Innholdsfortegnelse for 314 i The Week Junior

Australia, Canada, the UK and the US have said that their politicians will not go to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. China is hosting the Games early next year. The countries said their politicians are staying away because the Chinese government has committed human rights abuses (treated some of its people cruelly and unfairly). Japan is also considering withdrawing its politicians from the event. Athletes from the countries will still compete. When are the Winter Olympics? The Winter Olympic Games are due to take place in and around China’s capital, Beijing, from 4 to 20 February, 2022. The Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled for 4 to 13 March. The games include snow sports, such as skiing and snowboarding, as well as ice sports like ice hockey. It is one of…

A 101-YEAR-OLD CHRISTMAS TREE An artificial Christmas tree has been decorated by the same family for the 101st year. The tiny tree stands in Kay Ashton’s kitchen in her home in Sheffield, England. Her grandmother bought it in 1920. Ashton said her grandmother would be “absolutely flabbergasted” to hear it was still going strong. SUPPORTING A FRIEND Ten boys have shown support for a friend with cancer by shaving their heads. The Year 9 students at Outwood Academy Hasland Hall, in Derbyshire, England, wanted to do something special for 13-year-old Liam while he has treatment for cancer. They have raised more than £5,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust. ENDANGERED SIBERIAN TIGERS Two Siberian tiger cub twins, also known as Amur tigers, have been born at Banham Zoo in Norfolk, England.…

Paris, France Silk dinosaurs light up Paris A new exhibition of hand-painted silk sculptures in the Jardin des Plantes, a park in Paris, shows how dinosaurs developed. Starting 3,700 million years ago, the show is a journey through time up to the present day, with birds and mammals that have dinosaur ancestors. Exhibits include a 27-metre tyrannosaur, a flying raptor and a stegosaurus. Jamaica Tributes for famous musician Robbie Shakespeare, an important Jamaican musician, has died aged 68 in hospital in Florida, in the US. Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia Grange, said Shakespeare was one of the country’s greatest musicians. Shakespeare played the bass guitar with drummer Sly Dunbar in the reggae band Sly & Robbie. He won two Grammy awards. Baghdad, Iraq Gilgamesh tablet returned to Iraq The US has…

There are many joys to owning a pet – but just like us, our four-legged friends also have an impact on the planet. Fortunately, there are ways you can help. Dogs and cats need meat in their diet, and meat production can be bad for the environment. You can still choose wisely, though. For example, why not suggest that whoever buys the food avoids beef, whose production does by far the most harm? Whatever type of pet you have, take a look at how its food is packaged – maybe you can suggest buying food in ways that create less waste. Another easy change is to avoid buying plastic toys – pets will enjoy wooden or fabric ones just as much. For more ideas from the Wildlife Trusts, visit tinyurl.com/TWJ-pets…

Zookeepers are usually the first ones to spot if an animal is unwell because they look after it every day and know its personality and normal behaviour. The first signs of an animal not feeling well are often changes in its behaviour – it might be grumpy or less active than usual. There may also be changes in their appetite, or more obvious signs such as limping or sneezing. 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…

Scientists in the US have built a robot that can land on the branches of trees, just like a bird. The plan is to attach the machine, called SNAG (short for “stereotyped nature-inspired aerial grasper”) to drones so they can land in a wider variety of places. This could not only help drones save energy but allow them to get a closer look at animals and plants in hard-to-reach habitats such as treetops. SNAG was developed by Mark Cutkosky and David Lentink from Stanford University in the US. It has legs and feet inspired by the peregrine falcon. However, its landing mechanism was inspired by watching small parrots called parrotlets. The scientists noticed how these birds always landed in the same way, regardless of the type of surface, so they…

We are Santa’s football team,” says Jose Hiltunen, who helps run one of the world’s most special football clubs. Called FC Santa Claus, its teams play in Lapland, which is in northern Finland and claims to be the official home of Father Christmas. FC Santa Claus has more than 500 players, male and female, aged from just three years old up to teenagers. They play and train all year round in youth competitions and leagues. This time of the year is special for the club, though. “We are very near to where Santa comes from and we are a very friendly football club,” Hiltunen tells The Week Junior. “In the winter and at Christmas we keep playing. Sometimes it gets as cold as minus 30 degrees, and we could play…

