Area 6 : News & Views

LATEST SITE NEWS

25th August 2005: Guestbook entries: We've recently been contacted by Latha at SLSCO-FLAME, to update us on their activities in Sri Lanka since the Tsunami. As you'll know from other entries further down this News page (eg see 10th May 2005), all the huge amounts of national donations from countries across the world didn't in fact reach everyone who needed help ..... and SLSCO-FLAME are asking for people to sponsor a single child's education and ongoing basic needs for just Ł5 a month - see her letter here for more details.

We've also heard again from Benedict Xavier of St. Teresa's School in Chennai (original guestbook entry here) - St. Teresa's (now separate from the Lavender School) is struggling for survival and any financial help anyone can send would be very much appreciated. Donation details (and a contact e-mail address for Benedict X.) are shown on the St. Teresa's Guestbook entry. The photo here is of Michael Tipper's visit in 2001 to St. Teresa's, which he described as "a single-storey stone building with two classrooms and a corrugated tin roof. A couple of outbuildings house a storeroom that also doubles up as a classroom, the night watchman's hut, the toilets and the well."

15th August 2005: Andy's Guide to Pokémon This area of the site is receiving a phenomenal level of visits just now! it's always busy but the level of page views over the last week has been extraordinary. Given that it *is* the summer holidays (and that the academic areas of the site can wait just a little bit longer) we'll be focussing on Andy's Guide till the end of August probably - lots of interlinking to do, to bring all the aspects of the various Pokémon games together, plus a great many new e-mails in hand here for the Cheats, Tips & Shortcuts area ....

On the "academic" side, though, things are progressing well on the "Any Language to English" area ..... we have the first half of the Spanish vocabulary (for 200-ish free English-Spanish-English worksheets), which will be going to Vanina and Katherine for checking shortly; the Finnish vocabulary is progressing well and so is the Russian, and Steve has now been able to start the Italian.

However we urgently need someone (a language professional or someone who is completely bi-lingual) to check the Russian/English vocabulary when completed. Can any of you help? We will also need a checker for the Italian/English vocabulary in due course (we now have an offer on the Finnish checking) but it's the Russian vocabulary which will need to be checked first.

If any of you can help (or know anyone who can!) please do get in touch. The Translators' page gives an overview of languages in progress so far and what other help is needed. These free worksheets can help not only children in Iraq (see the main Any Language to English [ALTE] page) but also kids anywhere in the world who need to learn English or any of the languages being offered (all ALTE worksheets can be used for testing to and from both the languages on any given page).

6th August 2005: FRENCH WORKSHEETS Our thanks again to Rita for checking three further vocabulary categories - "when", "where" and "how". 15 more free worksheets on line [click here] ..... and only three sets of worksheets now left to check - "office", "IR verbs" and "RE verbs". The verb "overview" pages still need some work, but after that we should be able to upload "Wall-to-Wall French" ..... hopefully some time in September/October.

1st August 2005: FRENCH/ENGLISH WORKSHEETS We're delighted to say that 20 more French worksheets have now gone on line - those for "countries and nationalities", "eyes and ears" and "expressions, greetings, ways to ask". Our thanks to Rita for the very-many hours spent checking the content of all these worksheets .... well over 700 on line now and less than 10% remaining. The French grammar pages will be progressed at some later date ....

21st July 2005: ANY LANGUAGE TO ENGLISH Our thanks to Wendamuni N. Appuhamy, UK, for kindly offering to translate both the verbs and vocabulary worksheet content into Singhalese. This means we have NINE languages offered so far .... see the translators page here for details of other languages still "available" and the main "Any Language to English" page for background info and links to all the immediate-use worksheets.

16th July 2005: HARRY POTTER and the HALF-BLOOD PRINCE On a somewhat lighter note, publication day for the "new Harry Potter book" has finally arrived ..... like many of you we went out at midnight last night to get a copy! and our first review is now on line here (click then scroll down a little).

11th July 2005: Thank You

Our thanks to the many people who have written from across the world. Our prayers are with those who are still awaiting news of missing family and friends.

When you dip into the new Harry Potter Book on 16th July 2005 there will probably be a mention of Platform nine-and-three-quarters - at King's Cross Station in London. Spare a thought for the many people who have lost their lives near King's Cross Station this past week - the station all three of the bombed trains had passed through. News sources are reporting that it is likely the terrorists assembled at Kings Cross before going off in separate directions with their bombs.

At a time when the human race is beginning to work *together* to make life easier for the less fortunate, it is incomprehensible to us that warped individuals should wish to indiscriminately harm the people of all nations and religions who live together in peace and harmony in London. England's capital is living proof that people of all races and belief systems can live and work together in a free, tolerant and vibrant city.

Please pray for London and the ongoing safety and security of all who live, work and visit here - and for the protection of all such free and just societies worldwide.

7th July 2005: TERRORIST ATTACKS

Many of you will know that London has today been attacked by terrorists. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people injured or killed, and their families and friends.

