Innholdsfortegnelse for 335 i The Week Junior

On 5 May, Northern Ireland held elections to choose its government. On the same day, England, Scotland and Wales voted in local council elections to choose their councillors – politicians who run their local area and look after things including schools, libraries, parks and rubbish collections. What happened in Northern Ireland? Northern Ireland held elections for its assembly (government). For the first time, Sinn Féin has become the largest political party in the assembly, with 27 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Sinn Féin (meaning “we ourselves”) narrowly beat the Democratic Unionist Party, who had 25 MLAs elected. Sinn Féin’s main promise was to help deal with Northern Ireland’s housing shortage. The party is known for supporting a united Ireland (Northern Ireland leaving the UK and becoming part of the…

Small blue butterfly Plans have been approved for two butterfly habitats at Black Bush Down in Dorset. They will be banks of earth planted with flowers that butterflies like. It’s hoped they will attract the small blue butterfly – the UK’s tiniest – which has been in decline because of a lack of the plants that it needs. Scottish lochs The deep, cold waters of Scotland’s lochs (a Gaelic word for lakes, pronounced “locks”) are under threat from long-term changes to weather patterns. According to a new report, recorded temperatures in 97% of Scotland’s lochs rose between 2015 and 2019, which could affect wildlife.…

When people think of vampires – the supernatural blood-sucking creatures who turn into bats and fly off into the night – the most famous example is Count Dracula. On 26 May, fans will mark the 125th anniversary of the publication of the original book, Dracula, by Bram Stoker. To celebrate the anniversary, discover more about the story that defined vampires as we know them today. The origins of Count Dracula Legends and tales of vampires date back at least as far as ancient Greece. However, it was the publication of Dracula in 1897 that created the legends of vampires that people know now. In his novel, Stoker created Count Dracula, a rich man living in a castle in Transylvania, Romania. He sleeps in a coffin during the day and comes…

Engineers have found a way to teach drones (small flying robots) to fly in complex environments such as forests. Although drones are capable of impressive flights (even flying together in large formations) in an open space, until now it’s been hard for them to fly through more crowded areas without a human controller, unless they’re told the positions of obstacles in advance. Now, a team in China has created drones that change course to avoid trees and other hazards as they encounter them – including other drones. The experiment was led by scientists at China’s Zhejiang University, using drones that are about the size of a human hand. Shrinking the size of a drone usually limits its abilities and performance, but these super-efficient robots are fitted with gadgets that can…

“Trying to get a third title will be exciting.” That’s what British driver Jamie Chadwick tells The Week Junior as she hopes to race away with another W Series championship in 2022. Chadwick finished first in the opening race this month, which was held in Miami, US. The 23-year-old won both previous W Series titles in 2021 and 2019. Does she feel pressure to keep the trophy? “Maybe, but W Series is getting more and more competitive each year and there are younger drivers coming through,” Chadwick says. “The goal is the same and that’s trying to get that third title. Winning the championship twice has given me the confidence to win more races.” W Series is a competition for female drivers, including Beitske Visser of the Netherlands and Spain’s…

The trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water – the sequel to the fantasy sci-fi epic from 2009 – blasted onto cinema screens in 3D last week. Avatar is the highest-grossing (made the most money) film ever but its sequel has been delayed for many years. It is the first of four planned sequels from 20th Century Studios, a film company now owned by Disney, to released over the next six years. The trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water begins on the fantasy world of Pandora. Viewers are soon plunged deep underwater into a strikingly different part of the planet. The trailer is on in cinemas now in 3D but you can watch it online at tinyurl.com/TWJ-avatar. Avatar: The Way of Water is set to be released this year…

Can you imagine what it would be like hopping back in time to see what was happening in your town or city in the past? That’s the goal of a project called StoryTrails, which will be touring the UK this summer. It will use a mobile app design for augmented-reality (AR) technology, where videos and animations are blended with the real world around you using your phone’s camera. Historian David Olusoga and the creators of StoryTrails have been making films based on local history in 15 locations around the UK. From the start of July, the project will visit each of those towns or cities for two days, starting with Omagh in Northern Ireland and ending in Lewisham, London, in September. It’s not just the UK’s biggest and most famous…

