Newswatch.

T hursday 10th March was a very exciting day here at Archbishop Holgate’s Newsroom, because it

saw us become BBC radio and web stars! Why? Because, we took part in the BBC Schools Report and impressed the Beeb so much with the stories and films we

produced in the run up to News Day that they interviewed us not once, not twice but THREE TIMES, with Nick Grimshaw even giving us a shout out on Radio 1!!!

You can check out our work on the school webpage: www.archbishopholgates.org/beyond-the-curriculum/bbcschoolsreport/

You can listen to our interviews at:www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03k1cx0

But, we also thought you should read our take on some of the News stories that got us enthused on the day. Enjoy!

Archie’s

BBC Schools Report

www.archbishopholgates.org

The Davis CupArticle by Tom K

PAGE 2

EU ReferendumArticle by Stan G

Page 4

RhinosArticle by Jack P

Page 4

Veg on MarsArticle by Maneeha N

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In this Edition >>>

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I ’m Tom K, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, the story that attracted my attention was this one about the Davis Cup. It interested me because Team GB are attempting to defend their title and as a keen

sportsman, I am hoping that they will succeed in their aim and achieve glory!

This year is the 104th Davis cup and Great Britain are the defending champions. They sailed through their first round match against Japan.

Andy Murray won his final singles game to secure victory in a nail biting match that went to the 5th set. He won the first 2 sets with ease over Japan’s Kei Nishikori, but Nishikori fought back and beat Murray 3-6, 4-6 in the next two sets.

The 5th set couldn’t have been more intense, but Murray stepped up to take victory winning by 6-3 in the final set. Murray won both of his singles matches, as well as his doubles match with his brother Jamie. They won three sets to love, achieving what seemed to be another easy win for Great Britain.

Team GB are now in the last eight and will be playing Serbia, where it is more than likely to be another clash of the titans between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic – a

match that could prove tough for Murray, who, in his 31 outings against the Serbian, has only beaten him 9 times.

Other Quarter Finalists include Argentina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Italy and the USA. The next matches will be played from the 15th July – 17th July 2016 and I, for one,

can’t wait! I will be cheering on Murray and his team mates to serve an Ace against their rivals in the next round.

Team GB has never been stronger and they have a good chance of defending their title again this year, but I am hoping that in doing so, Murray can prove he can beat his nemesis Djokovic. Fingers crossed Murray might beat him at Wimbledon before then in May.

I ’m Maria P, one of the BBC School Reporters at AHS. As part of ‘News Day’ I found a few articles about

the Total Eclipse that happened in South East Asia recently. I’m really passionate about anything space-related, so I decided to write my own report about this phenomenal event…

Last year, as you may remember, the UK was lucky enough to witness a partial eclipse in March. Well, now, some countries in South East Asia, such as Indonesia, were lucky enough to witness a Total Eclipse. This is when the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking out the Sun’s light completely, making daytime seem like night.

It was a very rare occurrence that saw thousands of astronomy enthusiasts flocking to Indonesia. This was the country’s first total solar eclipse in nearly 33 years!

Many people were able to enjoy the total eclipse and in other countries, such as Singapore, Australia and Thailand, people were able to experience a partial eclipse.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t see anything from the UK and the next full

eclipse event will not happen until August 2017. Even then, it will only be

visible from North America. The UK will not witness

a total eclipse until September 2090, so a fair

amount of waiting time left… Only another 74 years to go…

The Davis Cup Article by Tom K

Article by Maria P

Team GB has never been stronger and they have a good chance of defending their title

Total Eclipse

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That’s Entertainment

Veg on Mars

Article by Ella, Iona, Helena & Livia

W e’re Ella, Iona, Helena and Livia and we are four of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, we created

a round-up of this week’s Top Entertainment News, because we all love some celebrity shenanigans after all! However, whilst celebrity culture is often criticised for being frivolous, this week also saw some much-loved celebrities spark some debate…

This year’s Oscars caused controversy, due in part to a race row, with African American actors claiming that their contribution to film was ignored in favour of their white counterparts, leading many to opt not to attend the biggest event in the showbiz calendar, as a sign of protest.

However, for others, the Oscars were a more positive event…

Leonardo DiCaprio FINALLY won an Oscar and warned us about the threats of climate change!

