Tag: grade 2

Health Kids

Death Of The Whopper

They will no longer be serving Whoppers at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, after the fast-food restaurant closed down in the food court there recently.

Canada’s largest hospital for children made the choice to close down the Burger King because of its unhealthy options such cheeseburgers and French fries, which are high in fat and salt.

The hospital is meant to offer healthy food choices for the visitors and staff. A doctor at Sick Kids named Vishal Avinashi started a Facebook group called, “Burger King should NOT be allowed to operate at Sick Kids Hospital.” There are 269 members in the group, and more are joining each day.

Avinashi tried to raise awareness of the messages that the hospital is sending by offering unhealthy options. He says the hospital is, “setting the wrong example” by allowing fast-food restaurants to sell unhealthy food there.

Kids News

Bilaal Rajan: Underage Overachiever

Bilaal Rajan is an “Underage Overachiever,” just as the title of his book suggests. The 14-year-old teenager from Toronto has devoted much of his life to helping people. He gave a speech at Ryerson University last Thursday to spread his message of “giving” to students. He hopes that by talking about what he’s done, he can inspire other kids to make a difference in their community.

Bilaal started his life of giving when he was only four years old. After feeling personally affected by earthquake victims in India, he started selling Clementine oranges door-to-door in his neighbourhood.

Health Lighter

The Happiest Person In The U.S.

Alvin Wong is the happiest person in the United States. Literally.

Every day for the last three years, a polling company called Gallup has been doing a survey of a thousand Americans, asking them about their lives. They wanted to know what qualities make up the best lifestyle. They put all of the information together into something they call the “Well-Being Index.”

From the information, Gallup was able to figure out what makes Americans happy.

Entertainment Lighter

Bieber’s In “Shoe” Business

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto recently added a pair of Justin Bieber’s shoes to its collection. The shoes, which he wore in a concert, are on exhibit in a glass case. Dozens of Bieber fans visited the museum last week to look at the famous singer’s shoes.

Bieber’s shoes are in good company. Other shoes in the museum belong to John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Queen Victoria and Terry Fox.

Bieber had donated the shoes to a California children’s charity, which put them up for auction to raise money. The Bata Shoe Museum had the winning bid.

It isn’t the first time Bieber’s shoes have been in the news. He recently donated a signed shoe to his old high school, Northwestern Secondary in Stratford, Ont. They sold the bright purple Nike running shoe to raise money for a new broadcast studio.

Science

Did You See The Super Moon?

Last Saturday night you may have seen something in the sky that only happens every 18 years. It was a super moon.

A super moon looks a lot bigger and about 30 times brighter than the moon normally is. That’s because it’s closer to the Earth than normal. Its official name is a super “perigee moon,” but people just call it “super moon.”

The moon moves around the Earth in an oval shape, not a perfect circle, so there are times when the moon is closer to the Earth or farther away from it. On Saturday, the moon was really close to the Earth.

People all over the world could see the super moon on Saturday, including Australia, Russia, Canada and the United States. According to NASA, the last time a super moon like this was visible was 1993.

Entertainment Lighter

Movie Review: Rango

Rango is a new animated film about a chameleon who gets lost in the Nevada desert. He discovers a town filled with desert animals. Johnny Depp plays the voice of Rango the chameleon.

In the movie, Rango finds out that the water supply for the desert animals in the town is dangerously low. If they run out of water, they won’t survive. Rango has to figure out who is behind the problem and fix it. At the same time, everyone in the town thinks that Rango is a hero. He has to make sure no one finds out that he is really just a family pet.

Entertainment Lighter

The Chicken Channel

You may know that every year around Christmas many cable TV providers, like Rogers, offer their subscribers a “Fireplace Channel.” When you turn to the channel your screen fills with a burning firelog. It makes your TV look like a fireplace.

Now they’ve gone even further. Rogers is offering the “Rotisserie Channel.” A rotisserie is a barbeque pole that turns, to cook meat over a flame.

Kids

Great Things To Do In Quebec

In grade four, students in Ontario, PEI and Nova Scotia start to learn French in school. To show our son Anton just how wonderful French culture is, I suggested our family visit Quebec City over March Break.

Then I put Anton in charge of planning the trip.

Anton started his research sites like www.TripAdvisor.com and www.bonjourquebec.com, Quebec’s tourism site. He also talked with Micheline Lachance from Tourisme Quebec.

Anton: I’m dying to see the Ice Hotel. It seems impossible. What’s it like?

Micheline: The tour shows you what each type of room is like and how you can sleep on an ice bed and drink in ice glasses. Each room has ice sculptures with different scenes of nature.

Anton: I read Quebec produces about 80 per cent of the world’s maple syrup. Is March a good time to visit a sugar shack?

Health

McDonald’s Manages To Make Oatmeal Unhealthy

Here’s a trick question: How many ingredients are there in oatmeal?

One, right? OK, even if you count the oats and the water, that’s two. So… two at most, right?

Not when you get oatmeal at McDonald’s.

The fast-food chain, noted for making food that is very bad for you, has recently added oatmeal to its menu as a healthy option for customers in the United States.