Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Two years ago, six-year-old Sam Pointon landed his dream job at the National Railway Museum in England. He became the museum’s Director of Fun, a position he still holds today.
While on holiday with his family, his father noticed in the newspaper that Andrew Scott would be retiring after 15 years of being the museum director.
Sam’s hobby was trains. He loved everything about them.
On May 2, Canada is having a federal election. Before an election, the candidates work hard to let Canadians know what their ideas are and what they will do for the country if they win the election. They’re trying to get people to vote for them by speaking directly to Canadians.
One of the most important ways in which they can get their ideas across is a “debate.” There will be a debate on Tues., April 12 in English at 7 p.m. EST. There will be another debate with the same people but in French, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST
Last week, Portugal asked the European Union to help it pay its debts. They did it because they owe so much money – €80-billion, or more than $109-billion Canadian dollars. (€ is the symbol for euros, the money used in many countries in Europe.)
Portugal is the third country in Europe to ask for this kind of help recently. The first country was Greece and the second was Ireland.
All three country’s leaders have suffered for their decisions about their country’s money.
In 1986, Rick Hansen went around the world in a wheelchair – through 34 countries – to raise money for spinal cord injuries.
Hansen’s “Man In Motion Tour” was a major achievement, covering more than 40,000 kilometres. Many people see Hansen as a Canadian hero.
It has been 25 years since Hansen’s historic tour and in that time his foundation has raised more than $200 million to help people with spinal cord injuries.
There will be a federal election in Canada on May 2.
Every Canadian who is 18 years or older and is registered to vote – even people in prison or who are out of the country – may vote.
Although there are many people who are up for election, there are five main ones—one of whom will win.
Each person who is up for election is a member of a different “political party.”
A “political party” is a group of people who all think the same way about things. They think the same way about how a country should be run, how it should spend its money and what is most important.
Bilaal Rajan is an “Underage Overachiever,” just as the title of his book suggests. The 14-year-old teenager from Toronto has devoted much of his life to helping people. He gave a speech at Ryerson University last Thursday to spread his message of “giving” to students. He hopes that by talking about what he’s done, he can inspire other kids to make a difference in their community.
Bilaal started his life of giving when he was only four years old. After feeling personally affected by earthquake victims in India, he started selling Clementine oranges door-to-door in his neighbourhood.
This is an historic time in Canadian politics.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the government’s budget. A “budget” is a list of how the government will spend the country’s money. It’s an important document because it outlines all of the things the government will do for the people in the country.
All of the political parties voted on whether or not they accepted the budget. The Conservatives (Stephen Harper’s party), the Liberals, the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Quebecois (BQ) all voted.
Recently, Japan suffered the fifth largest earthquake in history. Although Japan is extremely well prepared for earthquakes, nothing could have prepared the country for something this big. And that’s not even counting the tsunami (giant wave) that was created by the quake.
You may be hearing news reports about “radiation” and “nuclear reactors.”
Normally, nuclear reactors are very safe. They supply clean energy and can create a lot of electricity. For a country like Japan, that is relatively small but uses a lot of electricity, nuclear energy has been important.
However, the buildings that house the reactors have been damaged by the earthquake and the tsunami.
The earthquake damaged four enormous buildings that supply power to Japan. They are called “nuclear reactors” and they supply nuclear power that creates electricity for the country.
Things are heating up in Libya.
The leader there, Moammar Gadhafi, does not want to step down. However, the people have had enough of his terrifying reign and want him to go.
At first, the people took to the streets in a peaceful protest.
However, Gadhafi banned the protests. When the people did not stop, he attacked them using the Libyan military. This shows how bad the situation has become – the leader of a country has started attacking his own people.
The UN, or United Nations, is a group of nations (including Canada, the United States, Britain and many other countries) that meets to discuss world events and promote world peace.
Recently, a survey was done to find out what highschool students think is important.
The survey was done by the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association. more than 2,600 students, mostly in Grade 12, were asked their opinions on many issues. The survey was done through Facebook and e-mail.
Here is what students said:
* Cellphones should not be allowed in the classroom. Less than one-third of all of the students surveyed said cellphones should be used in class as an educational tool.