Do you enjoy the warmth of the sun on a winter’s day? During winter it can be hard to catch many rays but spending time in sunlight helps your body stay healthy and makes you feel happier. Why is winter sun important? Feeling the sunshine on a winter’s day is a great way to lift your mood because sunlight affects chemicals, or hormones, in the brain called serotonin and melatonin. These help you to sleep better and feel less stressed. Your body also needs sunlight to create vitamin D, which helps you to fight off infections. What are vitamins? Vitamins are nutrients that the body needs to work properly. For example, vitamin A is important for eyesight and vitamin D is good for teeth and bones. Although you can get…

The Amazing Mr Blunden This film is inspired by the book The Ghosts by Antonia Barber. It tells the story of a family who move into a new house that might be haunted. 7 pm on 24 December, Sky Max Around the World in 80 Days Based on the book by Jules Verne, this series tells the story of Phileas Fogg (played by David Tennant), a Victorian adventurer who tries to circle the globe in a hurry. Starts 5.50 pm on 26 December, BBC One Doctor Who In this New Year’s Day special, the Doctor faces off against her most fearsome enemies – the Daleks. This will be the first of three special episodes airing in 2022. 1 January, BBC One…

Are four wheels better than two legs for football? Millions of people have been testing that out on their consoles or computers since Rocket League came out in 2015. Now there’s a new version for Android and Apple phones. Rocket League Sideswipe is not the same game, although it shares the original idea–to play football with cars, moving the ball by driving into it. The matches last for two minutes and are played on a sideways-scrolling pitch where you can only drive towards the right and left. Like the original, you’re not restricted to staying on the ground. You can use your car’s boost to take off and fly through the air, which helps you pull off the equivalent of diving headers or bicycle kicks by human footballers. You can…

Best month of the year? It has to be December, when there’s a hopeful magic in the air. Everyone is always so excited, the streets are full of twinkling fairy lights and there are happy Christmas songs on the radio. What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2022? My resolution for the last 15 years was to get published, so I should make a new one now. I’d love to write a couple of different things next year. I’ve got ideas for picture books and a non-fiction project I’d love to write. Favourite joke? Why was the snowman looking through the carrots? Because he was picking his nose! Favourite Christmas song? Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. You can’t help but sing along. First Christmas memory? We…

How can I get involved? If you enjoy bouncing on a trampoline in your garden, try taking it to the next level and join a club to learn more skills and get some helpful coaching. With the help of an adult, go to the British Gymnastics website (british-gymnastics.org) and search for a club near you. What age do you have to be for trampolining? Trampolining is great for all ages, from around five right up to adults. You don’t have to get involved in competitions; many sessions are organised just for fun or to make you confident on the trampoline. It’s a good way to keep fit and you’ll have a big smile as you bounce.…

Apology for unfair car fines Wokingham Borough Council in England has apologised to car owners in Earley, Berkshire, after it hired a company to lift up the vehicles to paint yellow lines underneath. When the cars were lowered back down onto the fresh double yellow lines, parking inspectors arrived and issued fines to the car owners. People are not allowed to park on double yellow lines. Councillor Shirley Boyt said it was “like a trick had been played” on the residents. The council has now apologised and agreed to cancel the fines. A star-studded Christmas jumper Christmas jumpers are generally jolly and cheap, but the world’s most expensive has just gone on sale for £30,000. Aidan Liban, an artist, spent 3,000 hours and his life savings on making this Christmas…

12 Days of Science is here! Let the festive fun begin! Our sister magazine The Week Junior Science+Nature is running a "12 Days of Science” festive adventure this Christmas. Each day there’s a new competition and activity for you to enter and try out There are some spectacular prizes up for grabs. Find out how you can get involved every day until 22 December at sciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk/12daysofscie GET INVOLVED Email your news, views and pictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…

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 if all students should study classics. You said… “No, I think you should be able to choose!” “I would definitely do it.” “They should be able to study anything they want! If everyone studied the same thing, it would be a bit boring.” “Yes, because they help you learn from the past. If you read Shakespeare you will know what life was like in Tudor times.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

Pupils in schools across Greater Manchester, in England, celebrated Human Rights Day on 10 December by writing poems. More than 250 young people sent in poems. They wrote about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a list of 30 human rights that everyone should have. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said, “I am incredibly proud of our young people who are the pioneers in creating human rights change so all of us can benefit from a better quality of life.” You can read some of the poems online by visiting poeticdeclaration.org…