Do you have anything in common with the characters in the book? I’m like Josephine in that sometimes I get the urge to do things, and do them immediately – in my family we call that “a quick ambition”. I love writing as much as Margot does. And, sometimes, I can be as snappy as Wesley. I wish I was as funny as him, though. Did you ever join any youth groups? I was a Girl Guide. The best badge I received was my photography badge. Favourite memory? The Christmas my brothers and I got new bikes. My mum and dad played a really good trick on us. I unwrapped a bell and my brothers each had a water bottle. My parents said “Oh, we’re so sorry – this is…

Olaf Falafel is a children’s author, illustrator, dad of two daughters and a comedian. During the first lockdown he created an online art club (tinyurl.com/TWJ-olafart). Each episode was filled with jokes, useful drawing tips, funny animations and stupid jokes like this one: How much does a chimney cost? Nothing – it’s on the house! Over to you, Olaf… “Sometimes, I like to tie in my art column with whatever my children are doing at school. This week, one of them has been learning about Tingatinga art. This is a highly stylised (meaning it has a distinctive style that is not meant to be realistic) east African art named after its founder, Tanzanian painter Edward Saidi Tingatinga. The subjects of Tingatinga pictures are often the animals known as the ‘big five’.…

Are you going to join in the Big Plastic Count (p5)? I will. As I left the house this morning, I had a quick peep into the recycling bin. I’ve been trying hard to cut down on plastic, so I was sure the news would be good. Not at all, the bin was nearly full! It wasn’t all plastic (where I live all the recycling goes out in the same bag) but an awful lot of it was. I am signing up today. What cheers me is stories like the recovery of the Dartford warbler (p10). That has been a huge success, but it really shows that lots of people had to work together – to study the birds to find out what they needed; to work out how to…

A TALL DOG A Great Dane has officially won the title of world’s tallest dog, standing at 1.046 metres. Two-year-old Zeus lives in Texas, in the US, with his owner Brittany, who said, “We were nervous about having such a large dog, but we fell in love with him.” DISCOVERING A TINY BIBLE A search at Leeds Central Library, England, during lockdown led to an unusual discovery – a tiny Bible that can only be read with a magnifying glass. It dates from 1911 and is just five centimetres long. The book somehow contains both the Old and New Testaments. It’s available to view at the library. AN INSPIRING FUNDRAISER Max Woosey, who has spent the last two years camping outside to raise money for charity, has received a British…

One of the first electric aircraft to be designed and built in the UK has made its first flight. It took off from Little Snoring airfield in Norfolk, England, and was powered by only a battery to propel it from the runway. The plane, developed at Cranfield University in England, flew for 10 minutes on its first flight, and 22 minutes on its second flight. Paul Hendry-Smith, from the company that built the craft, said it was a “milestone in electrically powered flight”.…

The UK is full of buildings. Some are thousands of years old; some are brand new. As time goes on, the way these buildings are used can change. When the use of a building changes dramatically – for example a shop or office is turned into flats – the building itself often needs to change in some way. This can be as simple as redecorating, or as complicated as putting in new floors and taking walls out to make more space, but this building work isn’t always easy. It’s often expensive and some people think it’s simpler to just knock it all down and start again. When changing a building’s use, there is often a choice between updating it or demolishing it and building a new one. What do you…

A painter is taking the art world by storm by creating pictures inside small tins that used to have mints in them. Remington Robinson has been using the tins both to mix his paints and to display his artworks. Remington’s oil paintings show many stunning views from around the world, such as the frosty town of Anchorage, US, the beaches of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the island of Santoríni, Greece. He doesn’t eat the mints before using the tins but is sent empty tins and buys them online. He often sells his paintings for more than £300.…

