Innholdsfortegnelse for 322 i The Week Junior

On 4 February, the Beijing Winter Olympics opened with a spectacular ceremony. This signalled the start of the Games and in the first week there have been many highs and lows, as well as some controversy (public disagreement). What happened at the opening ceremony? The Winter Olympics started with an opening ceremony held in the National Stadium, also known as the “Bird’s Nest”, in Beijing, China’s capital. The ceremony was organised by film director Zhang Yimou and featured spectacular light shows and fireworks. One of the main themes was spring because it was held on the first day of spring in the Chinese calendar. Has Covid-19 affected the Games? There are rules in place, such as testing, wearing masks and limits on crowd numbers. The opening ceremony was smaller than…

A GROUNDBREAKING TV TEAM For the first time, the TV presenting team of a big sports event will be made up entirely of people with disabilities. Channel 4’s Paralympic Winter Games presenters includes broadcaster Ade Adepitan, triathlete Lauren Steadman and racing driver Billy Monger. A DOG LEARNING SIGN LANGUAGE Staff at an animal rescue centre in Swansea, Wales, have taught a deaf rescue dog sign language. The dog, called Rocco, lost his hearing after an ear infection. Sally Humphries, from the animal rescue centre, who is trying to find a home for Rocco, said he is proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks. HIDING A NOVEL IN A LIBRARY An eight-year-old library user called Dillon Helbig decided to sneak his own handwritten book onto a bookshelf at…

Held this year on 14 February, International Epilepsy Day is a worldwide event to raise awareness about epilepsy. More than half a million people in the UK have the condition, which affects the brain and can cause seizures. A seizure is when the brain has a sudden burst of electrical activity and its messages become mixed up. What is epilepsy? It’s a condition affecting the brain and nervous system. The brain sends and receives chemical and electrical signals around the body but when there’s a sudden increase in signals, a seizure can happen. If someone has a seizure having never had one before, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have epilepsy. Epilepsy is only diagnosed if more seizures are likely. Doctors do lots of tests to see if that is the…

Royal Mail has released a new set of stamps with barcodes that play videos when they’re scanned.On 2 February, barcodes were added to all of Royal Mail’s first and second-class stamps. Each has a “digital twin” that people can connect to by downloading the Royal Mail app on a phone and scanning the code. At the moment, the video is a new short Shaun the Sheep film, made especially for Royal Mail by animation studio Aardman. In the video, Shaun and his flock star alongside a postal worker called Rita. This is just the first of several exclusive videos that will be released throughout 2022. People sending letters and parcels with these stamps will be able to choose which video they want someone to see when they scan the barcode.…

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2021…

Indoor plants might look as if they just sit around not doing much, but in many ways they are the unsung heroes of the home. Not only do they look beautiful, but studies have shown that they can boost people’s wellbeing by improving their mood, reducing stress and helping their memory. What’s more, indoor plants are easy to look after and are not very expensive. What are indoor plants? Indoor plants, also known as houseplants or pot plants, are plants that like to grow indoors. Many of these species are no not ideally suited to growing outside in the UK, especially in the winter. Instead, they grow better inside, where it is warmer. Why are indoor plants good for you? Will Spoelstra, who works at the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG)…

Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Eternals Out on 16 February on Disney+ Go behind the scenes and see how the Marvel film Eternals was made. Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals tell the story of a group of immortal beings who protect the Earth from the monstrous Deviants. Erax Out on 17 February on Netflix During a sleepover, Auntie Opal reads a magical story to her niece Nina. As they read the book, mysterious creatures and monsters leap off the page and come to life, creating mayhem. This spooky short film is only 15 minutes long and is a family-friendly scary story. NT Live 2022: The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage In cinemas from 17 February Take a trip to the theatre via the cinema, as a production…

by Eve Wersocki Morris (Hachette Children’s) When Layah and her younger sister Izzie arrive at a remote cottage in the Lake District, England, strange things begin to happen. There are peculiar whistling sounds at night, feathers scattered on their doorstep and a woman with huge yellow eyes lurking in the woods. Stranger still, the girls’ mother has begun to behave oddly too. As she thinks back to the stories that her Polish grandmother used to tell, Layah begins to wonder if those old tales could be coming true. Taking inspiration from Polish folklore and fairy tales, this is a magical adventure with plenty of twists and turns. Enthralling, atmospheric and creepy enough to send shivers up your spine, it’s a wonderful tale of dark magic, supernatural forces and family secrets.…