A massive planned "emergency response" is already in operation and Tony Blair is returning to London from the G8 summit in Gleneagles.

Further up-to-the-minute news from BBC News here.

Yesterday London - and the whole of England and the rest of the United Kingdom - were celebrating the success of London hosting the 2012 Olympics.

Today is a sombre day in London's history ..... but the British people stand together to condemn terrorism and to defend the way of life - and the freedom - that we believe in.

Prayers for London and all who live and work in London, will be appreciated :)

3rd July 2005: The LIVE8 concerts yesterday were *wonderful* - for any of you that didn't see them, there's a BBC News report here. For us the most touching moment was seeing Madonna on stage with the now-grown-up beautiful Birhan Woldu, one of the starving children helped because of the original Live Aid concert 20 years ago.

Pink Floyd were together again after 24 years - an unforgettable experience - to add their voices to those calling for help for the poorest countries. All the "big names" were there, along with 200,000 people in Hyde Park in London ..... let alone the other bands and audiences of hundreds of thousands more people, at LIVE8 concerts across the world. Not to mention the estimated half a BILLION people who watched the concerts on television .....

The G8 Summit meets this week to decide the fate of the world's poorest nations. As Paul McCartney commented at the LIVE8 concert: "Everybody who's come along today has come for the right reason. We hope that the people, the heads of G8, are listening hard. They can't avoid this, they cannot have missed it."

The *people* in the world's richest countries have spoken. Now it's up to the G8 leaders - the elected representatives of those people - to take the right action. As Bob Geldof has commented: "We will not applaud half-measures, or politics as usual - this must be a historic breakthrough."

Nelson Mandela's address in Johannesburg put across the message of LIVE8 in a way that left no room for misunderstandings:

"So much of our common future will depend on the actions and plans of these leaders. They have a historic opportunity to open the door to hope and the possibility of a better future for all."

"Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice. It is a protection of a fundamental human right."

"History and the generations to come will judge our leaders by the decisions they make in the coming weeks. I say to all those leaders, do not look the other way. Do not hesitate. We ask our leaders to demonstrate commitment, not engage in hollow promises. It is within your power to avoid a genocide of humanity."

"Sometimes it falls upon on a generation to be great. You be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity against which I ask all humanity now to rise up."

24th June 2005: As a lot of you will be aware, we've now completed the huge task of adding all the new cheats, tips and shortcuts to Andy's Guide to Pokémon. Thanks for all the e-mails since! Lots of interlinking still to do :) but we'll get back to this in due course.

Meanwhile we're currently working on Sol's Guide to Harry Potter ..... not scheduled to have been worked on until later in the year, but we have *finally* worked out (nearly five years after we started this area!) how to add the information more swiftly, which has required a degree of restructuring :) Keywords for three new chapters (Book 1 - 7, 8 and 9) have already been added! but we'll probably tackle the interlinking of characters, locations, items, magic and spells, creatures etc. after the chapter pages for each individual book are completed.

It's a long task! but worth it as it will enable people, especially younger children, to *find* things more easily and track back on everything that has happened in the first five books. We're looking forward to book 6, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", on 16th July 2005 ....

11th June 2005: Delightful news just in, that US $40 BILLION of debt owed by the world's poorest nations, is to be WRITTEN OFF immediately (see BBC News reports here and here). See the paragraphs below for links to the Live8 concerts information. Live8 wants trade doubled *and* fair trade laws for the poorest countries, in addition to their debts being written off, so there's some way to go, yet ....

9th June 2005: As you'll see from today's headline graphic, more mountain climbers are urgently needed for Water Aid's Munro Challenge on Saturday 11th June 2005. 2.6 *billion* people (more than one third of the earth's total population) don't even have a toilet - and Water Aid are working to help the poorest people get the water they need.

The Live 8 concerts are being held to draw attention to the need to help the poorest countries [the "Make Poverty History" campaign], before the G8 summit of world leaders on 6th-8th July 2005 at Gleneagles, in Scotland, being hosted by Tony Blair who will hold the presidency of the European Union (EU) from July to December 2005.

The Live 8 Concerts are taking place on 2nd July 2005 - in the UK: Hyde Park, London; France: Palais de Versailles, Paris; Germany: Brandenberg Gate, Berlin; Italy: Circus Maximus, Rome; USA: Museum of Art, Philadelphia - for more details see the concerts page, and for info on tickets to the London event (you can't *buy* tickets) click here. Details will apparently be available on attending the France, Germany, Italy and USA Live8 Concerts, from that page in due course.

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1st June 2005: We're delighted to say that Project HappyChild News for June 2005 is now on line :) It's longer than anticipated ... but then there's been a lot happening here recently! Those of you who haven't been with the site since the beginning, might be interested to see what one of our very early pages looked like, back in September 1998 ....

31st May 2005: ISLANDS A-Z: And finally! the new area for Islands across the world is now on line, listing just-about-everywhere our visitors might live. Still more islands to add, but 2000+ listed already! and we have lots more links to add to the existing ones, over the weeks and months ahead. See the index page for details - and ask your school to make contact with a school on an island a long way away .....

