Turn off technology

A survey has found that children are spending too much time on the internet because of smartphones and tablets.

Many pupils are taking their gadgets to bed, stopping them from getting enough sleep.

To tackle this problem, the charity behind the survey has told children that they should turn off their devices more often, especially before bedtime.

• Do you think the charity was right to tell children how they should be using their phones and tablets? Why / why not?
• Why is it important for children to get plenty of sleep?
• If you could design an app that helped children use their phones and tablets less, how would it work? What would it look like on the screen?

I look forward to reading your thoughts on this - on paper or on screen!

 

Mrs Messa

Children don't care about winning or losing

Children don't care about winning or losing

(Based on the article by The Daily Telegraph)

Many children are more interested in playing than they aA survey of children's attitudes how you think or feel about somethingto sport has revealed that many boys and girls don't care about winning or losing.

 

'Playing for fun', 'being with friends', and 'getting time off lessons' seem to be more important reasons for getting involved.

 

Over three fifths of the 1000 children surveyed didn't mind the idea of competition being removed entirely from school sports, so long as they got to take part.

 

It turns out that competition is far more important to some parents than it is for their children.

 

What do you think?  Is it good to be competitive or are you not that bothered either?

Heritage Lottery Fund grant is the bees knees!

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has stepped in to help stop the serious decline in the country's bumblebee population. Today HLF announced a grant of £340,000 for an ambitious project by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, based at Stirling University, to conserve a variety of endangered bumblebee species and their habitats throughout the UK.

 

Bumblebees are fundamental to our ecosystem: hundreds of species of wildflower, fruits such as raspberries, strawberries and tomatoes and vegetables such as runner beans are dependent on them for pollination. The total value of pollination in the UK exceeds £400 million. However, over the last 70 years there has been a dramatic decrease in their population, with two species becoming totally extinct and six of the remaining 24 species now listed as UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) priority species.

 

A male Bombus subterraneus. This species is now extinct in the UK (Fiona Barclay).

 

HLF's grant will enable the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to begin a three-year conservation project, helping to protect the bumblebees and their habitat for the future. Working with landowners, farmers, the public and schools across the UK, the project will raise awareness of these important pollinators and help inform people on how best to protect them. Flower-rich habitat will be provided where it is needed most to reconnect the small isolated populations while a extensive awareness-raising programme, including an interactive website, community talks, learning packs for children, and a national wildlife self-assessment garden scheme, will be rolled out across the country.

 Your task
The heritage Lottery Fund is offering money to schools to support them in their bee conservation projects. Write a letter to the Heritage lottery fund explaining what we could do in our school to help the bees and how we would use any money we were given for the project. Remember to use : paragraphs, connectives, generalisers, scientific vocabulary