8 million tons of plastic enter the oceans every year.

1 Plastic bag stays in the sea for 20 years.

1 styrofoam cup stays in the sea for 50 years.

1 plastic bottle stays in the sea for 450 years.

Imagine what it’ll be like to be unable to live on this planet.

Because of pollution, especially microplastic pollution, that image in your head is becoming a reality.

We can stop this happening. Over 40 companies have signed up to a initiative to try cut plastic pollution.

We interviewed 5 members of staff and 1 class and here are our results:

Mr Arries, our caretaker said, ”plastic pollution is disgusting and devastating.”

A teacher at Chantry Middle said, ”I try to reduce the amount of plastic pollution as much as I can.”  

Mr Ord said, “ those statistics make me devastated.”

Mrs irving said, ”when I was in the Cape Verde Islands, plastic was everywhere.”

Mr Story said, ”I hate it, especially when beaches are covered in bottles.”

7Y said that they are 100% against pollution.

Pollution results in some upsetting statistics.  Over the last 50 years, the Flesh footed Shearwater population has dropped by 30% and plastic is a major cause of their decline. How does plastic kill? The bird swallows the microplastic because algae growing on discarded plastic releases a scent which hungry birds mistake for lunch. One island in the Tasman Sea is home to 30-40 thousand nesting birds, all of which are at risk.    

By Evan and Charlotte, Y7

Photo credit by getty images

Mental health issues affect 1 in 8 young people (5-19 years of age). Mental Health issues come in many forms but it is easy to hide because it isn’t a physical illness, it can’t be prevented however there are ways to control it. Mental health issues have increased a lot in the past 5 years and they had a massive impact on young people.

There are common and rare mental illnesses; the rarest mental illnesses are: stendhal syndrome, apotemnophilia, alien hand syndrome, capgras syndrome, Alice in Wonderland syndrome. Yet the most common mental illnesses found in young children are depression, anxiety, eating disorder, panic attacks, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, stress, sleeping disorder and suicidal feelings. You can’t completely prevent mental illness, however there are ways to control it.

Young people get anxious from exams, speaking in public, going to school, staying at a friend’s house or trying new things. Mental illness can be caused by an early loss of an important person such as a family member. There are many triggers that start mental illness and some can be more extreme than others, but the hardest part of mental illness is dealing with it and telling their loved ones. Not everyone understands how difficult mental health conditions are. The least people can do is to not make a big deal about it.

We interviewed a counsellor in our school and she told us what she could do. We asked her if she thinks mental health is a massive issue in young people and she told us that it is and it needs to be dealt correctly. She helps people by listening to their problems and see if she can help them find their own solutions or offer her to help them. She mostly comes across worries, anxiety, peer pressure, friendship issues and fitting in. She told us about how not every school takes mental health seriously and they don’t understand how worrying it can be but is honoured to be a part of helping people. If you can sort it out at a young age there is less of a chance that they will struggle with it as an adult.

By Gabrielle and Emily, Year 7

Pictures provided by Royal Mail PA

Letters seem to be going out of fashion but were originally a  primary way to contact someone. They all have one thing in common – a little sticky rectangle that can travel the world but stay in one corner.

I took a quick vote from 10 people in my class and 80% of them said that they had not sent a letter in the last month and almost all of them said that they texted instead!

These little things have quite a history. They were created by Rowland Hill and first used in 1840 and since then have become works of art.

Our ordinary stamps are very common but special stamps only pop up 2 in every 500 stamps! After 179 years of use Royal Mail has decided to release stamps featuring Marvel superheroes like Iron Man, Spider Man and Peggy Carter!

By Victoria, 7S

You wouldn’t be ridiculed for thinking Hello Kitty was a cat; she looks just like one, and Kitty is in her name However, apparently she’s actually a British schoolgirl who lives just outside London with her twin sister Mimmy. She walks on all fours and sits like a human, her creators Sanrio say. They also have stated that many of her fans don’t know that she is a human and they ‘don’t care’.

Hello Kitty actually has a cat of her own called Charmmy Kitty. She’s British because the creators claim in the 1970s when she was made Japanese women and girls were fascinated by our country.

By Izzy, Y7

The Olympic Games are returning in 2020 and this time they’re heading to the metropolitan capital of Japan: Tokyo.

The old stadium, which was used for music and sports events, was destroyed in May 2015, and the new stadium, dubbed the New National Stadium, is under construction now. It is scheduled to be complete in November 2019 and will cost 150 billion yen (£825m) to build.

There will be a ban on smoking and vaping at the games and the medals will be made from electronic waste! The theme for the torch relay this year is ‘Hope Lights Our Way’. It will go through all 47 prefectures (sort of like counties) of Japan, starting in Fukushima (the centre of the country). The relay starts on 26th March 2019.

There will also be a focus on sustainability during the games, like the medals being made from old phones and promoting a ‘zero wasting’ future.

These games are said to be the most innovative yet!

By Izzy, Year 7

Recently Mattel has announced a new 2019 Barbie Fashionista line, including dolls with prosthetic limbs and dolls in wheelchairs in order to include diversity. The Barbies will be available in June to mark Barbie’s 60th birthday.

