December 2018

In this edition:

• Maths success

• Nursery news

• Animal concerns

• Teacher feature

• World news

•Cancer support

• Future tech.

• Dixon review

• Back page sport

Bridlewood Writers’ Group Newspaper

Photo Caption

National Maths Competition Success A team from Bridlewood made it

through to the regional stage of a

national maths competition. The

National Young Mathematicians’ Award

is a team maths competition run in

SCHOOL VIEW

Nursery News Amberlie Kershaw

From September, Bridlewood children

will be starting even younger as the

school will be adding a nursery.

Drawings were produced to design a

nursery for the school a while ago but the

plans have now been agreed by the

council. The nursery is to be built next to

the playground, and may be where the

year sixes are at the moment. The

Headteacher, Mrs Sammon, told the

local newspaper that she was ‘delighted’

by the decision. The children are all

rather excited about the news too.

Views from Reception Abigail Chapman

This year, two new

reception classes (called

Pine and Cherry) started

here in Bridlewood. There

are two classes, instead of

one, because there were two

year sixes last year and if we

didn’t have two new classes,

there would be a spare class

room. This has meant that the

reception children have had

lots of room to play and learn

things.

We asked members of

Pine and Cherry classes what

they thought of starting

school. Elizabeth and Neve

both said they had made lots

of friends, found out lots of

things and liked their teachers,

Miss Lundell and Mrs

Simpson. Elizabeth added

that she really enjoyed doing

numbers in maths. Neve

preferred painting and drawing

- maybe a future artist!

The MathsTeam

Do you have a news story that you

would like to share? If so, get in touch.

collaboration with the University of

Cambridge’s NRich project*. Alex,

David, Flo & Flynn ably represented the

school in the event.

Problem solving

The competition involves small teams

completing a series of maths problem-

solving activities. “It was really good to

take part in the competition. The

problems were very challenging but

they improved our maths skills. I really

enjoyed it,” commented Alex.

Feedback from the event’s local co-

ordinator, Megan Davis, was very

complimentary about the team’s

performance in round one. ’We

observed brilliant team work skills as

[they] decided on a plan to solve each

problem as well as very strong

reasoning ability throughout all the

challenges. [They] all persevered to

solve the problems and paused to listen

to explanations by other members of

[the] team which enabled [them] to work

efficiently and accurately.’

The team went on to win round one

and secured a place in round two,

competing against teams from across

the region. While they were beaten to

the Grand Final, they so impressed the

judges that they have been invited back

to compete next year. Well done Team

Bridlewood!

NRich is a maths project which aims to ‘enrich the mathematical experiences of learners’. For more information – and examples of the sort of tricky problems faced by our team - see nrich.maths.org/primary)

Challenging problems

Awesome

Pandas Max Woods

Pandas, the cute black and white bears are everyone’s favourite endangered animal. When they are cubs, pandas can weigh up to 150 grams and are very, very cud-dly. An adult panda can weigh up to 150 kg! A panda’s diet is 99%

Dramatic Decline in

Animal Populations Alex Steel

In recent years, the number of animals in the world has

dropped dramatically. According to the World Wildlife Fund,

the wildlife populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians

and fish have declined by as much as 58% between 1970 and

2010 (and up to 81% for animals living in the world’s lakes and

rivers).

Human threat

The biggest threat to animal populations comes from people -

from loss or damage to their habitats (over 40%) and from

exploitation. We need to stop

people killing wild animals for

sport or for their horns, fur or

skin. We also need to take

better care of our

environment and of the

animals that share it or we

may find that we no longer

have any wildlife at all.

Save Our Animals Emmy Kershaw

Many animals (like elephants and pandas)

are endangered and may become extinct.

We should respect animals just as if they were

humans. Animals are special to the world and

some give us food. We shouldn’t kill animals

because they were on the planet before we

came along and built our towns and cities

destroying their homes. What else can we do?

