From Niki Micallef, 13, of Balzan
Dear Junior News, school's started and at De La Salle College the Christmas tests have soon arrived. So, as in Form 3, we have 14 different subjects (as we choose in Form 4). I started studying. I was exhausted so I decided to take a five-minute break. As I found it not worth it to play PS3, I went in the kitchen to see the newspaper - boring until...I arrived at the middle pages, Junior News!
I read Hooray For Hollywood, which brought me back many memories of when I went to America. Then on the back page I saw the Take a Byte competition. As I saw Ratchet and Clank on PS3 was up for grabs, I decided to participate. Bye, bye studying, I'm going to take part! So here goes.
What is a Ratchet? Answer: Well a ratchet may be many things, a mechanical device for controlling rotational motion, a tool that makes use of the above mechanical device, a music instrument, a fictional character from the Ratchet & Clank video game series, fictional character and the villain in the animation film Robots, a Transformers toy and fictional character, a town in the online game World Of War craft, a Fictional character from the ecological cartoon series Widget The World Watcher, a fictional character from the novel and film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Nurse Ratchet also a fictional character from an episode of the animated series Futurism, a slang term for a handgun; notably in rap music and, originating in New York City, the hounds of Anon in British mythology, a mechanism in corporate finance. Ratcheting is a constitutive behaviour of many materials, Quantum stirring, ratchets and pumping, in physics, Brownian ratchet, in physics and last but not least Muller's ratchet, in genetics. Well you may have became bored of reading this long list but it's interesting that ratchet means all these things. Thanks for your great paper.
Well, what can we say Niki? This must be the most comprehensively researched competition answer we have ever received! And, as we do when we have especially interesting answers, comments, or even pictures with competition entries, we're printing it for everyone to enjoy. And also to prove that a break from studying is good for you, both as a way to relax for a little while and as a way to learn something extra too!
From Mandy Camilleri, nine, of Sliema
Dear Junior News, a few months ago I went shopping with my auntie. When we were at the greengrocer and my auntie was being served, a woman came into the shop and asked the shopkeeper to kill the last rabbit that he had left, so that when my auntie finished her shopping the shopkeeper would skin the rabbit.
So the shopkeeper took the rabbit out of a wooden box by his ears and was going to kill it. The rabbit was very afraid. He must have known that he was going to get killed, just like all the other rabbits that were killed before him.
But my auntie shouted: "No!" She told the man that he should be ashamed of himself to kill a rabbit in front of me. My auntie told the shopkeeper that since she was there before the woman who wanted the rabbit, she wanted to buy the rabbit herself.
My auntie named the rabbit Smokey. He is very happy with my auntie because he knows that she loves him and will not hurt him.
I cannot understand how someone can be so cruel as to kill such a lovely creature as a rabbit. At least Smokey's life has been saved.
What a lot your letter says, Mandy. First, we have you and your auntie shopping. Then we have someone, in such a hurry for what she wants and not thinking about how or where she gets it. There are no words to waste on the shopkeeper. If he thinks that's normal behaviour it would have been useless trying to explain anything to him! But your wise, clever auntie knew exactly what to do. And now we have lucky Smokey in a good home, which is a happy ending.
And you've won a Lm5 voucher and VIP Toyland's discount card for sending this week's star letter.
• The sender of the star letter each week will receive a Lm5 voucher to exchange and a VIP 10 per cent disocunt card for all toys at Toyland for a whole year!
• Send your letters, together with your full name. age and address to Junior News.
Dear Junior News, school's started and at De La Salle College the Christmas tests have soon arrived. So, as in Form 3, we have 14 different subjects (as we choose in Form 4). I started studying. I was exhausted so I decided to take a five-minute break. As I found it not worth it to play PS3, I went in the kitchen to see the newspaper - boring until...I arrived at the middle pages, Junior News!
I read Hooray For Hollywood, which brought me back many memories of when I went to America. Then on the back page I saw the Take a Byte competition. As I saw Ratchet and Clank on PS3 was up for grabs, I decided to participate. Bye, bye studying, I'm going to take part! So here goes.
What is a Ratchet? Answer: Well a ratchet may be many things, a mechanical device for controlling rotational motion, a tool that makes use of the above mechanical device, a music instrument, a fictional character from the Ratchet & Clank video game series, fictional character and the villain in the animation film Robots, a Transformers toy and fictional character, a town in the online game World Of War craft, a Fictional character from the ecological cartoon series Widget The World Watcher, a fictional character from the novel and film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Nurse Ratchet also a fictional character from an episode of the animated series Futurism, a slang term for a handgun; notably in rap music and, originating in New York City, the hounds of Anon in British mythology, a mechanism in corporate finance. Ratcheting is a constitutive behaviour of many materials, Quantum stirring, ratchets and pumping, in physics, Brownian ratchet, in physics and last but not least Muller's ratchet, in genetics. Well you may have became bored of reading this long list but it's interesting that ratchet means all these things. Thanks for your great paper.
Well, what can we say Niki? This must be the most comprehensively researched competition answer we have ever received! And, as we do when we have especially interesting answers, comments, or even pictures with competition entries, we're printing it for everyone to enjoy. And also to prove that a break from studying is good for you, both as a way to relax for a little while and as a way to learn something extra too!
From Mandy Camilleri, nine, of Sliema
Dear Junior News, a few months ago I went shopping with my auntie. When we were at the greengrocer and my auntie was being served, a woman came into the shop and asked the shopkeeper to kill the last rabbit that he had left, so that when my auntie finished her shopping the shopkeeper would skin the rabbit.
So the shopkeeper took the rabbit out of a wooden box by his ears and was going to kill it. The rabbit was very afraid. He must have known that he was going to get killed, just like all the other rabbits that were killed before him.
But my auntie shouted: "No!" She told the man that he should be ashamed of himself to kill a rabbit in front of me. My auntie told the shopkeeper that since she was there before the woman who wanted the rabbit, she wanted to buy the rabbit herself.
My auntie named the rabbit Smokey. He is very happy with my auntie because he knows that she loves him and will not hurt him.
I cannot understand how someone can be so cruel as to kill such a lovely creature as a rabbit. At least Smokey's life has been saved.
What a lot your letter says, Mandy. First, we have you and your auntie shopping. Then we have someone, in such a hurry for what she wants and not thinking about how or where she gets it. There are no words to waste on the shopkeeper. If he thinks that's normal behaviour it would have been useless trying to explain anything to him! But your wise, clever auntie knew exactly what to do. And now we have lucky Smokey in a good home, which is a happy ending.
And you've won a Lm5 voucher and VIP Toyland's discount card for sending this week's star letter.
• The sender of the star letter each week will receive a Lm5 voucher to exchange and a VIP 10 per cent disocunt card for all toys at Toyland for a whole year!
• Send your letters, together with your full name. age and address to Junior News.