Over the next few weeks, the heavily scented blossom of the hawthorn or May tree signals that summer is well and truly on its way. These widespread UK trees grow up to 15 metres tall, with knotty brown-grey bark and thorny twigs. They have small leaves that start out pale green in spring and darken over the summer. In May and June, however, the leaves are overwhelmed by five-petalled white or pink flowers. Scientists say hawthorns can support up to 300 insect species. Their flowers are a treat for dormice and the tangled branches make great nesting sites for birds. Pollinated flowers form deep red fruits called haws that stay on the tree until the following spring and provide a valuable winter food source for wildlife.…

Scientists have discovered a massive tooth from an enormous, fish-like animal that lived around 205 million years ago. They say the creature it belonged to – a marine reptile called an ichthyosaur – may have been one of the largest of its kind. Ichthyosaurs were reptiles – members of the same large animal group that includes today’s crocodiles, lizards and turtles. From around 250 million years ago, in a prehistoric period called the Triassic, they began to split into types with different lifestyles, giving rise to plant-eating and meat-eating dinosaurs on land, and flying hunters called pterosaurs in the air. Others took to the seas, evolving and adapting over millions of years into lots of forms. Ichthyosaurs were the earliest of these, and had a streamlined (shaped to move smoothly…

Max Verstappen The Red Bull Formula One driver won the Miami Grand Prix. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came second. St Helens Their 18-8 victory over Leeds Rhinos saw them win rugby league’s Women’s Challenge Cup final. St Helens also won the trophy last year. Mathieu van der Poel The Dutch cyclist won the first stage of the Giro d’Italia cycle race. It’s a tough, 21-stage competition that finishes on 29 May. Chelsea Women They won the Women’s Super League (WSL) for the third time in a row after a 4-2 win against Manchester United. The WSL is the top level of women’s football in England.…

Our Time on Earth is an exhibition exploring climate change through art, design, music, philosophy and science at the Barbican Centre in London. Climate change refers to long-term changes in world weather patterns, including rising temperatures. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), cutting down forests and some types of farming cause of climate change. Bringing together lots of artists, environmental campaigners, scientists and writers, the exhibition explains to visitors how we need to work together to fight climate change. The exhibition has three main sections: “Belong”, “Imagine” and “Engage”. “Belong” explores humans’ connection with other species and our place in the world. “Engage” tells us how we can take action to help the environment. It includes immersive exhibits such as Sonic Waterfall, which uses sound…

Our Sister, Again by Sophie Cameron (Little Tiger) Isla and her family are grieving the loss of her older sister Flora, who died three years ago. Then they are offered an opportunity to be part of a top-secret trial that revives lost loved ones as lifelike AI robots. Will the “new” Flora really make things better for Isla and those around her? Sisters of the Mist by Marlyn Spaaij and Tünde Vollenbroek (Flying Eye) Magic, mystery and adventure combine in this graphic novel. Every year, three sisters spend the summer at grandma’s farm – but this summer, things are different. There are new tensions between the girls, and in the depths of the ancient forest there are strange and spooky things going on. The Light in Everything by Katya Balen.…

If you fancy a fun and free activity at the weekend, then a Parkrun event is great for you, your family and friends. More than 2.5 million people in about 750 places around the world have run, jogged, walked or used a wheelchair to complete a Parkrun since it started 18 years ago. Some people treat it like a race but most enjoy just being outside, getting exercise and having a nice time with others. Parkruns and Junior Parkruns are set up in safe open places such as beaches, fields, forests and parks. A Parkrun covers a maximum distance of 5K (3.1 miles) and runners must register once online before going along to a run. Registering gives you a barcode (special printed numbers readable by a computer), which means your…

Word fill in All these words fit in the grid. Can you work out where each word goes to complete it? 3 letters Bag Fly 4 letters Rest Swim Visa 5 letters Coach Hotel Train 7 letters Country Holiday Weekend 9 letters Aeroplane Apartment Insurance 10 letters Recreation Restaurant Word jumble Rearrange the scrambled letters to form four words connected with thick liquids. Word jumble: paint, cocoa, soup, porridge. Wordsearch Can you find all of the words listed here? They are hidden horizontally, vertically or diagonally and may read forwards or backwards. BICYCLE BUS CARAVAN COACH DIGGER DUSTCART FLOAT LORRY PLANE PRAM PUSHCHAIR SCOOTER SKATEBOARD TANDEM TRACTOR TRAILER TRAIN TROLLEY TRUCK WAGON Number tower Place a number in every circle to complete the tower. The value in each circle is…