Paper problems & plastic solutions

Many people use and waste a lot of paper

without thinking much about it. However, paper

is made from wood and wood comes from

trees. When trees are cut down, it wrecks

birds’, snakes’ and other animals’ homes, all in

the name of money. We also know how plastic

is destroying the ocean and sea life around the

world. Lots of fish, whales and turtles (and

many more animals) eat the plastic and die.

There are many ways of stopping plastic getting

into the sea. One new way is to reuse it.

For example, there is a website called

Ecobricks (ecobricks.org). If you sign up, it

sends you plastic bottles. You then fill them up

with unrecycled (clean) plastics and send the

full bottles back to them, The bottles are then

used to build things like tables and walls. You

can save animals and make something useful!

ISSUES & VIEWS

Endangered pandas

Is there an issue that concerns you? Tell

the Newsteam about it.

Elephants under threat

bamboo and they love hollow grass! Did you know pandas can live up to 20 years? However, there are now only 2000 pandas left in the wild so we need to help our fabulous furry friends survive.

Wall made of ecobricks

Teacher Feature This edition’s teacher Q&A – Mrs Davies

Q: How long have you been teaching and

what is your favourite subject to teach?

I have been teaching for over 12 years.

I like teaching Art and English most and my favourite topic

has been about Roald Dahl.

Q: What is your favourite thing to do?

Spending time with my children.

Q: What are your favourite foods? Do you prefer tea

or coffee?

I like steak and seafood and prefer to drink coffee or green

tea..

Q: Do you have a favourite book?

‘The Butterfly Lion’ by Michael Morpurgo.

Q: What is your favourite band, pop star or song?

I am a big fan of Take That and I like Dave Grohl from the

Foo Fighters. My favourite song is ‘Rule he World’ (by

Take That, of course).

Q: Are you a summer or a winter person?

I like having BBQs in the summer but my favourite season

is winter. I like snuggling up in front of a fire and watching

a film.

Thank you to Mrs Davies for her time.

Interviewers: Lucy Hennessey and Georgia Hughes.

Review: Lightning Girl Returns Nicolet Pegler

Alesha Dixon has written a new

book following on from her first,

very popular, ‘Lightning Girl’.

‘Lightning Girl Superhero Squad’ continues the

adventures of the main character, Aurora Beam.

Aurora has special powers which makes her shoot

strong light beams from her hands. In the first

book, Aurora has to deal with her villainous sci-

ence teacher and an evil aunt, who both try to trick

her and steal her power.

In this new book, Aurora goes to a top-secret

superhero conference to meet up with friends.

However, everything is not as it seems—and what

is her granny doing there?

I really enjoyed this book. The story is excit-

ing, has lots of interesting characters and is easy

to read. I would recommend it to someone who is

8 or 9 (or above) and I give it five stars.

FEATURES & REVIEWS

Macmillan Cancer Support Toby Rutter

The cancer charity Macmillan was

founded by Douglas Macmillan in

1911. Macmillan now has over

46,000 patients a year and saves

at least 15,000 of them. This is

mainly because Macmillan has

over 4,555 nurses and they are

constantly hiring more.

As a charity, Macmillan relies a lot

on donations from the public. Every

year, there are thousands of Mac-

millan coffee mornings held all over

the world to raise money. These

coffee mornings regularly raise

millions of pounds in about four

months. Mrs Pipe said, “It’s a great

excuse to eat cake for a good

cause.” The money raised goes

towards paying for the Macmillan

nurses and for medical supplies

and all of the expensive equip-

ment they need.

The nurses do an amazing

job. Toby commented, “I am for-

ever grateful for Macmillan be-

cause they saved my grandfa-

ther from skin cancer.”

Macmillan allows people with

cancer to have fun and gives

them hope. Macmillan is the

most popular cancer support

charity worldwide because of

their fabulous reputation and

amazing hi-tech equipment.

When people get diagnosed with

cancer they no longer have to be

scared because of Macmillan. They

keep people out of intensive care and

send them towards to the hospital

exit .

