ISSUe 285 - First News

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FirstNews Issue 285 18 – 24 november 2011
FIRST NEWS HEADLINES
Rainbow Warrior
3 sets sail!
by Natalie Curtis
Environmental charity
Greenpeace has launched its
brand new ship, the Rainbow
Warrior III.
This week, the vessel made its maiden
voyage up the River Thames in London.
Thom Yorke from the band Radiohead
and Damon Albarn from Gorillaz
were on board.
The new Rainbow Warrior is one of the
most environmentally-friendly ships
ever made. The ship and its crew sail
the world, protecting the environment
and campaigning on green issues, like
climate change.
Greenpeace says the ship runs mostly
on wind power. It moves as fast as most
other ships its size, with action boats that
can be deployed in minutes – even in
waves up to 3.5 metres high! The Warrior
does have electric engines to help out
when it’s not windy enough, but the heat
from the engines is also used to heat
water on the ship and warm the cabins.
The ship has a helicopter landing pad
on board too, so Greenpeace can keep an
‘eye in the sky’. This helps them to spot
activities that damage the environment,
like illegal fishing and logging.
The Rainbow Warrior 3 replaces the old
Rainbow Warrior 2, which has been turned
into a hospital in Bangladesh.
For more headline news, pictures and videos go to www.firstnews.co.uk/news
Takeover!
Caprice, left, and Naomi chat to Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister
two schoolgirls got a glimpse into how the Government works this week, as part of the national Takeover Day.
Naomi Mwakamowo, 15, and Caprice
Duberry, 14, wandered around the corridors
of the Cabinet Office in London and chatted
to Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister,
about how the Government communicates
with young people.
Takeover Day is organised by the Children’s
Commissioner and lets thousands of young
people get a taste of working life. As well as
seeing behind the scenes, they also get to
give their opinions on how things are run.
by Ian Eddy
This year was the fifth year that the scheme
has been running, and organisers hoped that
around 50,000 kids would take part.
“There needs to be better communication
between young people and politicians,”
said Naomi. “Young people should be more
involved in politics.”
“I’m interested in politics because I don’t
like the way things are run right now,” said
Caprice. “So if I have my views, I can change
what I think has gone wrong.”
Naomi and Caprice both think that a youth
panel could help to provide a link between
the Government and young people.
“They are making our decisions,” said
Naomi, “and all we need to do to make it a
good relationship is to communicate. There
are a lot of things that the Government does
that are really good, but we just don’t know
about it.”
First ever Dance Proms
THE first ever Dance Proms took place at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday.
There were just 25 acts performing, selected
from 300 entries across the UK. I was lucky enough
to be one of the dancers and performed a song
and dance number called Dirty Laundry, along
with other dancers from Julie Sianne Theatre Arts
in Byfleet, Surrey. Unbelievably, two acts from our
Dirty Laundry
dance school were chosen to perform and some
of our younger girls danced a number called
The Circus.
Dance Proms was organised by the UK’s leading
dance organisations to celebrate dance in all
its forms and the unique relationship between
students and their dance teachers.
Entries were submitted online by video and were
judged by a panel, including experts from all three
dance organisations.
We rehearsed all day, with the show beginning at
7pm. It felt amazing to perform in a world-famous
by Bethany Cox, 15, from
Julie Sianne Theatre Arts
venue. Nothing prepared me for the grandeur and
atmosphere of the Royal Albert Hall.
Afterwards I spoke to Dance Proms patron,
Wayne Sleep. He said: “Dance Proms is a wonderful
idea because it brings
schools together from all
over the UK. It promotes
dance. It makes it more
popular and that’s what
we’re here to do – to get
more people interested
Me with Wayne Sleep
in dance.”
The Circus outside the Royal Albert Hall
Have a party at your school
…and win a Nintendo Wii, Legoland tickets, a box of books and a
free First News for a year!
First News is pleased to support the charity
PiggyBankKids, which helps children of all
ages, from tiny babies to young people, who’ve
had a tough start in life. We’d like you to hold a
party as soon as you can to raise money for this
brilliant charity.
LEGO, the LEGO logo and
LEGOLAND are trademarks of
the LEGO Group ©2011 The LEGO
www.LEGOLAND.co.uk
The founder and president of PiggyBankKids is Sarah Brown, the wife of former Prime
Minister, Gordon Brown. All you need to do to take part is take this page to your teacher
and ask if you can have a piggy bank party at school! Ask everyone who comes to make
a £2 donation to the charity (see details below). Or invite your friends to a house party if
you’re not allowed one at school.
You can make a piggy bank too
Why not make a piggy bank to collect the money you raise? Send in a
picture of your piggy bank to info@piggybankkids.org and it will be entered
into a competition that will be judged by a panel of celebrities: Sarah Brown,
First News editor Nicky Cox, James Corden, Katy Brand, teenage fundraiser
Callum Fairhurst, Alesha Dixon and David Tennant. The top three entries will
receive tickets for a family day out at LEGOLAND® in 2012. The overall winner
will also receive: a Nintendo Wii, a box of books from Random House Children’s
Books for their school, suitable for the age of the winner, and a subscription to
First News.
You’ll find instructions on how to make a papier-mâché piggy bank on our website,
www.firstnews.co.uk. Feel free to make a piggy bank any way you like, though!
With thanks
to firstnews.
co.uk reader,
Laurakat1
All you need to do is hold a party and ask for a £2 donation from each friend who comes. Pay in
the money you raise online at: www.piggybankkids.org/donate. Or you can pay in your donations
at any branch of Lloyds TSB Bank plc, using the following details. Bank: Lloyds TSB Bank plc.
Branch: High Holborn. Account name: PiggyBankKids. Registered charity number: 1092312. Sort
code: 30 94 25. Account number: 0831196