Name: Carys “I decided to hold a bake sale fundraiser for the charity Cancer Research UK after my mum was diagnosed with cancer. I baked all day and sold over £900worth of cake! My little brother, Dafydd, helped get everything set up on the day of the cake sale and my friends helped sell some of the treats. So far, I have raised £1,763 for charity! You can find out more at tinyurl.com/TWJ-Carys ” 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 you have to show or tell us, get in touch at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk JOKE OFTHE WEEK “Why did the chicken cross the…

“This is me reading about Spot, the robotic dog in Pompeii in The Week Junior. I have learned a lot about things around the world.” Audrey “Thank you for introducing me to geocaching (issue 329). I went out and about during the Easter holiday with my family. Here is a photo of a nano cache that I found at Tynemouth.” Sam “This is Summer, one of our guinea pigs, having a look at the animals and environment section.” Luke…

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 plastic toys should be banned… “Nah, replace them with recycled plastic though.” “I think that there shouldn’t be as many made but they shouldn’t be banned.” “I’m not sure but it is bad if you always throw them out.” “Some plastic toys are useful and always played with, but bad quality ones should be banned.” Tell us what you think of this week’s issue and we’ll print some of the best comments here.…

Save Venice, an organisation dedicated to looking after the artistic history of Venice, in Italy, has launched a project called Women Artists of Venice. It aims to uncover the history of female artists from Venice from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Venice is one of the most popular cities in the world for tourists, who come to see the art, buildings and canals. Experts might know about many of the city’s women artists but most of the public have never heard of them. The Women Artists of Venice project has already been able to preserve work by the artist Giulia Lama, whose paintings from the early 18th century were on display in a church. Historians think she might have been the first woman in Venice to make art for…

Alex Green is the programme director for Let’s Go Zero, a new campaign to make schools more environmentally friendly. The plan is to help schools aim for a zero-carbon target. Zero carbon is about stopping emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas that causes global warming if there is too much of it in the atmosphere. Green’s job is to run the campaign. “I speak to schools, and I talk to the key people in Government to help change the way they help schools,” she tells The Week Junior. The campaign has criticised the Government’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for schools. Climate change is when there are long-term changes in the world’s weather patterns, including rising temperatures. Green says the Government needs to put money into schools to help them…

After nearly going extinct 50 years ago, the Dartford warbler’s population is on the rise in the UK. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has reported the highest ever number of the birds at its nature reserves across the country – a total of 183 pairs. Dartford warblers are small red and grey birds with long tails; the adults weigh just nine to 12 grams. They usually like to sit on top of gorse (a spiky bush with bright yellow flowers) in the spring, when they sing to attract a mate. Gorse is also perfect for them to nest in and to hunt for spiders and caterpillars to eat. The UK population of the warblers has been at risk for 60 years. This was partly caused by…

Gardeners are being encouraged to stop mowing their lawns this month in order to help wildlife. “No Mow May”, a campaign organised by the conservation charity Plantlife, asks people to give their lawnmowers a rest to support wild flowers and insects. Lawns are common in gardens, parks and other open spaces. They look nice and neat but experts say that areas with nothing but frequently mown grass reduce the variety of plant and animal life that an area can support. Plantlife says that not mowing lawns can help to tackle some big environmental problems, such as the falling number of bees. A study by the charity showed that 100 square metres of unmowed lawn can produce enough nectar to feed six bumblebees every day, and even leaving small patches or…

Most frogs eat a few times a week but it does depend on the species. Some, like poison dart frogs, are very active and spend most of their day searching for small bugs to snack on, but the Pacman frog will happily sit and wait for days until a bug, mouse or even another frog crosses its path to become lunch. Most eat insects but many species will eat just about anything they can fit into their mouths. 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…