Twenty three years after his first Oscar nomination, we at last saw Leonardo DiCaprio bag himself an Oscar for Best Actor. This, long over-due award in the opinion of many, was for his performance in the epic historical film, The Revenant, in which he played the challenging role of Hugh Glass.

The 41-year-old used his speech to spread awareness about what he believes to be a pressing issue: Global Warming. He stated: “Climate change is real, it is happening right now.”

Many believed this to be a selfless and inspirational example of ‘celebrity power’, although others argued that it is a disappointing fact about modern society, that for an issue to become important it must be a celebrity that highlights it as such.

The Hollywood star has been a vocal activist in raising the profile regarding the threat of climate change for years.

Furthermore, DiCaprio has plans to develop a ‘restorative island’ at Blackadore Caye in Belize. He is hoping that the 104-acre island resort will become the ‘world’s most sustainable island resort’, but how successful will this prove to be and will it inspire us all to reflect more on the threats we levy at our planet?

Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole: Are they a couple???

On Wednesday 10th March, Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole were spotted looking like ‘a picture of happiness’ as they were leaving a bar in London, hand-in-hand.

That evening was the first time the One Direction star and the X-Factor judge had been papped in public since it was revealed that they were dating last month.

Fans had been speculating as to whether Cheryl’s new romance was actually a publicity stunt before last night’s snaps emerged.

Whilst their relationship looks set to become permanent, some people still predict otherwise, with many fans claiming that this ‘relationship’ could crash and burn. 22 year-old boy bander Liam and 32 year-old soloist Cheryl have a 10 year age gap between them to overcome, and both have just come out of serious, long-term relationships. Given this fact, is this really the right time for either to begin a budding new romance, or do they need to spend some time reflecting on the mistakes made in their previous relationships first?

Adele made an autistic schoolgirl’s dreams come true when she invited the young girl to come on stage and sing with her!

After noticing her sign amongst the thousands of people in the crowd at her recent concert in Manchester, Adele invited 12 year-old Emily Tammam, to perform a duet with her.

Emily’s sign read ‘It is my dream to sing with Adele’, to which the superstar responded with: “OK come on stage”. Surprisingly, the young fan was able to reach all of the notes in Adele’s hit ‘Someone Like You’ sending the audience’s jaws dropping to the ground!

Video clips recorded by audience members show Emily bravely climbing up the stairs to the centre of the stage with a microphone in her hand. Suddenly, she bursts out in song; singing along to the first few verses. Adele can be seen behind, encouraging the crowd to cheer

She is then joined by Adele for the chorus. According to her father, Ray Tamman, Emily sings every day and Adele is her favourite singer, with ‘Someone Like You’ her favourite song. He stated: “Emily said she wants to show people that have disabilities or mental issues they can still do mainstream things like singing they should not be stopped from doing them.”

It seems as though megastar Adele, who has a big, and powerful, voice also has a big heart to go with it.

I ’m Maneeha N, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’

an article about the possibility of growing vegetables on Mars caught my interest because it is a story that explores what’s beyond just our small planet…

Tomatoes, peas, radishes and other vegetables have been successfully grown by researchers in the Netherlands, in soil thought to be like Martian dirt. Why? Because, the team wanted to find out what could be grown if humans try to live on Mars at some point in the future.

Although they didn’t have real Martian soil,

the scientists used dirt supplied by NASA, which was taken from a Hawaiian volcano that’s thought to be very similar to the dirt that we would find on Mars.

The team managed to grow more vegetables than they’d initially expected, suggesting that it really could be possible to support life on the Red Planet in the future.

But there’s still a long way to go - no one actually ate the experimental vegetables, because substances in the soil, including arsenic and mercury, might have made them poisonous. So,

don’t be rushing to buy anything advertised as ‘Made from Mars’ just yet!

For now the team are trying to find a way to grow vegetables that are safe to eat – Phew! Although, they point out, that any food on Mars would be need to be grown in greenhouses, or even underground, to protect them from extreme conditions on the surface.

So, whilst we could possibly grow vegetables on Mars and support human life there in the future, you won’t see Tesco appearing on the Red Planet any time soon!.

