Innholdsfortegnelse for 168 i The Week Junior

A SCOTTISH RAY A baby ray had its first swim after spending two months in a sandwich bag. The fish was born nearly a month early in December and got trapped in its egg case. It was moved to the bag to keep it safe, but is now happily swimming at an aquarium in Aberdeenshire. WELSH PLUMS The Denbigh plum, Wales’s only native variety of the fruit, has been granted protected status by the European Union. This means the plum has to be grown in the Vale of Clwyd, where it is from, and cannot be copied or produced anywhere else. The status aims to preserve the quality of special food and drink items. FILM FANS The film Black Panther made history at the Oscars, also known as the Academy…

Scientists have discovered that cats might take on the personalities of their owners. Research by Nottingham Trent University and the University of Lincoln studied 3,000 cat owners and compared their behaviour to that of their cats. They found it was generally possible to tell the type of cat that belonged to each owner because of the behaviour of both pet and person. Lauren Finka, one of the researchers, said pets could be affected by how we interact with them.…

School breaks are a time to catch up with friends, relax, eat your lunch and get some fresh air. For many pupils they are one of the best parts of the school day. In recent years, however, many schools have been shortening breaks. More than half of secondary schools have a lunch break of 54 minutes or less, compared with fewer than a third of schools in 1995, when most had a longer break. Part of the reason for shorter breaks is that they are thought to reduce bad behaviour because students do not have as much free time, but a group of MPs is calling for breaks to be made longer and for this to be a legal right. They say the time could be used for exercise and…

Describe yourself in three words. Kind. Clever. Dutch. Whom do you love? My children, Anna, Tom and Imogen, my much better half Vanessa, and my granddad. As a child, who did you want to be like and why? My granddad. He is kind, fun, and tucked me into bed tighter than anyone when I was little. Also, Johan Cruyff (a Dutch footballer). He was a natural leader. When you were 11, what did you dream of being? A coalminer (like my granddad) and footballer (like Cruyff). Also, detective, knight, actor, firefighter, F1 driver, teacher. Teacher won! What do you do now? I am global education director for KidZania (“cities” for young people where they can experience the world of work through role-play). I lead the development of education and learning.…

A remarkable underground network of caves and caverns awaits visitors to Wookey Hole, located beneath the Mendip Hills in Somerset. Perhaps the most famous attraction is the Witch of Wookey Hole. Legend has it that the witch was defeated by a monk and turned into stone, and her petrified form can still be seen today. There are plenty of other activities for visitors, too, including a fairy garden and a walk with animatronic dinosaurs. Find out more at wookey.co.uk…

Largest lemon battery The Ri holds the Guinness World Records title for the largest lemon battery. It took four people two days to wire 2,000 lemons together. Electricity passes through the citric acid in lemons. Structure of haemoglobin Haemoglobin is a red protein found in the blood. It gives blood its red colour, and transports oxygen around the body. Haemoglobin’s shape was discovered by Max Perutz and John Kendrew in 1959 at the Ri, and they won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discovery in 1962. The Faraday cage In 1836 Michael Faraday invented a cage made of a conducting material (electricity passes through it), such as copper, that shields anything inside it from the effect of electricity. It was used to protect people and equipment from any outside…

Apiece of skull from a Stone Age man was rescued from the River Thames in London in September last year, and will now go on display at the Museum of London. The skull dates back to 3,600BC – around 5,600 years ago – and belongs to a male over the age of 18. This part of history is known as the Neolithic era, or the later part of the Stone Age. At this time, the River Thames would have been much wider and shallower. The people living nearby were hunter-gatherers who believed the river was sacred. Dr Rebecca Redfern, curator of human osteology (the human skeleton) at the museum, believes the skull was left there as an offering to the sacred river. The skull was found by mudlarkers – amateur…