Arts venues, such as theatres, cinemas and opera houses, lost a lot of money during the pandemic when they closed. The public missed out, too, because people couldn’t go to shows. Going to a show, especially around Christmas, is a treat. The excitement starts as the lights dim and the heavy curtain rises. However, tickets can be very expensive: for example, it can cost more than £100 for a ticket to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre in London. Even when shows are not as costly, many people cannot afford the ticket prices, so they miss out. Some places are trying to make sure that nobody is left out because of cost by asking audiences to pay what they can afford. What do you think?…

Researchers at Aberystwyth University in Wales are leading an international project to build a database (a computerised set of information that other people can access) of octopus genes, which they hope will show where species are at risk. Genes are instructions about a living thing’s characteristics that are passed down from its parents in strands of a complex chemical called DNA. Genes vary between individuals but all members of a species share unique gene features that distinguish them from others. The new project aims to identify the species living in seas around the world using environmental DNA – strands of DNA that are shed by living things into their surroundings that get broken down over time. The plan is to recruit “citizen scientists” (volunteers from the public) who will collect…

New research shows how zebra finches – small birds that live in very dry parts of Australia – produce chicks built to cope with hot weather. The secret lies in special songs called heat calls, which they sing to their unhatched eggs. The finches sing the songs at temperatures above 26°C, and previous studies have discovered that when chicks hear them inside the egg, their growth slows down. This means they are smaller when they hatch, which seems to help them cope better with heat. Now a team led by scientists from Deakin University in Australia has found the calls also affect the way chicks produce energy from food. Researchers put two groups of eggs in warm incubators and played a recorded heat call to one group but not the…

Two British explorers are trekking across Antarctica to help NASA understand how astronauts might cope on Mars. Justin Packshaw, an ex-soldier, and Jamie Facer-Childs, a doctor and former army medic, are trying to cross 2,500 miles of the freezing continent in 80 days. Their route will take them to both the South Pole and the “Pole of Inaccessibility” – the most isolated point in Antarctica. Travelling by foot and on skis, each man is dragging 200 kilograms of equipment behind him. They set off on 12 November and have faced 100mph winds and temperatures of 35°C. Speaking to The Times newspaper, Packshaw said, “It’s a proper old school adventure, long in duration and unsupported.” The pair are using a satellite phone – a mobile phone that gets its signal from…

Max Verstappen The Dutch racer won the F1 championship for the first time by beating Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. British cross-country team They won five gold medals at the European Cross-Country Championship in Ireland, including individual victories for Megan Keith and Charles Hicks. Raheem Sterling Sterling scored his 100th Premier League goal in a 1-0 win for Manchester City against Wolves. Australia Test cricket team They beat England in the first Test of the Ashes competition at the Gabba stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The second Test started on 16 December.…

• Organise a scavenger hunt Make a list of things you can find outside, like different coloured leaves or something in the shape of a W, and see who can find everything first. • Go litter picking It’s a great way to get outdoors, have fun with friends and look after the planet at the same time. • Try geocaching Use the geocaching website or app to search for tiny treasure boxes called caches in fields, town centres and even castles. Find out more here at geocaching.com…

Quentin Blake: The Drawing of My Life 4.10 pm on 25 December, BBC Two Quentin Blake is the artist best known for his illustrations in Roald Dahl books, including Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches. This documentary shows how, at nearly 90 years old, Blake is still drawing and finding new ways to be creative. In this show, Blake fills a large canvas with some of his best-loved characters and important moments from his 70-year career. There are also contributions from famous authors and artists such as Michael Rosen, Lauren Child and David Walliams. Roald Dahl’s wife Felicity talks about Dahl and Blake, and there are readings from some of the 500 books Blake has helped create. Attenborough and the Mammoth Graveyard 8 pm on 30 December,…

Snow Foal by Susanna Bailey (HarperCollins Children’s Books) When Addie is sent to live with a foster family on a country farm during the depths of winter, she misses her mum and feels angry and unhappy. However, when she rescues a tiny foal from the moorland snow, an unexpected friendship begins that brings her new hope. Frostheart: Rise of the World Eater by Jamie Littler (Puffin Books) In the exciting conclusion to the Frostheart trilogy, hero Ash faces his greatest challenge yet. Evil Wraith leader Shaard has unleashed the terrifying Devourer, and the people of the Snow Sea are divided. Ash and his crew head out on a journey into the yeti lands to save the day. A Night at the Frost Fair by Emma Carroll. Illustrated by Sam Usher…

