Innholdsfortegnelse for 188 i The Week Junior

FINDING A WALLET A woman has been reunited with a wallet that was stolen 75 years ago after it was found hidden in a school vent. During renovation works, 15 wallets from the 1940s were found stuffed in the hole, and a photo of them was shared online. Betty June Sissom, 89, has now been given hers back. A TALENTED SINGER Karina Ramage, who works at Waitrose, has been offered a record deal by a customer who turned out to be a music manager. Dan Glatman asked Ramage to perform for him on the spot when he noticed that she had a guitar. Glatman was so impressed that he is now helping her with her musical career. A SPECIAL PARTY A woman has returned to dance at the nightclub where…

For 45 years, young readers have been entertained by the adventures of Mildred Hubble – the well-meaning but clumsy student who stars in the popular The Worst Witch series. Hubble and her friends go to Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, where they always seem to be getting into trouble. The author of the books, Jill Murphy, spoke to The Week Junior ahead of a new stage show based on the stories opening in London. “She is based on me, exactly as I was at school,” Murphy says of the main character Hubble, adding that she was always “being a hopeless case, getting everything wrong, but somehow getting there in the end.” Unlike Hubble, Murphy was busy writing while she was at school. She explains, “I wrote about all the things…

Osprey chicks An osprey chick at the Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve in Perthshire has become the first to fly the nest this year. The bird, which has been named PT5, made its first flight on 6 July and spent two hours exploring the nature reserve. A second chick is expected to take flight soon. Stressed mussels Mussels find the noise of ships stressful, new research suggests. Scientists at two Edinburgh universities, Napier and Heriot-Watt, found that the shellfish were affected by large sounds at sea. They said it may explain why mussel populations have fallen in some areas.…

Your nervous system is made up of the central nervous system – the brain and spinal cord – and a network of smaller nerves that travel all over your body. If you think of your brain as a central computer that controls all of your bodily functions – even automatic ones such as your heartbeat – then the spinal cord is the body’s equivalent of the internet, constantly relaying messages from your brain to the nerves. For instance, if you touch something hot, the nerves in your skin quickly send a message to your brain via the spinal cord. In a fraction of a millisecond, your brain sends a message back telling the muscles in your hand to pull away.…

Lewis Hamilton The Formula One driver won the British Grand Prix for a record sixth time. Hamilton is now 39 points ahead in the championship. Louie Barry The 16-year-old footballer from Birmingham joined Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in the world, after leaving West Bromwich Albion. Annemiek van Vleuten The Dutch cyclist was the overall winner in the Giro Rosa event in Italy. The race took place over 10 days. Simona Halep & Novak Djokovic Halep, from Romania, won the women’s singles title, and Djokovic, from Serbia, took the men’s title at the Wimbledon tennis championships.…

What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear is that I let fear stop me from doing things. I now embrace every opportunity that comes my way, even if it terrifies me. Where is your favourite place to visit? One of my favourite places is Culzean Castle on the west coast of Scotland. With beaches, a huge variety of plants and trees, wildlife, caves and ghosts, there’s an adventure waiting to happen around every corner. What did you want to be when you were little? I can remember quite clearly wanting to be a vet, a poet or an opera singer. I’m glad I decided not to pursue the singing because I’m completely tone deaf. Do you prefer to plan things out or be spontaneous? Clock-watching and having to be…

Red stormtroopers will appear in the upcoming film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it has been revealed. The brightly coloured soldiers are a new addition to the franchise, which has previously only featured black-and-white-uniformed stormtroopers. The characters have been called Sith troopers by Disney, the company that makes Star Wars. Their name suggests they might work for an evil Sith character, although it’s unclear at the moment exactly who that person might be. Disney revealed the new look online ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2019, a large event in the US for fans of films, TV and comics, which will feature a special display of all the different versions of stormtroopers. The Rise of Skywalker is the third and final film in the newest Star Wars trilogy (a group…

Is baton twirling for me? Baton twirling is an exciting and energetic sport for boys and girls of all ages – especially those who already love dance or gymnastics. How do I get started? You could buy yourself a trainer baton (around £15–£20), watch a few YouTube videos and have a go at home. Joining a club is a lot more fun, however, and you will learn faster and you’ll make lots of new friends. Go to public.bbtsa.co.uk/join-us to find a club near you. Where can I see professionals in action? The baton twirling European Championships have just taken place in France. Search “EuroTwirl 2019” on YouTube for videos of the award-winning routines.…

Teacher’s name: Mrs Huxtable School: Chalfont Valley E-ACT Primary Academy, Buckinghamshire “Mrs Huxtable always has a smile on her face. She makes lessons interactive and encourages us to participate in competitions and activities. She has nominated me for Times Table Rock Stars competition and I am thoroughly enjoying it. “East or West – My teacher Mrs Huxtable is the BEST of the BEST” Manav 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…

