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.
With only a few games left to play in the National Hockey League season, it’s a good time to look at how well or in some cases, poorly the Canadian teams performed.
Canada has a total of six hockey teams. From east to west they are: The Montreal Canadiens, The Ottawa Senators, The Toronto Maple Leafs, The Edmonton Oilers, The Calgary Flames, and The Vancouver Canucks.
The Montreal Canadiens had quite a good season. They won 43 games and earned 93 points. This success guaranteed them a spot in the playoffs and a chance to win the Stanley Cup. All that remains to be seen is who they will play in the first round.
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.
Sometimes weird can be good.
Weird can be funny too, as demonstrated on the popular YTV show That’s So Weird. The Canadian television show is a sketch comedy program about a group of teenagers working at a fictional television station called So Weird TV.
That’s So Weird has been running for two seasons. The episodes are made up of silly commercials and even sillier television shows. Skits include spoofs of real-life TV programs like Degrassi: The Next Generation, This Is Daniel Cook and the UFC. They have even poked fun at the Twilight movies and Glee.
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.
They will no longer be serving Whoppers at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, after the fast-food restaurant closed down in the food court there recently.
Canada’s largest hospital for children made the choice to close down the Burger King because of its unhealthy options such cheeseburgers and French fries, which are high in fat and salt.
The hospital is meant to offer healthy food choices for the visitors and staff. A doctor at Sick Kids named Vishal Avinashi started a Facebook group called, “Burger King should NOT be allowed to operate at Sick Kids Hospital.” There are 269 members in the group, and more are joining each day.
Avinashi tried to raise awareness of the messages that the hospital is sending by offering unhealthy options. He says the hospital is, “setting the wrong example” by allowing fast-food restaurants to sell unhealthy food there.
In the National Hockey League (NHL), many players have gotten concussions this year.
A concussion happens when you accidentally hit your head really hard, like when you’re playing sports or running around.
The rate of head injuries has gone up this season. The NHL’s general managers met with Gary Bettman, the commissioner, recently to talk about how they could make hockey safer for the players. Bettman says he believes that as many as a quarter of all hits in hockey are “illegal hits” – in other words, not allowed in hockey.
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.