Do you support a charity and would like to

tell us about it? Please get in touch.

Tomorrow’s

Tech Today Oliver Lucy

When people talk about jet

packs and robots, they usually

think of this as ‘future tech’.

However, lots of tomorrow’s

technology is already being used

today. Robots, as the article above

discusses, have already started to

become a part of our lives. Some

have made their way into other

Robots: The Future? Alex Ryan

Robots are intelligent machines, able to complete

thousands of tasks and store information. They can

interact with and understand human. The question is,

what can they do?

What can they do?

There are now hundreds of household robots in use.

They range from vacuum robots to litter tray

cleaners. AI (Artificial Intelligence) controls most

modern robots, enabling them to interact with people

and to complete quite complex tasks.

Latest robots with AI

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Long history

The first robot was showcased as early as 1928, under the

name ‘Eric’. In the same year, Japan launched Gakutensoku,

their first robot. Since then, even Lego have released robots,

including one that can solve a Rubik’s cube in 20 seconds!

Skip to today, dragon drones and a self-solving puzzle cube

have been launched to market.

Robot future?

Years in the future, humans may be served by robots, not to

mention controlling our houses. Robots will change how we

live for definite, and no day will be complete without the hum,

buzz and beep of AI.

Space jets

A jet pack, rocket belt, or rocket

pack is a device worn on the back

which uses jets of gas or liquid to

propel the wearer through the air.

The idea has been present in

science fiction for a long time and

became widespread in the 1960s.

Real jet packs have now been

developed. While their uses are

still much more limited than those

in stories, they are now used for

entertainment, in the form of

stunts, but have also proved useful

for extra-vehicular activities for

astronauts. Science fiction

becomes today’s technology.

Will robots take over routine, mundane tasks?

areas such as education and

healthcare.

Therapy and support

Cosmo Bot is an example of this.

Cosmo is a child-friendly,

interactive, remote controlled

robot. It is an ‘assistive technology

system’ and is being used in a play

therapy program that promotes

rehabilitation of disabled children.

During therapy sessions, the Bot

automatically collects data for

evaluation by the therapist.

Personal transport

The Segway is a two-wheeled, self

-balancing personal transporter. It

was invented by Dean Kaman and

brought to market in 2001 and was

first seen as a bit of a gimic.

However, Segways can be found

being used as transport in country

parks and hired by sightseeing

tourists around the world.

Therapeutic Cosmo Bot

Segway

WORLD NEWS

An Unexpected Guest! Reuben Jennings

What was probably a very boring meeting at a

Chinese bank got a lot more exciting, when a

surprise reptilian guest dropped by. China News

reported that a group of bank employees were in the

middle of a morning meeting on when a snake fell

from above to join them. CCTV footage of the hiss

-terical incident shows the bank staff scrambling

to flee the room after a python crashed down

from the ceiling. The serpent also appeared

shaken up by the incident and slithered its way

under some furniture to take refuge.

Once the bank staff caught their breath, one

of them managed to call the local wildlife

authorities. They managed to capture the snake

and took it to an animal conservation centre. Experts

said that the python, a protected animal in China,

weighed about five kilograms so it was fortunate that

the creature narrowly missed hitting anybody and that no

one was injured.

US news reporters suggested that the snake might

have been an escaped pet but no-one is able to explain

how the snake had got into the bank in the first place. The

police said they were still investigating how the snake

entered the building.

Chaos in California Toby Ashwell

In California, in the USA, local wildfires have been

spreading between different landmarks in towns and

cities. Once the fire started in the town of Paradise,

for example, it spread so quickly across the county

that the local fire brigade were unsuccessful trying

to stop it burning the whole place. A separate fire

engulfed the beach resort of Malibu, forcing resi-

dents, including some famous ones such as Lady

Gaga and Kim Kardashian, to

flee from their homes.

How did they start?