Apiece of skull found in Greece could be the oldest human fossil ever found outside Africa. It was found in the Apidima Cave, in the southern Peloponnese region of Greece, and is thought to be at least 210,000 years old. If the claim is proved to be true, the skull will be the oldest known Homo sapiens fossil ever found in Europe. Homo sapiens is the species that all modern human beings belong to. The species originated in Africa more than 315,000 years ago. Around 70,000 years ago, they started to spread from the African continent to other parts of the world, but this find suggests they were on the move much earlier. The piece came from one of two skulls that were found in the 1970s. Using modern technology,…

A giant barrel jellyfish has been spotted by divers off the coast of Cornwall. Lizzie Daly, a biologist (someone who studies the science of living things) swam beside the massive marine animal and said it was a “gentle giant”. She estimated it was around 1.5 metres long, bigger than any barrel jellyfish she’d seen before. Daly and a camera operator, Dan Abbott, spent around an hour filming the creature. It is the largest jellyfish species found in British waters.…

1 The launch Apollo 11 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, on 16 July at 8.32am local time. The spacecraft’s initial flight was powered by a rocket called the Saturn V – still the biggest and most powerful rocket ever used. On top of it was the Command Module, where the astronauts spent most of their time, and the Lunar Module, which landed on the Moon. 2 The arrival After it had started the journey to the Moon, the rocket broke apart into three sections. The first two parts landed in the sea while the third stayed in space. It took four days to reach the Moon’s orbit, at which point the Lunar Module (known as the Eagle) separated and descended. Collins stayed in the Command Module,…

An international team of researchers has used modern crime-solving science to take a fresh look at one of the world’s oldest unsolved deaths. When a 33,000-year-old skull was discovered in a cave in Transylvania, Romania, in 1941, it was one of the oldest human remains ever found in Europe. But the find, known as Cioclovina man, also sparked intrigue because of two large fractures on its right-hand side. Experts have wondered about their cause ever since – did they happen after death, were they the result of a fall, or is this an ancient crime scene? To find out, scientists from Germany, Greece and Romania studied the skull with techniques similar to those used in modern investigations of suspicious deaths. The team, led by Katerina Harvati from the University of…

The Moon by Hannah Pang and Thomas Hegbrook (Little Tiger Press) Discover the history of humankind’s relationship with the Moon in this beautiful book, which explores science, myths, facts and fiction – including how the Moon has inspired everyone from astronomers to poets, and mathematicians to artists. When We Walked on the Moon by David Long and Sam Kalda (Wide Eyed Editions) Find out all about the different Apollo Missions, from the successful 1969 Moon landing to the amazing rescue of Apollo 13. Each chapter follows a different mission and includes all kinds of fascinating, surprising and funny details. Blast Off to the Moon! By Ralph Timberlake (UCLan Publishing) Based on astronaut Neil Armstrong’s original space manual, and material from NASA (the US space agency), this book captures all the…

Sister Act DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes, Prime Video Musical films have been popular recently, but in the early 1990s a film such as Sister Act was more of a rarity. It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a singer hiding from criminals, who gets placed in a convent (a community of nuns). Over time she starts to make her mark with the convent choir. The film was a huge surprise hit, that in turn led to a popular stage musical and a less successful cinema sequel. Not bad for a movie that was constantly being rewritten during filming, and was originally put together with a different leading star in mind. DID YOU KNOW? The lead role of Sister Act was originally supposed to be played by the Hollywood legend Bette Midler – but…

The Football Heroes competition, based on the Football Heroes book series, is now open to young people from seven to 11 years old. To enter, you need to create a hero profile and explain why you look up to that person. Participants have a chance to win the full set of Football Heroes books, and a shot at the grand prize of a trip to a top football match at Wembley Stadium with seven friends. For more information, profile templates, and how to enter, visit tinyurl.com/TWJ-football…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the free Popjam app from the App Store or Google Play. Last week, it was revealed that Cressida Cowell is the new Children’s Laureate. We asked our PopJammers if they’ve read many of her books… “Ooo yes and they are amazing! She deserves it!” “No, but I am going to now” “We are reading one of her books at school” “I love Cressida Cowell’s books especially How to Train Your Dragon. Best author ever” Over 28 million people watched the Women’s World Cup final, where the USA claimed victory for the fourth time. You said… “Good for them. They played well!” “I’m happy for them even if they have won it a lot of times” Tell us what you think of…

A group of students from Reed College in Oregon, in the US, have created the world’s largest piece of chalk. Although chalk is a naturally-forming type of rock, classroom chalk is usually made using other substances. By filling a large tube with water and plaster, they managed to create a piece of classroom chalk that stands at two metres tall and 60 centimetres wide. They are now awaiting confirmation from Guinness World Records.…