Name: Aeden Rise Up: Ordinary Kids with Extraordinary Stories by Amanda Li “Inspirational stories about young people around the world achieving great things and facing many difficult challenges.” 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. Tell us what you liked about the book and why you’d recommend it to others, and don’t forget to 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…

Although Christmas is just around the corner, there’s still time to get creative and deck the halls with your very own cardboard reindeer head. Using recycled cardboard as the main material, you can make it as big as you like and get as festive as you feel by adding some fun finishing touches. What you need Looking for something else to do? Head to theweekjunior.co.uk/activityhub…

We have a WINNER! Well done to Tomohiro, aged 11, who has won this year’s Christmas cover competition with his bright, jolly and very imaginative design. All the judges agreed that it summed up the theme “happy holidays” very well indeed – you can’t help but smile when you look at it. Well done, Tomohiro! There were so many other fantastic entries, so a huge thank you to absolutely everyone who took part. We saw gorgeously plump Christmas puddings, naughty elves running amok, jolly snowmen and even a Christmas shark. Don’t miss the two runner-up entries either on page 13 – well done Katie and Noemi for your superb entries, and see what our celebrity judges had to say. There’s plenty of other fab festive content in this week’s issue…

Teacher’s name: Sophie Pousaz School: Collège de Belmont, Belmont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland “I have an AMAZING teacher called Sophie. She makes English (as a foreign language) SO interesting, she’s THE best in the world! She taught us the alphabet with the longest word I know, a town in Wales called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch – I even learned how to pronounce it! Kayvan If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll send your school three free issues ofThe 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 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 use the details you provide…

1 When did the Korean War formally end? □ a) 1950 □ b) 1953 □ c) It still hasn’t 2 True or false? Harry Kane has been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. □ True □ False 3 The Gilgamesh tablet was returned to which country? 4 In which of these centuries was William Shakespeare writing plays? □ a) 17th □ b) 18th □ c) 19th 5 True or false? Most of the people who work on Christmas Day are politicians. □ True □ False 6 How old is the oldest-known fossil of an octopus? 7 Which type of bird keeps it chicks cool by singing to them? □ a) A zebra finch □ b) A tiger finch □ c) A goldfinch 8 True or false? Peregrine falcons…

The South Korean president Moon Jae-in has said that North and South Korea, along with China and the US, have agreed “in principle” (an agreement that hasn’t yet become a reality) to formally end the Korean War. Fighting between North and South Korea lasted from 1950 to 1953 and caused around 2.5 million deaths. China backed North Korea and the US backed South Korea. Although the fighting ended, the two sides remained enemies and in 1954 they marked out a boundary line between them. During his presidency, Moon has made it his main aim to talk to North Korea and officially declare peace between the two nations. He will not run for president in the next election in March 2022, which means he has until spring to agree a deal.…

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing an investigation into whether his staff broke the rules last Christmas by going to Christmas parties. What happened? The Government imposed a lockdown in England in November 2020 to tackle coronavirus. By 16 December 2020, the rules in London meant that people were not allowed to mix indoors with anyone outside their household or support bubble. People weren’t allowed to meet up or join their families for Christmas. On 7 December this year, a video emerged in which Johnson’s staff, including his spokesperson Allegra Stratton, joked about a party that happened last December at 10 Downing Street, where Johnson lives. Johnson has not denied the party happened but said “all guidance was followed”. He apologised for the offence caused by the video and Stratton…

Dave Gillingham will be at work on Christmas Day. Luckily he loves his job working at Headlands School, in Penarth, Wales. The school supports young people aged from seven to 19 who have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. The school, near Cardiff, is run by the charity Action for Children and is residential, which means that some pupils live there all year round. No two days are the same, Gillingham tells The Week Junior. His work ranges from “cutting alpacas’ toenails” to teaching students how to cook an omelette using eggs laid by the hens at the school. On Christmas Day, Gillingham will start and end the day feeding the animals at the school, and in between he will cook lunch for the pupils and staff. All the while, he…

