Innholdsfortegnelse for 261 i The Week Junior

TINY NEWBORN MONKEY TWINS Chester Zoo announced the birth of twin eastern pygmy marmosets, one of the smallest monkey species, on 4 December. The newborns were each around five centimetres long and weighed no more than 10 grams. The zoo’s primate keeper said, “It’s almost unbelievable just how small the babies are.” A RECORD-BREAKING RUNNER Kibiwott Kandie smashed the world record for a half-marathon (13.1 miles) beating the previous best time by 29 seconds. Kandie, from Kenya, became the first person to run the distance in under 58 minutes, finishing in 57 minutes, 32 seconds. The race was held in Valencia, Spain, on 6 December and the top four finishers all beat the previous world record. THE WORLD’S OLDEST WILD BIRD An albatross that is at least 69 years old…

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 there should be a SPOTY award for women, 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…

Thomas Rutherford Zookeeper, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo The elephants at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo eat lots of bales of hay, accompanied by fresh leaves cut down from trees at the zoo. Fruit is their favourite snack, particularly bananas and apples, which they get as a treat. Each elephant also gets a dry food mix every morning, which has lots of fibre in it, an important part of their diet – just like the cereal or oats you eat for breakfast! 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…

One of the world’s most famous telescopes has collapsed after 57 years of service. The Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean, fell 137 metres on to its huge dish, which is built into a mountain. Nobody was injured; Arecibo had been closed since August, after engineers warned of damage to the structure. Scientists have paid tribute to the instrument, one of the largest of its kind in the world, which was used during many important studies. It played a key role in the discovery of the first exoplanets (planets orbiting around other stars) in 1992.…

Joe Ikhinmwin, the London Lions captain, has one person to thank for his becoming a professional basketball player. “I picked up a basketball pretty late, aged 14, and it was because of my P.E. teacher,” Ikhinmwin told The Week Junior. “Mr Biddle, my P.E. teacher, kept saying I should try basketball but I didn’t want to. One day he came into my maths class and asked me to join basketball practice. So I finally went and just loved it. I am really grateful for having that influence and for him pushing me in the right direction.”…

What is your favourite Christmas memory? One of my favourites is having mince-pie picnics in snowy Scotland – it was a tradition I invented. You get a plate of mince pies, a blanket and a flask of hot chocolate and have a picnic in the snow. How did you come up with the idea for this book? Mrs Claus has always fascinated me because we all know who she is and yet we know almost nothing about her. We don’t even know what her first name is. I wanted to go back and find her story – all the way back to when she was a young girl. Once I’d found Blanche Claus, the story snowballed from there. Do you have any treasured Christmas decorations? Yes! I have a slightly…

Can I learn at school? Lots of schools have a chess club. A charity called Chess in Schools and Communities teaches chess in hundreds of UK schools. “You can learn from about the age of seven. You can play with a friend, a parent or even against a computer,” says James Corrigan from the charity. Visit chessinschools.co.uk to find out more about school chess. Where can I buy a set? Many shops sell them; a basic chess set costs around £10 (before delivery). Some chess sets also come with the pieces needed to play draughts (say “drafts”), which is a simpler game for two people, using small round black and white pieces on a chessboard.…

Macmillan Children’s Books has teamed up with comedian and TV presenter Sir Lenny Henry to debut his new children’s novels about a boy called Tyrone. To celebrate, they would like you to send them your drawings of Tyrone. Up to 25 of their favourite entries will appear in the first picture book featuring Tyrone, called You Can do Anything, Tyrone. It will be published in spring 2022. The winners will also receive four Macmillan books. To hear more about Tyrone, check out the video of Sir Lenny reading an extract from one of the books at tinyurl.com/TWJ-LennyHenry. For terms and conditions visit tinyurl.com/TWJ-tyrone. All entries must be emailed to drawtyrone@macmillan.com before midnight on 18 December 2020.…

Teacher’s name: Mrs Johnson School: Homefields Primary School, Chellaston, Derby “I nominated Mrs Johnson because she is always supporting and kind no matter what. She teaches us P.E. and makes every second of it fun. She always seems to make us laugh! Her encouraging words always make me feel better in the worst situations.” Dhaksha If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll sendyourschoolthreefreeissuesof 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…

Dr Ranj Singh, who is the presenter of the TV series Get Well Soon and an NHS doctor, has written a book that celebrates the real-life heroes all around us, called A Superhero Like You. “The idea for this book came about during the first lockdown of the pandemic,” Dr Ranj tells The Week Junior. “During this time we all realised that there were certain people and professions who put themselves on the front line so that the rest of us could keep going.” The people Dr Ranj is describing are the key workers such as doctors and teachers, carers and rubbish collectors. “These are real-life superheroes,” Dr Ranj says. In his book, the main character, Lily, discovers the amazing work that they do and explores the ways in which…

