Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Jan. 12 was a significant date for the people of Haiti. It was two years ago on that date that the country suffered a terrible earthquake.
More than a million people had their homes destroyed.
After two years, many people think that new homes, jobs and clean streets are not coming fast enough.
Haiti’s new President, Michel Martelly, is known as Sweet Mickey. He believes education is one of the most important things for the government to fix first.
Do you think you know more about science than your parents do? You could be right.
At a big science fair in England last November, 2,000 moms and dads were asked what sort of questions their kids had about science, and how they answer them.
Most of the parents said they found it hard to answer their children’s questions. A few of them said they think their kids know more about science than they do.
India made history this month when it announced that there were no more cases of polio in the country.
The victory came after years of work by India’s public-health workers. They travelled to the most remote places and the poorest areas in the country. They gave vaccines—medicine that prevents diseases—to 172 million children.
Polio is a viral infection that can paralyze (stop movement in) the body, especially in people’s arms and legs. It can also make people’s breathing difficult is if they have very bad asthma. It can even be fatal.
Yesterday, some schoolkids in Toronto learned first-hand what democracy is all about.
Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, was proposing some cuts to the city’s budget.
He said many of the city’s services should go on the chopping block to balance the city’s budget, including closing down services at: 10 arenas, three daycares, three shelters, a city zoo and a farm on Toronto Island.
The city also proposed cutting services like swimming lessons at five swimming pools in Toronto schools. That could potentially lead to the pools being closed in the future.
The parents and kids at those schools went into action to try to prevent the budget cuts.
What do you get when you start with a white room and then give thousands of children coloured dot stickers?
That is exactly what artist Yayoi Kusama wanted to find out.
She painted a room in the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art completely white.
The walls, floor and ceiling were white. The piano was white. The couch, TV and seats were white. Even a fern was painted white.
And then she invited thousands of children inside.
The famous Manchester United soccer team has waited two years to sign Charlie Jackson to the team.
That’s because he was only three years old—they waited until he was five.
Coaches at United say that Jackson is going to be a superstar player.
Even at three years of age, he impressed talent scouts with his ability to handle and control the ball.
Students at the Etobicoke School of the Arts had a special guest at their anti-bullying assembly last week.
Lady Gaga sent the Toronto school a specially recorded video message.
The student council president, Jacques St. Pierre, is a huge fan of Lady Gaga.
He had sent emails to several celebrities, asking them to help launch the school’s anti-bullying campaign.
He was thrilled when Lady Gaga read his email and responded.
St. Pierre was the only student at the school who knew about the video until the assembly.
Nearly a month ago, the northern Canadian First Nations community Attawapiskat declared itself to be in a “state of emergency.”
This week, as winter sets in and snow is on the ground in the remote community, they are finally getting some attention–and some help.
In Canada, a state of emergency is normally declared when something terrible happens to a place, such as an earthquake, flood or large fire.
It’s a signal to the country’s government that “we need help, immediately.”
In this case, the state of emergency is that the people of Attawapiskat, in northern Ontario are living in conditions that are worse than those in many third-world countries.
One reporter described going to Attawapiskat as, “like stepping into the fourth world.”
Students at Earl Beatty Public School in Toronto aren’t allowed to play with balls in their school playground any more.
The school has banned balls – including soccer balls, footballs, baseballs and tennis balls – from its playground.
Kids can only play with soft, foam balls such as Nerf balls.
The ban was put in place after a parent was hit in the head with a soccer ball and suffered a concussion.
The school’s principal, Alicia Fernandez, said kids were often getting hurt by balls in the playground.
She said they were sometimes scared.
She also pointed out that the school has a very small outdoor play area.
Some parents say the ban is an overreaction.
This month, every child in Grade one in Canada will receive a free book.
That will be every grade-one child, including those who are home-schooled, or in any school in the country, private or public, French-speaking or English-speaking.
The book giveaway is the product of a partnership between TD (the bank) and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC).
The bank pays more than $1-million to have 500,000 books printed and sent out to grade-one students across the country. This is the program’s eleventh year.
This year the books the kids will get is Gifts (Cadeaux, translated into French), by author Jo Ellen Bogart and plasticine artist Barbara Reid.