Girls With a Voice by Ann Turnbull (Usborne Publishing) London, 1764. Mary Ann longs to be an opera singer – and she couldn’t be more thrilled when the famous musician Mozart comes to perform. Suddenly she is told she must leave her boarding school. Are her singing dreams shattered for good? The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo. Illustrated by Michael Foreman (Walker Books) When reporter Lesley is sent to interview violinist Paulo Levi, she’s told she can’t ask “the Mozart question”. As they talk, Paulo tells a story about how music helped a group of musicians to survive the horrors of war. Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone (Simon & Schuster) In Erkenwald, Eska is trapped in a glass music box in the Ice Queen’s palace. When Flint, a boy from…

Fighting with M Family (2019) Showing at cinemas nationwide There’s something quite special about Fighting with My Family. It’s a film about a family from Norwich who love WWE wrestling – so much so that brother and sister Zak and Paige both dream of taking up wrestling in the US. The film charts their journey, and it’s often very, very funny (former wrestler Dwayne Johnson is particularly good). It also has real heart to it, and you might just find yourself shedding a tear. It’s all based on a true story, and writer/ director Stephen Merchant spent a long time talking to the real family behind it before writing the film. Lots of the lines that they speak came directly from them! DID YOU KNOW? The biggest WWE event each…

Tetris 99 Switch Puzzle game Tetris has had people dropping blocks together since the mid-1980s. The latest spin on its formula takes inspiration from... Fortnite. Yes: this is battle royal Tetris with 99 players. The gameplay is the same: shapes drop from the top of the screen and you have to move and rotate them to fit them into neat lines, which then disappear. The twist: you’re playing at the same time as 98 other people, sending them “garbage blocks” to disrupt them – although they can do the same back to you. Tetris 99 is free, but you need Nintendo’s Switch Online subscription to play it.…

World Book Day is back! Celebrated on 7 March, it’s the world’s biggest campaign to provide every child and young person in the country with a book, and it’s a great chance to enjoy everything about reading. This year’s official illustrator is the award-winning author and artist, Rob Biddulph, who said he was “super-proud” to be involved. The Week Junior asked him how to draw one of his brilliant bookmarks, and you’ll find his step-by-step instructions below. Give it a go and send us a photo of your creation. STEP 1 Carefully draw three sides of a tall and thin rectangle. STEP 2 At the bottom, draw an arrowhead shape that points upwards. STEP 3 Add two lines that curve outwards at the bottom. STEP 4 Next, add two arrow-head…

Teacher’s name: Mr Goddard School: Lea C E Primary School, Herefordshire “Mr Goddard is our favourite teacher because he has a very good sense of humour. He makes every lesson fun and enjoyable. He always talks about golf as it is his favourite sport and at PE he teaches us kabaddi – an Asian team sport we all love!” Sophie, Courtney, Molly, Leah, Corah and Katie 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 GET INVOLVED Email your news, viewsandpictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Every reader who has a report, review, Teacher of the Week nomination, joke or…

“My mum got me the Nothing product from Poundland that I saw in the Real or Rubbish section and took a picture with it and The Week Junior together.” Isla “For Valentine’s Day our Beaver colony created hearts in support of the showthelove campaign for climate change. We learnt about the effects and the threat to animals and food supplies and we will be sending a letter to our MP.” 7th Royston Beaver colony “My sister and I made these red pepper and pea muffins from the How to section. They were scrumptious and very easy to make! We are already planning some different fillings to try when we next bake them.” Josh and Alice…

Overgrown cabbage makes others go green with envy A woman who grows crops for visitors to her hotel has produced a massive cabbage that is almost the same size as a human. Rosemary Norwood, from Australia, said she didn’t intend to grow such a monster vegetable, but it fed guests for two weeks and has attracted the attention of news outlets around the world. She explained, “I’m not attempting to grow giant vegetables for the sake of it. This one looked like it was doing really well so we left it.” Massive milk tooth A 10-year-old has taken the Guinness World Records title for having the longest milk tooth. The huge gnasher was 2.4 centimetres long, beating the record of two centimetres. Curtis Buddie, from the US, said his giant…

● A group of Members of Parliament (MPs) have said pupils in England will perform better at school if they have more free time during the school day. The MPs say young people should have a legal right to 75 minutes of break time per day. ● Many schools have shortened their breaks in recent years. They say it reduces bad behaviour and provides more time for learning. ● Only one in six pupils is currently doing 60 minutes of exercise each day. The National Health Service (NHS) recommends at least an hour a day.…