24 July 1897 Amelia Earhart is born On 24 July 1897, the aviator (someone who flies aeroplanes) Amelia Earhart was born in the US state of Kansas. As a child, she liked to go on adventures, and after taking her first flight in 1920, she learnt to fly. In 1928 she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a plane as a passenger, before completing the journey flying alone in 1932. When she was flying around the world in 1937, Earhart’s plane disappeared. Neither the plane, Earhart or her companion, Fred Noonan, were ever found.…

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 Marmite is delicious, or NO if you think it’s disgusting. 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…

The tennis championships at Wimbledon last for just two weeks, but for head groundsman Neil Stubley, preparing the grass is a year-long task. In an interview with the i newspaper, he says the job keeps him awake at night and gives him nightmares when he finally falls asleep. Stubley and his team spend hours on their hands and knees taking thousands of measurements to make sure the ball bounces perfectly on the surface. However, when asked about his own lawn at home he says it probably doesn’t look that great, adding, “The problem is I’ve got a dog and two young children. They batter it.”…

Tori Blake Keeper, ZSL London Zoo The main difference between apes and monkeys is that almost all monkeys have tails, but apes do not. Monkeys are smaller and use their tails to keep their balance as they move through their habitat. Apes are divided into great apes (the bigger ones) and lesser apes (which are smaller). Humans are classed as great apes, along with gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. 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 True Colours of Coral Glen by Juliette Forrest (Scholastic) Coral Glen has an unusual gift – she sees the world through a rainbow of colours. A day full of adventure is Treasure Island Gold, but a morning with a maths test is Stormy Canyon Grey. When her beloved grandma dies, however, Coral can’t find a colour to match her heartbreak. Then she meets a strange ghostly boy and strikes a bargain with him – if she can help him break the spell that imprisons him in a graveyard, she’ll have the chance to say a proper farewell to Grandma. Soon, Coral is swept up in a mysterious adventure featuring witches, ghosts and spooky villains. This exciting supernatural adventure is fast-paced, inventive and full of suspense.…

Free Rein Available now on Netflix. This popular series has returned for a third season. Zoe – a US teenager who moved to an island off the coast of England – and her friends embark on a new adventure with the wild horses who live near them. Something is scaring the horses, but can they figure out what it is before it’s too late? Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans In cinemas from 26 July. Fans of the long-running TV show and book series will love this new comedy film featuring Atti, a Roman teenager who has been forced to join the army. He’s shipped off to Britain to defend the empire from revolting peasants, but after an encounter with the enemy, whose side will he end up on?…

A combination of dance, gymnastics and technical skill, baton twirling is a challenging sport – and it’s a whole lot of fun. A twirling baton is a steel rod with rubber ends. During a routine, set to music, the baton must be twirled, thrown and caught – all while you are performing moves with your body that showcase strength, flexibility, rhythm and grace. It’s similar to rhythmic gymnastics, in that you combine dance routines with the skill of handling the baton. You can perform solo routines or as part of a coordinated group, which is brilliant for making friends and team work. Baton twirling takes patience and practice but it’s an exhilarating sport that has a friendly and worldwide community. The participants at Oasis Twirlstars in Basingstoke, Hampshire, all agreed…

I never tire of hearing about the Apollo 11 mission, which saw the first humans land on the Moon, 50 years ago this week (our All About on page 12). As Buzz Aldrin, one of the astronauts, said of the journey, it’s a “symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown.” It’s strange, then, to think that no human has been back to the Moon since December 1972 – but that looks set to change. China wants to take astronauts there by 2030, Russia has said it will send a robotic mission in 2021 and the US space agency NASA has ambitious plans to install a manned space station called the Gateway in the Moon’s orbit in the early 2020s. So watch this space. Aside from…

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.…

A statue of US First Lady Melania Trump has appeared outside her hometown of Sevnica, in Slovenia, central Europe, but not everyone is happy about it. The wooden carving has attracted criticism because it doesn’t look much like Melania Trump. It was designed by US artist Brad Downey who asked specialist chainsaw user Ales Zupevc to carve it. Some local residents in Sevnica have said it is a “disgrace” because it doesn’t have any resemblance to Trump, and one person said it looked like the blue cartoon character Smurfette. There are suggestions the statue is part of a prank and not a serious work of art. DID YOU KNOW? The title “First Lady” is given to the wife of each US President. There has never been a female US President.…

1 True or false? The European Union is an organisation of 28 countries. 2 Who will be the new face on the Bank of England £50 note? 3 In which US city would you find the borough of Manhattan? a) New York b) Chicago c) New Orleans 4 True or false? Marmite is made from yeast extract. 5 Where does Mildred Hubble go to school? 6 What can Snowball the cockatoo do? a) Run a mile b) Dance c) Bake a cake 7 True or false? Buzz Aldrin was the first person to step on the Moon. 8 The central nervous system is made up of the spinal cord and which major organ? 9 In which country was a 33,000-year-old skull found in 1941? a) Romania b) Bulgaria c) Poland…