Working with a company called Beko, which makes kitchen equipment, scientists at Cambridge University have built a robot chef that can taste food and decide if humans will like it. The bot can test the saltiness of a meal and work out how the taste will develop as it’s chewed. To train it, the robot was given nine dishes of scrambled eggs with different amounts of salt and tomatoes, which it tested with a sensor probe in different places. The team hope to add more sensors for oily and sweet food. Enjoy these stories? Find more in this month’s The Week Junior Science+Nature magazine sciencenature.theweekjunior.co.uk…

Are you a ray of sunshine or a bit of a grump first thing in the morning? With these simple tips you can start your day in a great mood, however you feel when you wake up.Your thoughts affect your feelings There are lots of things that can affect how you feel at the start of a day, such as how well you slept or how the people around you are behaving. Some of these things are out of your hands but others are things you can control, like your thoughts. Young people’s counsellor Angela McMillan explains that feelings are an emotional response to your thoughts. She says, “Shifting what you focus your attention on can have an impact on how you feel.” So that means what you focus on…

Sneakerella Available now on Disney+ This new musical comedy puts a modern spin on the classic Cinderella story. El is a young boy who designs trainers in New York City, US. His life changes when he meets Kira King, the daughter of a former basketball star. Can El make his dreams of a real career come true? Women’s FA Cup Final 2.30pm on 15 May, BBC One In March, Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-1 in the Conti Cup Final. Now they face each other again with the Women’s FA Cup trophy at stake at Wembley Stadium. This will be the sixth season in a row that one of these two clubs has won the FA Cup. Chelsea have been league champions for the past two seasons. The Quest Available on…

by Sharna Jackson (Puffin Books) Eleven-year-old Josephine Williams can’t wait to explore the world beyond Copsey Close. She’s eager to get out, get things done and make changes. Never mind Year 6, she’s already making plans for university! When she reads online about another Josephine – Josephine Holloway, the woman who started the first Girl Scout troop for black girls in the US – she decides to start a group of her own with friends Margot and Wesley. When an expedition leads them to an old shabby factory nearby, they stumble across a very peculiar mystery. Exploring ideas of social activism and community, this is a brilliantly pacy and entertaining adventure. It’s all told in Josephine’s voice and it’s funny, clever and exciting, with just the right amount of intrigue…

What if I’m new to running or not very fast? If you don’t run regularly, then start by walking or jogging a Parkrun or Junior Parkrun. After a few times you should find you become used to the distance and get more confident, which means you can run further. People of all abilities enjoy them on a Saturday or Sunday. How important are volunteers? Parkruns are not possible without volunteers to help organise them every weekend. If you are under 11 and want to help you can – as long as you have an adult with you. Those aged 11 or over should have an adult nearby at the location.…

Passionate about nature? The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a wildlife-focused charity has teamed up with the radio station Fun Kids to run its annual WildVerse competition. The theme is “What would nature say?”, and anyone aged seven to 18 years can enter by sending in nature-inspired poems. The winning poems will be published in RSPB magazines and read out on Fun Kids radio. Winners will also scoop a RSPB gift card worth £50. You can find out more details including how to enter here tinyurl.com/TWJRSPBWildverse 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 Roving Reporter badge if your contribution makes it onto the page. We will only use the details…

Teacher’s name: Mr Taylor School: Alfred Sutton Primary School, Reading “I nominate Mr Taylor because he is kind, funny and smart. During lessons he always makes them more enjoyable by telling stories that make us laugh. If we can’t do some things, he pushes us to do our best.”Eliza 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…

1 How many councils does the Conservative Party control in Wales? □ a) 85 □ b) 2 □ c) 0 2 True or false? The UK throws away more plastic per person than any other country in the world. □ True □ False 3 Which country has broken the record for the world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge? 4 Government data shows how much of Britain’s total annual waste is from the building industry? □ a) 17% □ b) 25% □ c) 63% 5 True or false? 101 schools are signed up to the Let’s Go Zero campaign. □ True □ False 6 What does RSPB stand for? 7 What are gardeners being encouraged to do in May? □ a) Plant more sunflowers □ b) Not mow their lawns □ c) Feed…