Unfortunately, California

has many attributes that

makes it a perfect place to

start a fire. The first is Cali-

fornia’s climate: the winter

brings rain to help things

grow, but long warm and

dry summers mean there is

lots of kindling for fires. The

next reason is that, through

years of preventing fires,

California has ended up

with a build-up of trees and

wood ready to burn. And at

this time of year, with the

dry Santa Ana winds, all it

needs is people to provide

a spark.

Death toll rising

Lots of people have lost

their lives in the fires—over

25 died in the town of Para-

dise alone. In total, it is also

estimated that more than

250,000 people have been

forced out of their homes

(and this number, too, is

expected to rise).

The local fire chiefs esti-

mated that it would take at

least three weeks to fully

control the blaze. A month

later, most of the fires are

under control. Local fire-

fighters hope the colder

weather will help finish their

job. Meanwhile, thousands

of people will spend Christ-

mas without their home —

or even their towns— to

spend it in.

Python visitor

Fire map

US firefighter tackles wildfire

Hooked on Fishing Reuben Jennings

THE BACK PAGE

Take the Plunge! Aiden Jack Keevans

Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into

water from a platform, usually while performing

acrobatics. It is an internationally recognized sport

that is part of the Olympic Games but is also a

recreational pastime. Diving has taken a big leap in

recent years. It started with a young diver from

Team GB, Tom Daley. He has been diving for his

country since he was 10 and he was scouted when

he was only nine. He has become a huge inspiration

to divers of all generations - and has led to a

growing interest in the

Angler at work [Image from The Times]

Scooter Worries Toby Ashwell

Scooters are seen daily

in school and scootering

has become a popular

hobby and competitive

sport. But recently, con-

cerns have been raised

about scooter safety.

Skate parks can be

found all around the world

and there are professional

scooter riders such as Claudi-

us Vertisi. Despite this, the

popularity of skate parks has

been declining. After several

accidents in the UK, some

parents stopped taking their

children to parks. However,

we shouldn’t be worried as

accidents are pretty rare.

Also, skate parks now have

different sections for use by

people, depending on how

Fishing is an ancient

practice that dates back

at least to the Stone

Age, over 40000

years ago. Analysis of the

skeleton of a 40,000-year-

old modern human from

Asia, has shown that he

regularly consumed

freshwater fish.

Today, we still eat a lot

of fish but fishing, in the

form of angling, is also

done as a hobby or sport.

Angling is a method of

fishing that uses an

“angle” (fish hook). The

hook is attached to a

fishing line, which is

attached to a fishing rod.

While some anglers eat

what they catch, lots throw

the fish back into the water.

Some also take part in

fishing tournaments.

I regularly fish with my

dad. We don’t always catch

a fish but find something

interesting. (Last time, we

found some sharks eggs!).

It is a fun thing to do.

Me on a fishing trip

sport.

Diving is now one of

the most popular Olympic

sports. Competitors

possess many of the same

characteristics as

gymnasts and dancers,

including strength and

flexibility. Indeed, some

professional divers were

originally gymnasts or

dancers as the sports have

so much in common.

Although diving has been a

popular pastime across the

world since ancient times,

the first modern diving

competitions were held

in England in the 1880s.

The exact origins of the

sport are unclear, though it

is likely that it originates

from the act of diving into

the water to start

swimming races. The

1904 book Swimming

notes English reports of

‘plunging’ records dating

back to at least 1865.

The English Amateur

Swimming

Association (then called

the Swimming

Association of Great

Britain) first started a

"plunging

championship" in 1883

and this ran right up

until 1937.

Today, diving

continues to attract

thousands of spectators

every year. It is also an

extremely easy and

enjoyable activity for

participants – of any age

or ability. Why not take

the plunge?

Tom Daley

good you are and electro,

dirt and Razor scooters

are not allowed. If you

are aware of other riders

while you are skating and

are careful, you should

be safe and will have fun!

With thanks to this year’s

editorial team:

Alex Ryan, Toby Rutter and

Connor Woods