Kate Morris and Sally Brown are food writers and members of the Guilduild of Food Writers. This recipe for a simple, quick and delicious lasagne is from their book The World in My Kitchen. “This recipe could make you very popular at home because it just needs the oven, a baking dish and very few utensils, so there won’t be lots of washing-up at the end,” says Morris. “You can add leftovers such as cooked meat (cut into chunks), carrots, sweet potato or peas, or defrost some ready-roasted Mediterranean vegetables. If you can’t eat pasta, why not replace it with layers using roasted peppers from a jar?” What you need (Serves 4): ● 2 tbsp (tablespoons) olive oil ● 180ml passata or tinned tomatoes ● 3 (115g) sheets of egg…

Trust Links Trust Links is a mental health and wellbeing charity with an environmental side. It is based in Essex, England, and it promotes the idea that by taking care of the environment, we can also take care of ourselves. Trust Links has “Make Do and Mend” workshops where people can mend clothes they already own to reduce their carbon footprint. The charity also runs mental health support sessions, gardening projects and groups for families and young people. You can find out more at trustlinks.org…

“I love drawing and painting birds. In August last year, I did an art exhibition to raise money for Katharine House Hospice and I raised £450!” Alex “While waiting for our PCR test results, we decided to make the paper cut-out tiger to celebrate Chinese New Year.” Evaleen, Fleur and their mum, Charlotte “I spotted a most unusual-looking blue tit in my garden. The bird had a long, elongated beak. I looked it up on the internet and found that it is a rare deformity found in some birds.” Darcey…

1 Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for how many years? ◻ a) 50 ◻ b) 60 ◻ c) 70 2 True or false? Some schools in Wales are trialling shorter school days. ◻ True ◻ False 3 Which country has added cartoon characters to its passport? 4 Around how many red foxes live in UK towns and cities? ◻ a) 150 ◻ b) 1,500 ◻ c) 150,000 5 True or false? Jessica Oliver and Charlotte Harris are the fastest female pair to row 3,000 miles across the Indian Ocean. ◻ True ◻ False 6 Which animals use a unique whistle sound to identify each other? 7 When is International Epilepsy Day 2022? ◻ a) 14 February ◻ b) 15 February ◻ c) 16 February 8 True or false? Scientists have…

If you live in a town or city, the chances are you’ve seen a red fox with its bushy red tail and yellow-orange eyes, prowling around the streets and gardens after dark. You may also have heard them turning over dustbins looking for food, or making loud screaming noises as they fight over territory and during mating season in the winter. Foxes are protected by laws that make it illegal to hunt or poison them. However the high number of foxes living in urban areas, combined with their rowdy behaviour, means some people think they should be treated as pests, like rats and mice are. Those people say it should be possible to control their numbers. Others say foxes have the right to live in towns and cities. What do…

An African clawed frog has regenerated (regrown) a working leg after it was lost, thanks to a new treatment that could one day help other animals.Some animals have a natural ability to regrow lost limbs. The African clawed frog is not one of them, but as an amphibian (an animal that lives both on land and in water), it is closely related to many of those that can. Researchers at Tufts and Harvard universities in the US wanted to see if they could activate some hidden regenerative powers in the frog. They created a special gel containing five different drugs and applied it using a small cap called a BioDome. The BioDome was sealed for 24 hours over the wound where the frog’s leg used to be. In the 18…

Sadio Mané has already won football’s Premier League and the Champions League playing for his club, Liverpool. On 6 February he also became a hero for his country, Senegal, by scoring a dramatic penalty in a shootout to win the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). Afcon is the biggest international football tournament in Africa. It’s contested by 24 countries and is usually held every two years. Senegal played Egypt in the final, which was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Mané actually missed a penalty in the seventh minute and the match went on to finish 0-0 at full-time. After 30 minutes of extra time, the game was still goalless, so a penalty shootout was needed to decide the champions. After both teams had taken four penalties, Senegal held a 3-2 lead.…

“I love houseplants. They make me feel happy and calm,” nine-year-old Rafferty tells The Week Junior. “I. look after them and they look after me. They give me a sense of wellbeing because they are beautiful, and I get a sense of achievement when I nurture them and they thrive.” Holly, who is seven years old, says she grows aloe vera and squeezes the juice from the plant to use as hand cream. Ivan, aged 10, says he looks after a spider plant in his bedroom. It has produced baby plants that he gives to other people for their homes. Ivan says he is cleaning the air one spider plant at a time.…