Recruiting members of the public to get involved in scientific projects is not only a fun way to tell people more about how science works – it can also help scientists in projects that need to collect and sort through lots of data. The Natural History Museum in London is looking for volunteers to help with several projects, such as investigating pond life; a big seaweed search; and the BioBlitz to measure the variety of wildlife in a certain area. You can find out more about what’s happening at tinyurl.com/TWJ-citizenscience…

You may have seen lots of Santas dashing by on a street or park near you. Lots of Santa fun run events are taking place as people raise money for charity and enjoy dressing and racing as Father Christmas. Around 5,000 runners took part in Liverpool’s Santa Dash on 5 December. Entrants were given a special Santa costume and people could choose a blue version of the outfit. Other events have taken place, including in Buckinghamshire and Lincoln, both in England, and in Edinburgh, Scotland.…

In 1978, the Star Wars character Boba Fett made his first appearance in the Star Wars Holiday Special. In the programme, which was released in the build-up to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, famous Star Wars characters gather on the home planet of the wookiees to celebrate their Life Day holiday. Fett, who is a bounty hunter, appeared during an animated sequence. The character later turned up again in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, becoming a fan favourite. Now, more than 40 years after his debut, Fett is returning to TV screens for the Christmas holiday season in The Book of Boba Fett. This show is a spin-off from the popular Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Fett, played by Temuera Morrison, appeared in the show’s second season.…

Cinderella 3.15 pm on 23 December, BBC One Disney has made lots of live-action films based on its old animated hits in the past few years but few have worked out quite so wonderfully as Cinderella. Starring Lily James in the lead role, it’s a gloriously lavish retelling of the story – and a funny one, too. With beautiful costumes, picturesque scenery and a cast that includes star actor Cate Blanchett in sinister form, it’s a really good family film. It would make a fantastic partner with Mary Poppins Returns, which is on BBC One on Christmas Day.…

(Farshore) Holly Carroll and her family love Christmas. They love it so much that they celebrate every day, with tinsel jingling bells and a carol-singing toilet. Now, the Carrolls are moving into their dream home on Sleigh Ride Avenue but their new neighbour doesn’t like parties. When Holly turns up at primary school in September with Christmas cards and a Santa backpack, her new classmates don’t know what to make of her. Then she discovers a group of children that may not have Christmas at all. Can Holly keep the Christmas spirit alive and spread good cheer to those around her? This joyful, funny story is packed to the brim with festive fun and kindness. As warm and cosy as a Christmas jumper, it’s a delightful read with a very…

With impressive twists, somersaults and bounces high into the air, trampolining is an exciting sport to take part in and watch. It is one of the three forms of gymnastics–the others are artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. Both women and men compete in individual trampoline competitions and it has been an Olympic event since 2000. In top-level competitive trampolining, gymnasts perform a short routine that has 10 skills. Skills are bounces that have some type of twist, trick or somersault. Two routines are done in total. One routine is known as “compulsory” and includes kills that all gymnasts must make. The other is called “voluntary”, in which the person chooses their own spectacular skills. Athletes have a break between performing each routine. Judges watch gymnasts closely while they bounce, and award…

Word fill in All these words about shopping fit in the grid. Can you work out where each word goes to complete it? 3 letters Bag Buy Tag 4 letters Shop Till 5 letters Aisle Money 6 letters Arcade Market Retail 7 letters Cubicle Plastic 9 letters Assistant Cashpoint 11 letters Merchandise Transaction Word jumble Rearrange the scrambled letters to form four words for places you might find animals. Wordsearch Can you find all of the wintry words listed here? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and may read forwards or backwards. BLIZZARD CHILLY COLD CRYSTALS DEGREE FALLING FLAKES FREEZING FROST ICE POWDER PRETTY SNOWBALL SNOWMAN SWIRLING WEATHER WHITE WINTER WONDER ZERO Number tower Place a number in every circle to complete the tower. The value in each circle…

Name: Neil “Do you like learning facts? If so, I think you will really like this book. Listified! teaches you loads of cool, funny and astonishing facts about the world. Some facts in the book can be about mountain nature, animals, space and lots more interesting, fun topics. One great feature of the book is that almost everything is in list–for example, the top 10 most rare eye colours or the top 10 tallest people, or the top 10 highest mountains. Another feature of the book is that some of the topics are quite random. For example, six of the unluckiest people on Earth, or 40 unusual laws! I felt great after finishing the book. I hope that this book review will persuade you into reading this book.” What have…