Article by Maneeha N

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EU ReferendumArticle by Stan G

I ’m Stan G, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, the story that attracted my attention was the upcoming EU Referendum. It interested me because it could

prove to have a significant impact on the lives of British people.

The EU referendum has been all over the news lately – but what is a referendum? Why are we having one about the EU? And why should you care?

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to vote on a particular issue.

The EU (or European Union) is a united group of countries, including the UK, who are legally required to essentially help each

other out. This means they also share some laws, which stop independent governments introducing extreme or unfair laws. However,

some people believe it also stops countries being free from interference from other EU states.

On the 23rd June, people all over the UK (aged 18 or over) will take part in a referendum on whether to stay part of the EU. But should we stay or should we go? Here are some of the facts that may help you understand this political hot potato…

To be part of the EU, a membership fee is required, which is distributed between EU countries. The UK pay around £8.5bn a year, and whilst this sounds like a lot, it actually only equates to around 7% percent of the NHS budget alone.

Being in the EU brings trade benefits; we avoid a lot of trade fees and make a lot of profit because we are part of a free economy. Many EU companies are invested in UK business and vice versa; this brings a lot of money into the UK, which helps us to maintain our position as a powerful and wealthy nation.

Furthermore, EU citizens are free to move from one member country to another and can therefore freely travel, study, work, or live in any European country of their choice. As well as this, more jobs have been generated for UK citizens as a result of being a member of the EU. Workers are protected and so there is greater equality across all EU member states.

But, some claim that being in the EU leaves us at a major disadvantage. Those who are anti-EU argue that being a member of the EU means we are legally obliged to let anyone from other EU countries live in the UK. They think this is a bad thing, which could lead to over-crowding – something, they claim, we have already seen in some major UK cities, which has led to an increase in house prices, as well as congestion on the roads.

Additionally, some argue that the ‘single currency’ poses a great problem – with the pound in a stronger position than the Euro, many UK citizens are fearful of being forced to adopt the Euro. However, this has not happened as yet and doesn’t seem likely to happen in the future, were we to stay a member of the European Union.

Whilst I have to acknowledge that I don’t know all the pros and cons, I believe that we should stay part of the EU, because I would be very worried about what a government, with complete autonomy over its own laws, could do. For me, the benefits outweigh the negatives and so, if I could, I would vote to stay in the EU, but what would you choose to do?

Being in the EU brings trade benefits; we avoid a lot of trade fees and make a lot of profit

I ’m Jack P, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, the story that attracted my attention

was this one about the mass slaughter of rhinos. It interested me because it’s something that isn’t changing and something needs to be done, so that we don’t end up with rhino extinction!

The mass slaughter of rhinos has continued for a 6th consecutive year with many fearing rhinos will only exist in strictly controlled captivity within 5-10 years. The figures make for dark reading as at least 1,338 of these greatly endangered creatures were killed last year, and 5940 since 2008 with scientists warning this figure could in fact be higher.

Despite efforts to stop poachers, they appear to be dedicated in their efforts to

hunt and kill the rhinos, even if that means taking the life of a human to achieve their goals. Roger Gower who was actually trying to save elephants, another target of the poachers’ guns, was killed when his helicopter was shot down by them.

Rhinos, like many other animals, are being hunted for money with rhino horns believed to fetch $60,000 (£40,500) per kilo on the black market. They are used in East Asian medicines and many people falsely believe they are a miracle cure.

Despite this sad news, there is more positive reading to come…

Poaching has slightly decreased in places like South Africa such as 1,215 in 2014 to 1,175 in 2015, where 80% of rhinos live. Dr Emslie of ‘IUCN’s African Rhino Specialist Group’, described the situation as squeezing a

balloon and said: “If you clamp down on poaching on the one side of the Kruger National Park beside the Mozambique border, then suddenly the balloon pops out a bit the other side and you can get more poaching. There’s a trend of poaching from different park to different park and also from one country to another so no individual country is safe and all need to be on their guard given the huge threat.”

Together, we can make a stand. Coordination between countries can turn things around, as it has proved to do so with other issues, but with so many competing world problems, will the plight of the rhinos end up at the bottom of a long “to do” list? If it does, the threat these magnificent creatures face from poachers will persist.