The nominations for this year’s BAFTA film awards have been announced. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an organisation made up of professionals in the film industry. Each year they give out awards, known as the BAFTAs, for achievements in filmmaking. The science-fiction film Dune received the most nominations with 11, including Best Film. Encanto, Luca and The Mitchells Vs. The Machines are among the nominees in the Animated Film category. BAFTA has an award called the Rising Star Award, which recognises up-and-coming talent. The nominees include Millicent Simmonds, from the US. Simmonds lost her hearing when she was one year old but she went on to be an actor, appearing in Wonderstruck in 2017. The winners will be announced on 13 March. MAKING HISTORY Happy Feet won the…

The main Pokémon games have worked in pretty much the same way ever since the first ones came out in 1996. Starting with one Pokémon, you travel to a series of locations catching and evolving more, while earning badges by battling gym leaders. You go where the game tells you, in the order that it tells you to. Pokémon Legends: Arceus takes a different path by giving you much more freedom about the path you take. It’s an “open world” game, which means you can explore the entire game world, rather than just following a set route. There are still plenty of familiar features, though. The game is set in a region called Hisui, far back in the history of the Pokémon universe. Your job is to fill up a…

Where is your favourite place to read? In bed in my pyjamas with a mug of hot chocolate and a biscuit or five. What did you want to be when you were little? I have always wanted to be an author. I wrote my first novel when I was 1 13. Which subject in school did you most enjoy? Drama. I love loved making up characters and making people laugh. What is your favourite ever film? Little Women – the sisters in the story remind me of me and my sister. If you could travel anywhere, where would you want to go? Through the wardrobe into the land of Narnia. What is your favourite animal? Cat!…

Fox sleeps in school staff room On 26 January, teachers at a London school arrived for work to find a fox asleep on a sofa in the staff room. Biology teacher Karen McIntosh shared a picture on social media of the snoozing animal at St Richard Reynolds Catholic College in Twickenham, London. The fox lay there quietly until the RSPCA, an animal charity, turned up and took it away so it could go back to the wild. Sausage face mask is a big hit A moisturising face mask has been released that is inspired by bologna sausage. The mask is based on Oscar Mayer Bologna, which is owned by the food company Kraft Heinz. The company partnered with a Japanese skincare company to make a face mask that looks like…

 Name: Aariya “I was lucky enough to bring in the New Year 2022 in the Maldives. The Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean and is divided into small islands. I had to catch three planes over 24 hours to arrive. One plane even landed on the sea. I snorkelled and saw some spectacular sea life, including crabs and vibrant-coloured fishes. I fed some baby sharks and kayaked around the island. The blue colour of the sea was unique, and the sand was the whitest I have ever seen. It was an amazing trip.” What have you been up to lately? Which books have you enjoyed reading? What have you made? Have you written a poem or drawn a picture that you’d like to see published on this page? Whatever…

The boss of Tesco, John Allan, has warned that supermarket prices are set to go up. Allan said groceries could be 5% more expensive by spring. The rise in prices over a period of time is known as inflation. Inflation is at its highest rate for 30 years, which is worrying because some people will find it difficult to afford even basic goods, such as bread, milk and other everyday items. What is inflation? Inflation is when prices rise. It affects people because their money becomes less valuable. For example, if the price of sweets rose overnight but your pocket money stayed the same, you would be able to buy fewer sweets. The rise in inflation is partly because prices are going back up after some of them fell during…

Making small changes in our lives can make big changes to our world, says environmental campaigner Shaan Dulay, who is nine years old. Dulay, from Walsall in England’s West Midlands, has been chosen by the Wildlife Trusts for Birmingham and the Black Country to be its first ever young ambassador. The charity, which aims to improve the environment and raise awareness of wildlife issues, asked Dulay to help because young people are more likely to join in if they are inspired by other young people. “It makes a difference when it’s the person who sits next to you in class,” Dulay tells The Week Junior. His interest in taking action started after he watched the documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet with his family. The message that humans…

International Book Giving Day on 14 February is a great time to recycle old books by sharing them with others who might enjoy them. Once you have read your book, you could swap with a friend or family member. You could also give books you no longer read to a charity shop or your local library (and check what’s new on their shelves while you’re there). Sharing books is good for the planet because resources are used to make them, such as wood and water used to make paper. Some places, such as stations, cafés and even people’s front gardens, have exchange boxes where people can leave a book and take one for themselves. Some charities also collect books to send around the world to people who cannot afford them.…

at Flinders University in Australia have designed a wetsuit that protects the wearer against shark bites. The Shark Stop suit is made with the same material used to make police shields. It is 15 times stronger than steel of the same weight. Pieces of this material, called polyethylene nanofibre, have been used in areas of the wetsuit where shark bites are most likely to occur. Their weight makes the Shark Stop slightly heavier than an ordinary wetsuit, but it is still comfortable to wear in water. Enjoy these stories? Find more in this month’s The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine sciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk…