Deep-sea scientific discovery Scientists have been able to identify a deep-sea, floating, jelly-like blob as a new species using only video footage. The creature is a new type of comb jelly and is called Duobrachium sparksae. It was spotted in 2015 but has only now been described. Amazon rainforest More than 4,280 square miles of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, South America, was destroyed between August 2019 and July 2020, the highest deforestation levels since 2008. The forest is being cleared to make space for cattle grazing and other farming uses, as well as mining.…

Scientists have found a way to stop people from sweating – using the hidden powers of sweat itself. When people sweat, bacteria (tiny single-celled living organisms) on the skin start to break down proteins in the sweat. This is what produces the smell of body odour. Deodorants kill this odour-producing bacteria. Antiperspirants, on the other hand, work by blocking sweat ducts with chemical molecules, to stop sweat coming out in the first place. However, many people want to make antiperspirants out of more natural, eco-friendly substances. To help their search for alternatives, a team of scientists from the Nature-Inspired Fluids and Interfaces Lab, at Virginia Tech University in the US, built an artificial sweat duct. They had a theory that if the watery component of sweat could be made to…

Blue Planet II by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe. Illustrated by Emily Dove (Puffin Books) Discover the wonders of the world’s oceans with this beautiful book – a companion to the Blue Planet II TV series. Explore everywhere from shallow coral reefs to the depths of the sea; meet all sorts of creatures, such as sea otters humpback whales – and find out how you can help to protect our oceans. Northern Lights: The Illustrated Edition by Philip Pullman. Illustrated by Chris Wormell (Scholastic) Lyra leaves her home in Oxford and sets out on an extraordinary journey to the Arctic in the first part of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. Published to mark the book’s 25th anniversary, this new illustrated edition is a real treasure, packed with gorgeous artwork. The Lost Spells…

When the UK went into its first lockdown in March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a letter to every household asking everyone to stay at home to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This letter gave the fashion designer Jonny Banger an idea. He asked anyone under the age of 16 to decorate the letter, as a way to express what they felt about the virus, including the work of the NHS and how the Government was dealing with the pandemic. Banger received lots of responses from young people around the UK. More than 200 of these are now on display in an exhibition, The Covid Letters, at the Foundling Museum in London. “I wanted to give the kids a voice,” Banger tells The Week Junior. “This whole situation has…

Santa Claus BFI Player Here’s a festive film you probably haven’t seen: it was the very first to bring Father Christmas to the screen. Santa Claus is a silent film and is only a minute long but incredibly it dates all the way back to 1898. It was directed by an Englishman called George Albert Smith, who cast Laura Bayley (his wife) and their two small children in the production. Smith had been known for performing magic tricks on stage and you can see some of his ingenuity at work in his film. Santa Claus was also the first film to show things happening in two different places at the same time. You can watch the film for free at tinyurl.com/TWJ-santa1898…

Jump Rope Challenge This is another Switch game that uses the Joy-Cons. Its aim is to get you to skip 100 times a day (or as many times as you’re able), comparing scores with friends and family. It was created to help people keep fit during the first lockdown. Hops: Journey of Tree Spirit This iPhone game (it also links to Apple watches) is set in a forest full of tree spirits called Hops. They’ll grow based on how much you walk, run and climb stairs throughout the day. It’s free but there are optional in-app purchases. Wokamon Another mobile game with little critters – colourful monsters in this case, who are fed by every step you take in the real world. Walk more, and they’ll be happy. This also…

This recipe is from Sam Bilton, a member of the Guild of Food Writers. She is a food historian, writer and cook. She has written a recipe book that explores the history of gingerbread from its ancient origins right up to the present day. It’s called First Catch Your Gingerbread. Bilton says, “Christmas is the time of year when spicy scents fill the air, especially when a batch of gingerbread is baking. Gingerbread has a long history stretching back hundreds of years (if not further) and has been linked to festivities and feasts for centuries. It is eaten across Europe, and each country provides its own spin on these biscuits and cakes. Gingerbread can be crisp or cake-like, but at this time of year the biscuit reigns supreme. This recipe…

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Follow The Week Junior on PopJam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Last week, we asked you whether a world leader’s age matters. You said… “It shouldn’t matter because if we only have one age group, all the leaders will have a similar mindset.” “Yes and no – it would depend how good they are and how much experience they have.” “Yes, the older they are, the better their decision-making skills are, and they are more mature and more used to responsibility.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

1 What subject does Jamie Frost teach? a) English b) Chemistry c) Maths a □ b □ c □ 2 True or false? On 4 December Edinburgh was hit by thundersnow. 3 Where is the Stars Unite campaign encouraging women to play football? 4 Who was the first woman to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award? a) Anita Lonsbrough b) Hollie Doyle c) Dina Asher-Smith a □ b □ c □ 5 True or false? Bear Grylls has been named the new president of Scouts Scotland. 6 Alligators can regrow which part of their body? 7 Which Monopoly piece was voted the most popular in 2017? a) The Scottie dog b) The T. rex c) The rubber duck a □ b □ c □ 8 True or…