Mass Slaughter of Rhinos Article by Jack P

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Science, Space & Women

Eye Operation Restores Lens

I ’m Matthew W, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, the story that attracted my attention was this

one about a revolutionary eye operation. It interested me because it is a significant medical breakthrough that could potentially improve the quality of life of people with cataracts. About 20 million people are blind because of cataracts, which become more common with age - although some children are born with them.

Chinese scientists have discovered a way to fully regenerate the eye of children with cataracts. Almost half of all blinding diseases are caused by cataracts, which is a clouding of the lens.

The first trials have taken place on children, but trials of elderly patients look “very encouraging”. Medical experts have described this discovery as one of the finest achievements in medical history.

The procedure was a collaboration between scientists at the Sun Yat-sen University in China and the University of California in the USA. It saw the removal of the cloudy cataract from inside the lens via a tiny incision. The crucial part of the procedure is that it leaves the outer surface, called the lens capsule, intact. This structure is lined with lens epithelial stem cells, which normally repair damage. Scientists hope that preserving them would encourage regeneration of the the lens.

Dr Kang Zhang, one of the researchers, told the BBC: “This is the first time an entire lens has been regenerated. The children were operated on in China and they continue to be doing very well with normal vision.” Although, he added that more trials need to be done before it can be more widely used.

He told the BBC News website that getting similar results in adults “is likely to be more difficult to achieve” but could “have a major impact”.

This is just one of the many benefits of scientific research and could prove life-changing for people at threat from blindness, caused by cataracts, if further studies prove successful.

Article by Matthew W Article by Maria P

I ’m Maria P, one of the BBC School Reporters at AHS. Since it is Women’s

History Month, and I am interested in space and science, I went on to NASA’s webpage, and did a bit of research about what NASA is doing to celebrate this month, as well as International Women’s Day. I was interested to see what different roles women have taken on in NASA and how they have shaped space-related history, as well as what NASA is doing to promote women working within NASA and STEM related jobs.

March sees the celebration of Women’s History Month. It is a month that revels in and highlights the contributions of women to events in history and in the modern world.

As part of this month, NASA has created a series of web reports, highlighting accomplishments women have helped NASA make, including the roles and jobs they play within NASA. The women included in these reports serve as role models to young girls who want to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

One of the women identified as a trailblazer is Sally K, Ride…

Sally K. Ride was a pioneer of a different sort. The soft-spoken California physicist broke the gender barrier 29 years ago when she launched aboard space shuttle Challenger’s STS-7 mission on June 18, 1983 to become America’s first woman in space.

NASA’s website also highlights the different paths that women can chose to follow. This includes jobs in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and space, and also showcases the women working on Mars related projects, such as helping to build rovers that will be sent there to conduct scientific research!

The website also features articles and videos that show the work women do as part of their jobs. Log on to find out – I assure you, you won’t be disappointed! It also offers advice to young girls who want to have jobs in the future at NASA, or within other scientific industries.

For more information about Sally and the women who work at NASA and to learn more about their stories and jobs visit: www.nasa.gov/education/womenstem

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I ’m Yvie W-M, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, I visited one of our Primary Partner schools – Heworth CE – with my fellow reporters (Issy,

Stan and Tom) and interviewed some pupils there about their recent debate, regarding the use of mobile phones in schools. But, what did they think about this topical issue? Surprisingly, they had rather mixed opinions, but bowled us all over with their confidence, argumentative skills and the thorough research they had carried out. Read on, to find out more…

Firstly, we spoke to Isabella and Alice, who were both against the use of mobile phones in school. The girls agreed that: “phones shouldn’t be allowed in schools because they can distract people,

and you can be bullied because of them.” Alice further added: “I also think that you have to be careful with internet safety, because something that you don’t

want other people to see could get out.” A compelling argument indeed, as we know from recent stories in the media, how devastating the consequences of cyber bullying can be.

After that, we spoke to Ben and Ellis, who were both in favour of using mobile phones in school. They both agreed that using phones in schools would help with learning and researching over the internet: “it can help us with online learning, and we can complete tasks, which makes learning more fun.”

Interestingly, Ellis had been a member of the NO campaign, but had changed his mind over the course of his debating experience: “I was against, but then I looked at the convincing facts and saw that phones should be allowed.”