"Islands A-Z" was the last major "home" area we needed to start work on ..... and now that the preliminary work is done, we'll be focussing on getting all the new cheats, tips and shortcuts on line at Andy's Guide to Pokémon as well as completing the grammar pages for the French area and completing the pagebuilding for Spellings, Sounds and Meanings. It's going to be a busy summer! and we'll send out a Newsletter to bring everything up to date, as soon as there's some time somewhere :)

23rd May 2005: COUNTRIES A-Z: Thanks for all the e-mails! and in response to requests, we have *finally* put up a huge table with *all* the countries, colour-coded by continent and geographical area. It's now on line on the main index page here.

23rd May 2005: FRENCH WORKSHEETS: More of the free French worksheets are now on line, in categories ranging from "hair" to "face, skin, makeup, cleansing". Links to all 750+ French worksheets so far on line from the main French index page here.

19th May 2005: COUNTRIES A-Z: We're delighted to say that the huge "countries" index is now in place, linking together geographically not only the "schools" and "projects helping kids" areas of the site here, country statistics (CIA world factbook), and area maps, but also identifying country internet codes, dialling codes, and languages spoken (interlinked with the growing area here for free translation worksheets).

You don't just get to find out the "currency" used in any given country .... there are links to actual pictures of the relevant banknotes going back over many years (so for countries which have recently adopted the "euro" you can still find pictures of francs, deutschmarks, guilders ....) As the saying goes, "He who disregards history, forfeits perspective ....."

10th May 2005: TSUNAMI AFTERMATH: We are finding it a little disconcerting that despite untold millions of pounds being given by individuals in the appeals after the tsunami devastation, this aid has apparently failed to get through at *all* to some of the worst-hit areas.

We have just heard back from East Coast RDT (who provided some more info that has now been added to the Newsletter), that none of these donations have reached their area of Tamilnadu; and as far as we know none reached Bethany Children's Home in Tamilnadu either (the home is run by a former priest and was struggling to cope even before it took in survivors from the disaster).

We have also been approached by Gwalior Children's Hospital, set up by Dr. BK Sharma, a paediatric surgeon currently working in the British NHS (see their "about us" page). After the tsunami they helped *18,000* people in the Tamilnadu area (see mobile hospital) yet Dr. Sharma's "blog" says: "We have very limited resources and funds .... as our Tsunami appeal was not very successful and our applications for grants from big organisations have fallen on deaf ears so far."

If any companies or individuals reading this page can spare any money to help any of these three desperate organizations, please contact them direct (all linked details have e-mail addresses, or e-mail us here if you have any trouble contacting them). We *know* many of you will *already* have given to your own country's co-ordinated national appeal, and generously ..... but clearly funds have failed to actually reach some areas - and they need your help *now*.

9th May 2005: FREE MATHS RESOURCES: As most of you will know, the free maths worksheets on the site here were created initially because we couldn't *find* free maths resources that would help kids to learn the basics - addition, subtraction, times tables, division, fractions and percentages. Judging by the visit levels to our on-line worksheets, these have fulfilled a very real need across the world ..... but we were keenly aware that resources were also needed for teaching beyond that level. Well-laid out, comprehensive worksheets that explained every progressive stage of Maths right up to GCSE stage.

So we're delighted to say there *is* such a resource! and it's *free*. Our thanks to Kaiya Williams who found the address and sent it in to us. *Complete* teaching guides and worksheets/workbooks from Year 1 through to GCSE ..... select the relevant key stage on our Free Maths Resources page here.

8th May 2005: FRENCH WORKSHEETS: More of the free French worksheets are now on line, in categories ranging from parts of the body to jewellery, gems and metals. Links to the new worksheets from the main French index page here.

7th May 2005: RISK ASSESSMENT WORKSHOPS: We've been forwarded some info by PlayLink on their "No Risk, No Play" seminar on 5th July, see details here; and their 14th June event, "We will explore the reasons why too many local authorities are directing resources to providing less than best possible play opportunities for children. The discussions will, for example, analyse and address concerns about potential negligence claims and parental complaint" (text extracted from their site) will be of interest to many senior decision-makers - details on line here.

7th May 2005: SCHOOLS INTERCHANGE: Thanks go to K Steer at Bridgewater High School for sending in a link to Warrington Schools on line. These have now been linked from the "Schools in the British Isles" page at Schools Interchange (scroll down that page to England - Cheshire).

1st May 2005: ANY LANGUAGE TO ENGLISH: Our thanks to Rashid, in England, who has offered to translate the English worksheets content (both verbs and vocabulary) into Bengali, to provide 800+ English-Bengali and Bengali-English worksheets. Oksana has now started work on the English to Russian and Cindy has started work on the English to Finnish - our thanks to all the people who are working so hard to create all the free worksheets :) We've updated the Translators' page here.

NEWSLETTERS - this website has been on line since 1998 - there have been a lot of Newsletters! The archive is here and the very last Newsletter is here.