance of their habitats and roads cutting off access to habitats. Hedgehog Street is a campaign that encourages the public to let their gardens grow in order to improve these spiky animals’ chance of survival. Don’t worry if you don’t have a garden of your own; there are other ways to help. Head to tinyurl.com/hedgehogstreet and start making a difference, one garden at a time.…

Teacher’s name: Miss Harrison School: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Withnell, Lancashire Miss Harrison is an inspirational teacher who always has an infectious smile and heaps of enthusiasm, no matter what subject we are doing. She makes maths fun and is so good at maths, she even trains other teachers how to teach maths! Thanks, Miss, for all your help! Josh, Year 4 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…

1When was the last time England reached a World Cup semi-final? a) 1990 b) 1994 b) 1998 2Penny Mordaunt was the first person to use what in Parliament? 3True or false? Travis Pastrana jumped his car over 16 buses in Las Vegas, in the US. 4Which emoji was the Oxford Dictionaries 2015 Word of the Year? a) Smiling face with heart eyes b) Face with tears of joy c) Face with rolling eyes 5How many mountains did Lola House climb in less than a day? 6What was the name of the world’s last male northern white rhino? a) Sudan b) Steve c) Sam 7True or false? Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. 8What are scientists using fibre-optic cables to detect? 9True or false? A Visayan Spotted is…

On 4 July, Penny Mordaunt became the first minister ever to use sign language in Parliament. Sign language is a way for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate through gestures, expressions and body language. Mordaunt used it to explain that the UK will be co-hosting its first Global Disability Summit on 24 July in London, to discuss support for disabled people living in poor countries.…

No matter what happens at the World Cup final in Moscow, Russia, on 15 July, there will be at least one English person playing a key role in the match. Emma Saunders has been chosen as the official matchday announcer. She will read the players’ names out to the stadium before the game kicks off, as well as updating fans on substitutions and other in-game announcements. Saunders usually works as the matchday announcer for Premier League team Watford. She is the only female announcer in the English top division. “This really is a dream come true,” Saunders said. “It’s incredible. I could not be more proud and thrilled.” As well as working as a sports journalist for the BBC, Saunders has already been a matchday announcer at several World Cup…

Animals in India On 4 July, a court in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand decided that all animals should be given the same rights as humans. The court ruled that the entire animal kingdom would have the same protection as people do and set guidelines to prevent animal cruelty. Saddleworth Moor birds A huge fire on Saddleworth Moor is feared to have affected nesting birds in the area. It is the middle of the breeding season for species such as red grouse and curlews, which may have been sitting on their eggs or have young chicks that were unable to escape the blaze.…

Your pancreas is as long as a small ruler (15 centimetres) and shaped a bit like a tadpole. In humans it lies just behind the stomach. The purpose of this organ is two-fold. Firstly, it’s one of the places where your body releases hormones (special chemical messengers in the body) into the blood. The hormones it releases includes those that help to control the amount of sugar in your blood, ensuring your blood doesn’t have too much or too little. Secondly, it helps to digest our food. It does this by releasing chemicals called enzymes into the small intestine. These enzymes (called pancreatic juices) help to break down our food so it can be absorbed into the blood and sent to where it’s needed. Email questions to hello@theweekjunior.co.ukwith the words…

Lego Disney Pixar’s The Incredibles PS4 / Xbox One / Switch / PC From Star Wars to Marvel superheroes, Lego games are rarely a letdown. The latest example is based on a pair of animated films: The Incredibles and current cinema release, Incredibles 2. You get to play as the various members of the superpowered Parr family – also known as Elastigirl, Mr Incredible, Violet and Dash. Your job will be to rid their city of crime, working your way from district to district, and defeating some familiar supervillains along the way. It’s a mixture of battling and puzzle-solving, as well as smashing the scenery to bits and picking up the pieces, like past Lego games.…

How do I get started? Find your local beekeeping association at tinyurl.com/TWJ-bbka. They can give advice, and may offer memberships, beekeeping experiences or courses. What equipment do I need? The basic equipment is a hive, protective clothing (a bee suit with veil and gloves) and hive-related tools. Ask your local beekeeping association if there are bees and equipment for sale nearby. What events can I join? How about joining the Great British Bee Count? Go to friendsoftheearth. uk/bee-count. There are also fairs, bee breakfasts, festivals and bee quizzes going on this summer. To find an event near you, visit tinyurl.com/TWJ-beecount…

SpecialEffect SpecialEffect aims to help young people with disabilities that prevent them from being able to play video games. Being able to play games has been proved to have an extremely positive effect on people’s confidence and rehabilitation. The charity creates and supplies custom controllers for people with all kinds of disabilities, as well as offering advice and support to family members. To find out more about the charity’s activities, go to specialeffect.org.uk…

Follow The Week Junior on Popjam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the free Popjam app from the App Store or Google Play. We asked you about the plastic-bag ban in four out of the six Australian states, and you said... “That’s good! All countries should do it!” @PhoenixRL “If we don’t do anything about it, global warming will keep increasing” @ThaliaAnabeth “Yayy! Go Australia!” @Jody_21 Last week’s poll asked, “Should mobile phones be banned in schools?” “At my school you have to turn your phone off until the end of school!” @supercatten “They should only be allowed on breaks” @Amber_ArtyAwesome “Yes, it distracts people” @Jcool100 Tell us what you think of this week’s issue. We’ll give you a shout-out if your post is printed here. The Week Junior is delivered in a…