When asked what makes a convincing argument, the pupils agreed that: “you need to have a clear idea of what you are

Mobile Phones in SchoolArticle by Yvie W-M

Phones shouldn’t be allowed in schools because they can distract people

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saying, so you can argue your point. Using technical language to sound professional and staying on topic is also a must!”

The pupils were prepared to share their summaries with us, so we listened, as they described and argued their points to try and change their peers’ minds, as well as ours on the pros and

cons of using mobile phones in school. First up were Isabella and Ben, who were

both strong minded and clear in the delivery of their points. Ben argued that phones can be useful in supporting research in class: “everyone knows that having phones in school would make lessons more exciting, and help us to complete online class tasks and homework.” But Isabella argued back, saying that phones would bring trouble: “clearly, if everyone brought their own mobile phones to school, these would prove to be a target for thieves. Phones could go missing and school would get the blame.”

Next up were Alice and Ellis, whose summaries were extremely well written and cleverly structured. Ellis argued that having phones in schools would make it easier to revise: “everyone knows that phones would help a student if they needed to make notes for a certain topic. Obviously they could be used as a learning tool if used correctly.” However, Alice argued that phones bring distractions for pupils: “obviously phones should not be allowed into a classroom, because if a child goes on the internet in lessons, and finds something inappropriate, they will show their friends, which could cause upset. In addition, phones can be used to take embarrassing pictures of other pupils and sometimes, teachers too.”

So, after hearing both points of view, what do you think? I was inspired by the pupils, but I have to say that I’m mostly convinced by the arguments put forward by the girls. Mobile phones should not be used in schools, because they could lead to bullying, which has a damaging effect on students’ self-esteem and can, in very serious cases, result in disastrous consequences.

everyone knows that having phones in school would make lessons more exciting!

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World Book Day

Competition Time

I ’m Issy C, one of the BBC School Reporters, here at AHS. On ‘News Day’, a story I wanted to highlight was the

importance of reading, given that it was World Book Day on Thursday 3rd March. As an avid reader myself, I wanted to showcase the benefits of getting lost in a book…

So, why should we pick up a book instead of watching one more episode of our favourite TV show on Netflix? What can we benefit from reading?

With video streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime becoming more and more popular, with the average amount of Netflix content that is watched per day per subscriber resting at 1.8 hours, why should we turn off our devices and pick up a book?

As well as improved literacy skills there is also evidence suggesting that

there are actually many health benefits that can be gained from reading – you’re enjoying some of them right now!

New research from ‘The Reading Agency’ has found strong evidence that reading for pleasure can increase empathy, improve relationships with others, improve wellbeing throughout life and reduce the symptoms of depression and the risk of dementia. The research shows that mental stimulation is one of the factors that can delay the onset of dementia and reading appears among the top activities that can help to keep the brain active – something that is essential in preventing dementia and in the run up to tests and exams!

But reading isn’t just about acquiring health benefits - one of the main factors that

engages us as readers are the characters that we love, or love to hate! They help us to develop our own ideas and personalities as we compare our reactions and beliefs to those in the story. Many of our favourite characters stay with us for the rest of our lives, as proven by a poll done for World Book Day that showed how classic characters and their stories stay with us long after we put a particular book down. The poll also revealed that over half of our favourite characters are female heroines and villains – an important point of note given that it’s Women’s History Month! This may explain why Miss McDermott dressed up as Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ ‘Great Expectations’ and why Miss Wilde so very much enjoyed her time reading Polly Ho-Yen’s ‘Boy in the Tower’ to the Year 5 pupils at Lord Deramore’s recently, as well as listening to one of the pupils there: Andrew, read to her from one of his favourite books!

In celebration of World Book Day, the staff at AHS got dressed-up AGAIN as some of their favourite book characters in order to engage their students in conversation about all things book-related, but can you pick out who they were trying to emulate?

Article by Issy C

There are actually many health benefits that can be gained from reading

If you are in Year 5, 6, 7 or 8 and think you can write an article torival one of those written within our Newspaper then have a go!

Find a story that excites and inspires you and explain why, summarise it in your own words and email via your class/form teacher to: swilde@archbishopholgates.org by Friday 15th April.

The winning entry will win a £15 shopping voucher and will also appear in the next edition of Archie’s Newswatch.

win£15 shopping voucher