Jump! Mag

Written By You

When I Met Mary Robinson – Written By You

Me and my mum went to hear this lady talk, her name is Mary Robinson, Mary was the President of Ireland, but she was not just any kind of President of Ireland,she was the first woman President of Ireland. She got a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2009. And was the first President of Ireland to visit the Queen.

Growing up

Mary grew up in a small town in Ireland, her mum and dad where doctors and her gran died when she was about 10 years old… When Mary was 17 she went to a finishing school in Paris while deciding if she wanted to become a nun… In that finishing school she was the only non-French speaking student there.

little light

Mary Robinson famously put a light in her kitchen window to guide the people that have left Ireland to live a country abroad back home.

my question

If you had a chance of asking Mary Robinson a question in front of 600 people, would you do it? I would, and I did. Here’s what I said and what Mary replied:

Afterwards Mary signed a copy of her book for me

Art & History, Language & Literature

Jump! into Etymology for Kids

Have you ever thought about languages, and how they develop over time?

Why do we say ‘tree’ when we look at a one of those green things outside our window, and where did the word ‘rose’ come from? (Can you tell that I am looking out of my window for inspiration?)

When we look at the links between the words that we use in English and those in a different country, we often find similarities. Information is the same in English, as in German and French, although the pronunciation is different.

The study of words is called etymology, and today Millie is going to explain a bit more about this, and tell us a bit about the word ‘JUMP’.

Science, Nature and Tech

Things that make you go poo….

After talking about bones in my last article, I thought I’d go on to talk about poo, or at least how it’s made.

I like eating. I think a lot of people do. Biscuits are a particular favourite…chocolate Bourbons especially. But how do we get from biscuit, or apple, or stick of celery to the brown stuff we call poo.

Well, it’s thanks to the digestive system, which starts at the mouth, and runs all the way to our bottoms. So let me take you on a guided tour.

Language & Literature, Written By You

My Multilingual Life – Written By You

‘Do you speak English?’

For British and American girls who travel to a different country, that question is often the first sentence we learn.

‘Sprechen Sie Englisch’

‘Parlez-vous Anglais’

‘habla usted Inglés’

‘Вы говорите по-английски’

‘您说英语吗’

What is it like for the estimated two thirds of the world’s population who speak at least two languages? The people who we refer to as ‘bilingual’, if they speak two languages, and sometimes as ‘multilingual’, if they speak more than two languages.

The researcher and writer David Crystal estimates that of the approximately 570 million people in the world who speak English, over 41% are bilingual in English and some other language.

Today’s contributor knows all about speaking more than one language.

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.

Have you ever thought about languages, and how they develop over time?

Why do we say ‘tree’ when we look at a one of those green things outside our window, and where did the word ‘rose’ come from? (Can you tell that I am looking out of my window for inspiration?)

When we look at the links between the words that we use in English and those in a different country, we often find similarities. Information is the same in English, as in German and French, although the pronunciation is different.

The study of words is called etymology, and today Millie is going to explain a bit more about this, and tell us a bit about the word ‘JUMP’.

After talking about bones in my last article, I thought I’d go on to talk about poo, or at least how it’s made.

I like eating. I think a lot of people do. Biscuits are a particular favourite…chocolate Bourbons especially. But how do we get from biscuit, or apple, or stick of celery to the brown stuff we call poo.

Well, it’s thanks to the digestive system, which starts at the mouth, and runs all the way to our bottoms. So let me take you on a guided tour.

‘Do you speak English?’

For British and American girls who travel to a different country, that question is often the first sentence we learn.