17 July 1917 The royal family changes its name On 17 July 1917, King George V changed the British royal family’s name to Windsor. Before then, it was a German name – Saxe-Coburg-Gotha – which came from Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who was German. However, George V decided to changed it to an English name due to anti-German feeling during the First World War (1914–1918), when Britain was fighting against Germany. The current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is a member of the House of Windsor.…

The UK has experienced the longest heatwave in five years. The hot weather started on 24 June and lasted until 9 July, which meant for 16 days in a row temperatures reached above 28° C. The highest temperature in the UK so far this year was recorded in Porthmadog in north Wales, where it reached 32.6° C. The unusually long period of sunshine has had some surprising benefits. Although many people have been enjoying barbecues and going to the beach or park, Dr Toby Driver has been flying above Wales looking for long-lost historical sites that are now visible thanks to the hot, dry weather. Driver works as an aerial investigator for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and has been mapping cropmarks. These are…

● Earlier this year, YouTube revealed the results of a UK study about the English language. The majority of adults who took part – 94% – say there has been a decline in the English language. Over a third believe that emojis are to blame. ● More than half of those questioned also said they lack confidence in their spelling and grammar. ● Emojis evolved from emoticons (punctuation marks used to make facial expressions) and were created by Shigetaka Kurita in 1999. ● The Oxford Dictionaries 2015 Word of the Year was the face with tears of joy emoji.…

Found just outside Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, Dinefwr is home to a national nature reserve, an ancient castle, a deer park and a historic house. Dinefwr Castle has stood on a hilltop above the Tywi Valley for hundreds of years. Dinefwr supports a huge range of species and habitats, from dense woodlands to wet meadows. Some of the country’s most secretive animals live there too, including otters, polecats, deer, badgers and eagles. Find out more at nationaltrust.org.uk/dinefwr…

Splash by Charli Howard (Nosy Crow) Molly dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer – but she lives in the shadow of her friend Chloe. When Molly has the chance to compete in a competition, she must choose between fitting in and following her dreams. Exploring friendship, bullying, body image and the challenge of daring to be different, this is an inspiring read. The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas by David Almond. Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Walker Books) In this zany story, Stanley Potts is a perfectly ordinary boy until he gets a job working on the hook-a-duck stall at the fair. Events soon lead him to the “piscatorial genius” Pancho Pirelli – famed as the man who swims with piranhas. Will Stanley be brave enough to follow his destiny, and…

After a 14-year break, the Incredibles return in a brand new film. Incredibles 2 shows mother Helen Parr – also known as Elastigirl – taking over the superhero reins, while her husband Bob Parr – also known as Mr Incredible – stays at home to look after the children. While Elastigirl tries to bring superheroes back to the city of Metroville, Mr Incredible has to help their son Dash with his homework, contend with daughter Violet growing up and try to control baby Jack-Jack’s new superpowers. The family aren’t the only superheroes in the film. There’s Voyd, who can fire teleportation portals from her hands; Screech, who looks like a half-human, half-owl mash-up; and Reflux, who can burp lava. The film’s writer and director Brad Bird took inspiration from his…

Escape To Victory (1981) DVD, iTunes, Prime Video This action-packed film mixes a war time plot with one of the best games of football ever seen on a cinema screen. Now, nearly 40 years on, Escape to Victory has become something of a favourite. It stars Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Brazilian football legend Pelé and a bunch of footballers who played for Ipswich Town in the early 1980s. The plot centres on a German team playing football against Allied prisoners (prisoners from nations that were also fighting Germany and Japan) in the Second World War. But can those prisoners use the game to escape? It’s fun finding out... HARD GAME Michael Caine may have won awards for his acting but his footballing co-stars joked that he couldn’t play the game…

All across the country, people are going bee-crazy. These stripy insects are cherished because they help pollinate our plants. They help spread the pollen needed for fruit and vegetable plants to grow. This means that they’re not just good for making honey, they’re also behind much of the food we eat. However, bees are now dying off at an alarming rate because of pests, pesticides (chemicals used to kill pests) and the destruction of their natural habitats. That’s why schools across the country are doing their bit to make sure bees don’t go extinct, for example, by planting wildflower meadows in their school grounds. Meanwhile, many people are taking up beekeeping – owning and breeding bees in hives for their honey. If you’d like to try your hand at keeping…

Build bottle skittles What you need ● Paintbrush ● Acrylic paint ● Six clean plastic bottles with lids (all the same size) ● Rice ● Tennis ball Instructions Apply a base coat of paint to each bottle and then leave them to dry. You may need to give them a few coats to get a solid colour. Once you are happy with your base colour, you can decorate your bottles. Painting stripes makes them look like to bowling pins, but you can paint any pattern you like. When the bottles are completely dry, pour three tablespoons of uncooked rice into the bottom of each one and screw the lid on. Line them up at the end of your garden or living room, grab a tennis ball and get bowling. How…

“I entered a competition in The Week Junior and I was one of the winners. I got some books, tickets for KidZania and a day with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) because I want to be a lifeguard when I grow up. When I arrived, I met Sailor the dog, who is always at the lifeboat station, Kim, a full-time, fully trained lifeguard and Jacqui the operational manager at Portsmouth lifeboat station. We watched the lifeboats being launched for their training. I need to be able to swim 25 metres underwater and swim another 25 metres head-up front crawl, all in 50 seconds. When I am 16, I can start training. ” What’s going on at your school? Have you taken part in a sporting event, put on a…