Art & History

Women You Should Know… Agnes de Mille

If you ask people if they know the name ‘de Mille’, some will say they’ve heard of Hollywood producer Cecil de Mille, some might even know his brother William de Mille, but not many will have heard of William’s daughter. Which is a shame, because Agnes De Mille was a fascinating woman.

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Art & History

Amazing Outdoor Art

A few weeks ago on Twitter we shared a picture of an electrical tower that German students had turned into a stunning 3D stained glass window. This got us thinking about other amazing outdoor art a little bit closer to home. Read on for some inspiring examples that you can go and see for yourself…

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Science, Nature and Tech

Facebook For Kids – Good or Bad?

Do you use Facebook? While it is officially banned for under 13 years, a survey last year showed that almost half of Britain’s pre-teens have a Facebook account. Joanna Bradey tells us what she likes about Facebook.

 

Facebook: What’s it all about?

 

Facebook is a website created in 2004 by a US college student Mark Zuckerberg. It started off as a way of college students to network with each other, which quickly spread throughout the world, and now has millions of members. Facebook works by people registering and creating a profile for themselves, and then becoming ‘friends’ with other people. A user can update their status to let their friends know what they’re up to, upload photos to share, send private messages to each other, and play games.  You need to be at least 13 years old to be a member, and Facebook is banned in some countries altogether, like Syria and Iran.

The thing that I like about Facebook is that it is a quick and easy way to keep in touch with all those people I have met in real-life but don’t have time to write to or call them, like old workmates or family that have moved away. I can upload a photo and anyone I am friends with can see it, and comment on it. In the days before Facebook, if I wanted to share a photo with everyone, I would have to print out lots of copies and send them in the post, which is very expensive and time-consuming. Since I joined Facebook, I am better at communicating with people and I enjoy seeing what all my friends and family are doing. I think that I know them better and it’s easy to keep-in-touch.

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Language & Literature

The Contronym – a Word that Bends Over Backwards

I expect most of you have heard of antonyms, and even if you haven’t heard the word, you know them and use them every day. Antonyms are words that mean the opposite. For example, hot is the antonym of cold, rich is the antonym of poor.
But what happens when we have a word that doesn’t have another antonym – it is the antonym of itself?! You are probably wondering what on earth that could mean. Well, there are some words that have two meanings which are the opposite of each other. This makes the word its own antonym. Words like this are known as contronyms.

 

LEFT 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One very common one that we shall start with is a word that you use all the time without ever thinking about it being a contronym. This is left, which can mean “gone, departed” or “still there, remaining” . If you have gone, then you have left, but if everyone else except you has gone, then you are left!

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