Jessica Jones Keeper, ZSL London Zoo Llamas are from the Andes mountains, which run along South America’s western side. The weather there can be quite unpredictable, so the llamas need to be well adapted to thrive in the harsh environment. Their eyelashes act like super-shields for the eyes, and protect them from dust, rain and snow. They also provide shade from the Sun. 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…

Oorlog This powerful piece, created by a Dutch theatre group, looks at the impact of war using a selection of unlikely props – including balloons, roller skates and a shower. It tackles the issue head-on, but still has time for some comedy and surprises, too. ArtCart Be transported to another world with virtual-reality technology to create incredible adventures. Participants will also be able to make their own digital art and bring it to life during the sessions. Family Comedy Club Anyone hoping for a good laugh should head along to this performance, which has a mix of puppetry, jokes and clowning around. The whole family is sure to enjoy the wacky comedy from Paul Currie.…

Athletics: European Indoor Championships 9.30am on 2 March, BBC Two The event in Glasgow starts, and races include the first round of the men’s and women’s 60-metre sprint. Look out for the women’s long jump – another highlight. Coverage continues the following day on BBC Four from 8pm. Ice Age: Return of the Mammoth 7.30pm on 3 March, Channel 4 This documentary takes a look at the scientists searching the icy terrain of northern Siberia in Russia, in the hope of finding well-preserved mammoth remains that could help bring the long-dead species back from extinction. Missing Link trailer tinyurl.com/TWJ-missinglink This new trailer offers an exciting peek at an upcoming release from the team behind Coraline and The Boxtrolls. With a star-packed voice cast, the film follows Mr Link the Bigfoot…

Have you ever thought about who you might be when you grow up? When I asked The Week Junior team what their younger selves dreamed of doing, our writer Ciaran revealed that he longed to be a guinea pig farmer, while our features editor Ben’s goal was to become a helicopter pilot or an NFL quarterback (preferably both). Felicity, the editor, wanted to save the planet, and I briefly aspired to be a ballet dancer or an author. Although none of us have made those dreams come true (yet), we all worked in different places before we came together to create this magazine. On page 9 of this week’s issue you’ll see we have a new feature called Becoming me, in which we meet a fascinating…

7 March 1965 Goldie the eagle avoids capture again On 7 March 1965, an escaped golden eagle from Regent’s Park Zoo, now called ZSL London Zoo, avoided being captured yet again. Goldie had escaped from his enclosure eight days earlier while his cage was being cleaned, and spent most of the week flying around London. He became a national sensation and 5,000 people gathered in Regent’s Park as police, firefighters and zookeepers tried to catch him. He was finally captured after nearly 12 days, tempted by a dead rabbit tied to a rope.…

“ It’s kind of like a perfect storm of craziness.” When The Week Junior speaks to Rob Biddulph, he is finishing some last-minute preparations for World Book Day – an event dedicated to getting young people reading – while completing his new writing project. Biddulph, who created the special bookmark characters used for the event, has also been busy working on this issue of The Week Junior – designing the cover and How to page. “My kids are thrilled that I’m doing it,” he says. “They’re never impressed by what I do, but this one has given me a bit of kudos (praise). My youngest, Poppy, is an avid reader of The Week Junior and is often coming over to tell me about things she’s read.” Biddulph worked on magazines…

The rodents were first recorded in 1845, when European sailors described large numbers of them scuttling around on Bramble Cay Island. The animal had a round body, long whiskers and a pattern on its tail. It was described as one of the most isolated animals in Australia, due to its remote island home. Surveys in 2011 and 2014 to study the animal failed to find any of the Bramble Cay melomys at all. Other islands in the area have been searched to see if there is another population of the rat elsewhere but so far none have been found. A recovery plan was set up in 2008, but it appears to have been too late.…