Manchester Thunder & Saracens Mavericks They both won their first two games of the 2022 Netball Superleague season. Scotland rugby union team They enjoyed a dramatic 20-17 win over England in the Six Nations. France and Ireland also had victories in the 2022 tournament’s opening weekend. India Under-19 cricket team In the Men’s Under-19 World Cup final, India beat England by four wickets. It’s the fifth time they have won. Boreham Wood FC Boreham Wood, from the National League, beat Bournemouth, who are three leagues above them in the Championship, 1-0 in the FA Cup fourth round.…

Gaming fans, get ready to play. The Yorkshire Games Festival is set to take over the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, England, for a pixel-packed week of all things gaming. The festival will be an interactive celebration of the gaming world, featuring special guest speakers from the industry, workshops, masterclasses and the Let’s Play family weekend, which kicks off festival on 12–13 February. Let’s Play is an event packed with games, free activities and live shows. Visitors of all ages can experience games on enormous screens, and can take each other on in video games, cool card games and board games. There’s even the chance try new games before they are released. The Yorkshire Games Festival director, Kathryn Penny, said, “This year’s festival will offer younger gamers and…

Petite Maman Mubi Petite Maman is a French film that comes with English subtitles and a short running time of 73 minutes. It’s about a young girl called Nelly whose gran has just died, and she’s helping her mum clear a few things up. It’s potentially quite a sad film at first, as you might expect, but it actually turns out to be something quite wonderful and uplifting. It takes some very unusual turns and becomes a very special story about a mother and daughter. Subtitled films do mean you have to pay attention of course, but that’s not a bad thing, especially in this case. Many people feel that it was one of the best films released last year. It’s not one of the most famous films from France…

Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor by Lucy Brandt. Illustrated by Gladys Jose (Puffin) Leonora lives on an island where she spends her days using her science skills to come up with wild and wacky inventions. Then a boy called Jack washes ashore, revealing that her evil Uncle Luther has been selling her inventions for a profit on the mainland. So begins a quest for justice, involving otters, inflatable lobsters, a singing sea captain and more. A Galaxy of Her Own by Libby Jackson (Cornerstone) This book will introduce you to the fascinating stories of 50 women who have played an important role in space travel. All sorts of people feature in these inspiring stories, including mathematician Ada Lovelace and the astronauts of today. The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day by Christopher…

Name: Adelaide I Funny by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein Hilarious, exciting, warming. “In this story there are lots of jokes, but also bullies, and it ends on a cliffhanger.” 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. Sum up the book in three words and write one sentence telling us what you liked about it. Please 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.…

Regular readers will know that we love a record-breaker here at The Week Junior. People climbing mountains in super-quick time, perhaps, or building the tallest sandcastle – we even give a mention to the world’s biggest lasagne (page 25). The record we’re celebrating at the moment, though, is Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, which has lasted an astonishing 70 years. This week marks the start of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations – is your school or street planning to mark the occasion? Let us know and perhaps we’ll feature it in the magazine. We’ve also got lots of stories about animals, including a frog that grew a new leg with the help of science, and the chimps that learn skills from their friends. Did you see the story on page 27 about…

Into Film is the UK’s leading charity for film in education. Later this year it will be running the Into Film Awards. Young people across the UK are invited to get involved and show their filmmaking talent. If you’re passionate about film and aged between five and 19, you can enter this competition. There are lots of categories, including Best Film, Best Animation and Teacher of the Year. In June, the awards will be hosted by the author and comedian David Walliams in London, and nominees will be invited to the ceremony. Find out how you can get involved before the 31 March deadline at intofilm.org/awards GET INVOLVED Email your news, views and pictures to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk Please include your full name and address so that we can send you a…

Teacher’s name: Mrs Kickham School: Reddam House, Berkshire “I would like to nominate Mrs Kickham for Teacher of the Week because she always listens to the students and is very nice and caring. She is a Year 3 teacher but also takes News Club (which I go to). I brought in all of my Week Juniors and she pointed out Teacher of the Week as a joke.” Freddie 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…

Follow The Week Junior on PopJam @TheWeekJunior. You can download the PopJam app from the App Store or Google Play. Last week, we asked if people should be allowed to sell body parts… “No, as people in an emergency may not be able to afford it.” “People should be able to be rewarded for doing a good deed, and if they need money this could help!” “No, people should donate instead.” “Only if the person’s body parts that they are selling get permission and say yes to it.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…