Mattel has already released taller and shorter dolls with more curves in response to complaints that young girls were starting to feel ashamed of their bodies when compared to Barbie’s so-called ‘perfect body and hair.’ There have even been cases of children manually removing limbs from their dolls to make them more like themselves.

Mattel is also introducing more male dolls to join Ryan and Ken and a line of dolls based on female role models such as Frida Kahlo.

By Sophie and Eva, Y7

How Shrove Tuesday began:

Right back in the 16th century people just decided that a good way to use  ingredients such as eggs, milk and sugar was to turn them into a sweet treat we now know as pancakes, which had to be all eaten up before the religious event called Lent. Shrove Tuesday is celebrated in many different ways, some countries represent it by feasting on pancakes while others celebrate it in bigger things like carnivals. One that is widely known is Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday) begins on or after the Christian feast of the Epiphany.   

Why we celebrate Lent and Ash Wednesday:

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is the 40 days and 40 nights that lead up to Easter. This time is spent fasting to mark the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on his journey through the desert for 40 days! Back in the 16th century people would give up their favourite foods for lent such as eggs, milk and sugar. Christians also believe that this time is used to reflect and say sorry for their sins and bad choices. On Ash Wednesday, Christians go to church and get ash crosses on their heads to represent Jesus.

We went around our school and asked what some of the teachers and students were giving up for Lent. Here are some of the answers we found out…

Miss Falkingham is giving up pizza and bread. Katie is giving up sweets. Freya is giving up crisps. Adam is giving up coco pops. Rezwan is giving up cheerios. Miss L Larsen is giving up cheese. Maddy is giving up chocolate.

We wish them lots of luck in what we are sure will be a challenging 40 days!  

By Maddy and Freya, Year 7

With everyone taking their part we can put an end to plastic pollution so become a global citizen today and help us save the world.

As it may have already been brought to your attention, our planet is dying from plastic pollution.

Plastic pollution is a man made problem but it’s affecting almost everything living. 12 million tonnes of various plastic debris are thrown into the ocean every year resulting in as many as 700 species of marine animals going extinct in the near future.  In June 2018, a beached pilot whale was found with more than 80 plastic bags inside its body.

The main problem is plastic will never decompose as it is a non-biodegradable material. Instead of decomposing, plastic turns into small pellets also known as microfibres  which fish can ingest and if we them proceed to eat those fish we would then have plastic in our system.

Millions of bottles are bought world wide every minute and only 9% are recycled;  the worst part is the majority of the recycled plastics made into clothing like vests which, when washed, release over 700,000 microfibres which, again, lead to fish eating them.

Although it may seem impossible to even try reduce your plastic use, since the 5p charge was emplaced 9 million less plastic bags ended up in the ocean.  In addition to buying a bag for life, there’s more you can do to help, such as: putting litter in the right bins and picking up all the plastic you can. It may only be a little but it still counts. Also, you could stop buying heavily packaged drinks, try not to get take away in plastic containers, see if you could use your own reusable container. Finally, don’t be afraid to challenge someone about littering- see if you can change their mind!

Now that’s what you can do to help but what can we do in school. Well in our school we’ve begun having meetings every Monday to discuss the problem. In those meeting we’ve realised that we need to replace the plastic straws and plastic cups and we’ve been doing regular litter picks around school.

We interviewed a few teachers from our school about the problem and this is what we found out…

Us: So how do you feel about pollution problems in the world?

Teacher: Devastated that humans have created this problem and we should all do our part to help.

Us: Do you believe we can put an end to plastic pollution?

Teacher: Yes but we need to get the word out there so bigger companies see the importance of it.

Us: Why do you think that people have just started to care?

Teacher: I think we have realised too late to the point where it is almost a rush to save our planet.

Us: Finally what are you doing to help?

Teacher: Both teachers said that they had started to recycle and one teacher’s class had even made an amazing recycled project (see images).

By Mary and Alexandra, Year 7

International Women’s Day is a day all around the world in honour of all the suffragettes who died just for women’s rights; it is celebrated on 8th March. The day celebrates extraordinary women from around the world. One famous suffragette, Emily Wilding Davison, died aged 41 in 1913 from trying to pin a vote for women badge onto the King’s racing horse.  We interviewed Miss Piper to find out more:

How are you getting students involved with international women’s day this year?

We are planning to decorate the school with posters banners messages about women.We want to raise awareness about women’s equality.

Why is International Women’s Day important to you?

It’s just really important to celebrate strong women and have more female role-models.

What do you think might happen in the future for women’s days?

I think that women’s rights will continuously grow more. I think that in the future women will be seen more as equals.

If all the women were equal to men do you think there should still be an International Women’s Day and why?

That’s a good question. Even if we are just as equal as men we still need to celebrate both genders.

If women never got the vote and suffragettes still existed would you be one?

Definitely!

What would you say to children who are interested in women’s rights?

I would tell them to get involved and speak with passion and pride.

And finally, what’s your overall opinion on International Women’s Day?”

I feel really positive. Works of important people should be known to us. I think there will be an era of change for women.

By Jason and April, Year 7