A lucky mountain lion Firefighters in California, in the US, rescued a mountain lion that got stuck 15 metres up a tree. The lion was spotted by a homeowner who noticed it on a branch close to where he lived in the desert. A rescue team tranquillised the animal before releasing it back into the wild. Toxic snow in Siberia A coal-mining region in Siberia, Russia, has been blanketed in toxic (poisonous) black snow, highlighting what some say is a man-made environmental disaster. The snow has turned black because of coal dust from open mines in the area, which is dangerous for people who live there.…

A genome is a complete set of DNA – the instructions for making and maintaining living things. It is contained in the nucleus of your body’s cells, and is made up of about three billion units of DNA. The DNA is split across 23 pairs of tiny thread-like structures called chromosomes, which your body reads like instructions, in sequences called genes. You can think of a genome like a book. The chromosomes are chapters, the genes are sentences, and DNA is the words. Every living thing on Earth has its own unique genome.…

Sweet or savoury? Savoury! If I had to eat just one thing for the rest of my life, it would be hot buttered toast (with really good bread). On the day The Midnight Hour was officially published, I celebrated with one of Emily’s favourite snacks: a crisp sandwich, made with Monster Munch to make it spooky. Favourite film? There are too many brilliant ones! Today I’ll choose Kiki’s Delivery Service. The first time I watched it I was having a very bad day and it made me feel calm and happy. It’s an animated film about a young witch, and the drawings are so beautiful to watch. If you could travel to any country, where would you go? I would love to twirl atop Austria’s mountains, like Julie Andrews in…

Humtap iOS (Free) Not everyone can play an instrument well, let alone play several and record the results as a full song, but most people can hum and tap their fingers, which is all you’ll need to create tunes using the Humtap app. You start by choosing a genre – chill pop, tropical and hip hop are among the choices – then you hum a melody into your microphone and tap out a beat on the screen. You can change the sounds to get it just right, before adding your own vocals, complete with a choice of effects including robot, vocoder and autotune. Once your song is ready, you can shoot a video using your phone’s camera. Share the results wherever you like, or just save the video to your…

Name: Shreya “A few days ago I saved my dad’s life. He is diabetic, which means that his pancreas stopped working. Your pancreas is an organ in your body that makes insulin. He came back from the gym and sat down at the table. I was upstairs until he shouted that he was having a hypo (when your insulin is very low) so I ran down and gave him jelly beans. They are high in sugar and that really helps.” What’s going on at your school? Have you taken part in a sporting event, put on a show or done something fun to raise money? Whatever you’re up to, we want to hear about it at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk JOKE OF THE WEEK “Knock knock. Who’s there? Interrupting cow.…

The Plastic Pollution Challenge The Plastic Pollution Challenge has been launched by Premier League Primary Stars and Sky Ocean Rescue to find out how primary school students plan to reduce single-use plastics. Pupils are encouraged to carry out a group pledge on how they intend to reduce plastic pollution. Prizes include a trip to the Sky Academy Studios in London. Schools from across England and Wales can enter before 22 March 2019. Ask your teacher to download the free Plastic Pollution Challenge resource pack at tinyurl.com/TWJ-plchallenge…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the free PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. A photographer has snapped this rare black leopard in action in Kenya. You said... “I would love to be him” “Looks a bit like my kitten” “Amazing – the fact that it’s such a rare animal and they were able to get an extraordinary picture.” Theresa May admitted that she scrapes mould off jam instead of throwing it away in an attempt to reduce food waste. You said... “It actually seems quite a good way to stop food waste” “That is nasty. What would happen if the mould had spread but she couldn’t see it?” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the…

1True or false? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been visiting Antarctica. 2In which city is Endcliffe Park? 3Why has a Japanese politician apologised? a) He sneezed on a cat b) He turned up three minutes late to a meeting c) He stood on some flowers 4True or false? A group of MPs say pupils should get 40 minutes of break time each day. 5What did Rob Biddulph help to make before he became a full-time writer and illustrator? a) Jam b) Tractors c) Magazines 6Which animal species forms a cyclone to deter predators? 7True or false? The Royal Institution was founded in 1799. 8In which river was part of a Neolithic male skull found? 9Which Italian city hosted the Carnival Regatta? a) Rome b) Milan c) Venice 10True…