In international news, a dog which had been stuck on the ice since the 29th of February has been rescued from a frozen lake! The dog had ran away from other people who had tried to rescue him but this person succeeded. The dog was rescued by aircraft and is now safe!

By Georgia (Age 9)

Do French raps help you to learn French?

French can be a very hard subject so I wanted to know: can raps make it easier? I talked to Miss Said’s students to see if they thought that raps made French easier. They thought that it helped them to process French vocabulary, although they did say that they sometimes got the songs stuck in their heads! I asked them if they do rapping for any other subjects and they said that they have. My final question was if they preferred French raps to the normal methods of teaching and it was a resounding yes from all the students.

Miss Said told me that she doesn’t just use rapping in French, she also uses it in Spanish but has plans to use it in other subjects such as maths, science and geography, too. Finally, I got to see them perform and they were very good!

By William (Aged 11)

NHS leaders are warning that hospitals could end up over-crowded on Thursday as they struggle to release patients because of the junior doctor’s strike. The NHS managed to cope well on Wednesday, the first day of the strike, after the Doctor’s walkout from 08:00am. However, NHS England said the second day of the 48-hour walkout in England was expected to be more demanding. Over 5,000 operations had to be cancelled.

Emergency cover has been provided during the walkout, which ends on Friday morning. Consultants, nurses and midwives have all been working in hospital as normal. GP surgeries haven’t really been affected. On Wednesday over half the number of junior doctors expected to work did not turn up because of the strike. The latest walkout is the third, but the first to last 48 hours.

By Harry (Age 12).

Depression is a very deep and sensitive subject to most people. I’m sure most people will have experienced depression whether from a friend, family member or even yourself. Sometimes it can go so far that people self-harm or even take their own lives, as at the time it seemed a better option than life.  Doctors often prescribe antidepressants to help people with depression as they make them feel happier and help most people get back into a relatively normal life.

Lots of things can lead to depression. It can be a result of lots of stress or bad experiences. It can also run in families, but some people are just naturally prone to it. Whatever the cause is, 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health issue over the course of one year so if you are feeling down, you really aren’t on your own. Depression can happen to anyone, no matter who you are. It also affects people of different ages.

Depression is a real illness with real symptoms, and isn’t something you can just snap out of. Some people don’t understand this and can sometimes provoke depression if they don’t realise the symptoms in themselves or in someone else.

Here are some of the common symptoms:

• Sadness, hopelessness and low moods that last weeks at a time
• Getting very little or no enjoyment from life, particularly from things that you used to enjoy
• Lack of motivation, even for small everyday tasks
• Lack or loss of self-confidence and feelings of worthlessness
• Feelings of anxiety
• Poor memory, difficulty concentration, inability to sleep
• A change in appetite and weight loss or weight gain
• Loss of interest in friends, family, school, college or work

I think I’m depressed…

There are lots of ways to help you get better:

• Talk to someone you trust. It’s best to speak to your family if you can!
• Eat right: balanced, fresh, and most importantly green. Green veg may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it may help
• Exercise
• Quit alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and detox the mind. It’s time to think straight
• Most importantly, see your GP who’ll have lots of advice. They might also recommend you see a counsellor or therapist. These experts help us figure out what’s gone wrong, and how to put things right.

Remember you are not alone!

Georgina and Eve (Year 8)

On Monday night, the chantry Year 7 and 8 girls’ team participated in a football tournament. The team played three games against Newminster Middle School, Ponteland and Richard Coates.

For the first game they played very well but sadly Richard Coates got an early goal. However, Chantry’s defence and midfield made sure they didn’t get past again.

In the next game, Chantry played their rivals, Newminster! In the first half, Chantry were holding up well getting a lot of shots in and putting the Newminster goal keeper under a lot of pressure. In the second half, they played great, tackling every attacker and doing good strong passes up the pitch.

In the final game, Chantry didn’t let any attackers get a shot on goal and well deservedly got two fantastic goals! The team deserved a win and showed great resilience. They will hopefully be playing like this in the next game in a few weeks.

Ailidh D. (Year 7)

Donald Trump has won two more states on his march to be the Republican nomination for the White House. So the big question is: has he killed off Marco Rubio’s hopes of the white house?

Speaking to Marco he said, ‘The voting in Mississippi, Michigan, Idaho, and Hawaii don’t have the same importance as the other electoral dates in March. However, lessons can still be learnt from this.’ (BBC News)

Some of the European nations have expressed their thoughts on Trump. This picture, taken in Dusseldorf earlier this month, is what Germany think!

Harry J. (Year 8)

Ronnie O’sullivan has defended his controversial 146 break in his first round match of the Welsh Open against world number 82, Barry Pinches. O’sullivan, also known as the Rocket, said he could have made a maximum break of 147 but turned it down because the prize money for the highest break of £10,000 was ‘too cheap’. O’sullivan had potted 14 reds and 13 blacks before opting to go for the pink which stopped him from getting a 147.

Barry Hearn, the chairman of Snooker has criticized the player saying ‘it is unacceptable and disrespectful to the fans who pay money and dream of seeing a 147. The rocket had scored a break of 80 when he asked the official how much money he could get for the maximum. When he found out that it was only £10,000, he gave a disappointing look to the commentary box.

When he won his second round match by beating China’s Tian Pengfei, 4-0, he said he ‘was just having a bit of fun but would still like the money to go up’. He was then asked why he didn’t just give it to charity. He said it’s hard to make the 147 so you don’t think of charity. Ronnie will play Jimmy Robertson in the third round of the Welsh Open.

Harry J. (Year 8)