14 December 1911 Roald Amundsen reaches the South Pole On 14 December 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first people ever to reach the South Pole, the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth. Amundsen’s ship landed in the Antarctic in January 1911. He began the final push to the South Pole in October 1911 with four other men, 52 dogs and four sledges. Amundsen’s team beat a rival British expedition by more than a month. Amundsen went on to become one of the greatest figures in polar exploration.…

● The BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) is awarded every year to the British sportsperson who has achieved the most, according to a public vote. ● 2020’s nominees were revealed on 1 December and the winner will be announced on 20 December. Jockey Hollie Doyle is the only woman on the six-person shortlist. A jockey is someone who rides racehorses. ● The last female winner was Zara Tindall (the Queen’s granddaughter) in 2006. ● There have been 13 female winners, compared to 52 male winners, since the award began back in 1954.…

“ I don’t look like your typical scientist,” says Gitanjali Rao, who has been named Time magazine’s first ever Kid of the Year. The 15-year-old scientist and inventor was picked from a pool of 5,000 nominees. She is honoured for her work using science and technology to address problems including water contamination and cyberbullying. Rao told the actor Angelina Jolie that she hopes to create an online, global community of young people who can work together, using science to tackle global problems. “My goal has really shifted not only from creating my own devices to solve the world’s problems, but inspiring others to do the same,” she said.…

Stéphanie Frappart The French referee became the first woman to take charge of a men’s Champions League football match when Juventus played Dynamo Kiev in Italy. Last year she refereed the UEFA Super Cup match. Yulimar Rojas and Mondo Duplantis They were named female and male World Athletes of the Year in a virtual ceremony. Rojas, from Venezuela, set an indoor world record in the triple jump this year. Sweden’s Duplantis broke the indoor and outdoor pole vault records. Sebastien Ogier Ogier won the World Rally Championship with victory at the Monza Rally in Italy. Elfyn Evans, from Wales, finished second in the championship behind the French driver. England rugby union team After scoring a penalty in extra time, England clinched the Autumn Nations Cup in an exciting match against…

Tinsel by Sibéal Pounder (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) What if we’ve all got the Santa story a bit wrong? What if somewhere along the way, the real truth has disappeared from view? This book tells the forgotten story of Blanche Claus, a formidable girl with ice-white hair who changes Christmas for ever. It’s 1875, and spending Christmas alone on the chilly streets of London is sure to be miserable for Blanche. When she is given a magical red bauble, however, an astonishing adventure begins. Now she and her friend Rinki are off to the North Pole, with plenty of now, mince-pie feasts, elf magic, gh rides and fir trees along the way – a d lots of surprises in store. This funny, joyful adventure stars two brave and brilliant heroines who…

London International Gallery of Children’s Art This gallery is hosting an online exhibition of young artists’ work from around the world. Until the end of December, anyone can contribute a piece on how they feel about the coronavirus outbreak. Find out more at ligca.org/current-exhibition Tate Kids This arty website offers all kinds of tutorials, quizzes and challenges. Learn to make a crafty collage, a painting out of chocolate and your own wrapping paper in time for Christmas. For more information and inspiration go to tate.org.uk/kids Royal Academy London’s Royal Academy offers free packs for young people to use as they look around the museum. Each pack is linked to a theme or an artist, and includes a sketchbook and cards with suggested activities. Visit tinyurl.com/twj-artdetective for details and to print…

Animal Park at Christmas 11am on 14 December, BBC1 This is the first of five episodes in which Kate Humble and Ben Fogle return to Longleat Safari Park to see how the keepers are getting the animals ready for winter and for Christmas. The elephants get their own Christmas tree and the turkeys are encouraged to celebrate. Captain Underpants: Mega Blissmas Streaming now on Netflix George and Harold travel back in time to turn Christmas into “Mega Blissmas”. However, it all goes wrong when a giant robot Santa Claus rises up and states that Christmas is all about him. They must join with Captain Underpants to save Christmas before it’s gone forever. The Disney Holiday Singalong Streaming now on Disney+ This one-hour musical event features famous performers including BTS and…

This week’s front page celebrates the best news of this year so far. Our cover star, Margaret Keenan, was the first of many thousands of people who will receive the Covid-19 vaccine over the next few weeks. With luck, 8 December 2020 – the date that Keenan was vaccinated – will go down in history as the date on which the coronavirus pandemic began to end. It marks the culmination of a extraordinary project involving many talented scientists and brave members of the public who volunteered to help test the vaccine. It also marks the start of a massive campaign by the NHS, to ensure that those who need protection most urgently get it as soon as possible. Their job is only just beginning. 2020 has been a difficult and…

Strange sculptures Mysterious metal columns have been spotted across the world. The first was discovered in Utah, US, on 18 November. It was removed on 27 November, and on the same day, a similar sculpture appeared in Romania. That column disappeared on 1 December, then on 2 December, a tall metal column was discovered in California, US. It was taken down the following day. On 6 December another strange sculpture was found on the Isle of Wight in England. A group of artists claim they erected the US columns but it’s not known who put up the rest. The 254-cheese pizza that broke a world record A chef has earned a Guinness World Record for the most varieties of cheese on a pizza. Benoît Bruel used 254 types of cheese…