Tabla de contenidos para January 2025 en News Flash

Happy New Year, News Flashers! We hope you had a fantastic Christmas and a fun start to 2025. Did you spot Flashy’s Santa hat sneaking onto the carol singer’s head on page 6 of last month's issue? Now that it’s a brand-new year, Flashy’s resolution is to stay organised … but guess what? He’s already lost his 2025 balloon! Can you help him find it? Flashy promises he’ll keep better track of things if you do! If you find it, let us know by emailing win@newsflash.ie. If you are correct, you will be entered into a draw for a super-cool News Flash hoodie. Last Month's Winner Syed Talal Hassan 4th class, Pallaskenry NS, Co. Limerick Don’t forget to include your name and school with your entry!…

Louis Braille was born on January 4, 1809, in the small town of Coupvray, 40 km from Paris, France. His father was a harness-maker – a craftsman who made leather goods for horses. Business was good, and Louis and his brother and sisters had a comfortable, happy life. Childhood accident Things changed for young Louis when he was just three years old. He was in his father’s workshop making holes in a piece of leather with a small, sharp tool called an awl. The awl slipped in his hand and hit him in the eye. The eye became infected and Louis lost the sight in it. Worse still, the other eye also became infected and he was left totally blind. Star pupil The priest in Coupvray realised that Louis was…

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess Author: Jeff Kinney Illustrator: Jeff Kinney Publisher: Penguin Random House Year: 2024 Age Range: 8-12 OUT NOW! Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans, it’s time to celebrate! The 19th – yes, you read that right, 19th – book is out now. Poor Greg Heffley is in a bit of a hot mess. All – and yes, we mean ALL – of the family are coming together for a summer holiday. That can only go well, right? Well, take Greg's entire family, a tiny beach house and a pinch of sweltering weather, stir it all together, and you’ve got a recipe for one awkward summer. Can Greg survive his family holiday? What exactly is Gramma’s secret ingredient in her…

The Importance of Being ... The word ‘grateful’ comes from the word ‘gratitude’. Gratitude is the act of being thankful for something. It can be as simple as smiling when someone helps you, saying thank you when someone does you a favour or writing a thank-you note when someone gives you a gift. Give up grumbling Sometimes we all like to grumble and complain about the things we don’t have – adults do it too! In those moments, we’re not being very grateful. But if you stop and think, you probably have lots of things in your life to be grateful for. When we are younger, we are usually most grateful about the things that we have – like toys – but as we get older, we become more grateful…

Giza is around 20 kilometres from the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and 10 kilometres west of the River Nile. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built as a tomb for King Khufu, pharaoh of Egypt, from 2589 BC to 2566 BC. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is still standing today. The Great Pyramid was built using blocks of limestone. Most of these weighed over two tonnes, though some were up to 16 tonnes. Most of the stone was taken from quarries that were 150 kilometres from the site, although some came from Aswan which is almost 900 kilometres away. The huge limestone blocks were transported by boat along the River Nile. The river was even redirected to the site where the pyramid…

Have you ever seen someone jump from one rooftop to another, or run up a wall and do a flip? While it might look like something out of an action movie, it’s quite likely the person is partaking in the sport of parkour! In cities all over the world – from Paris to New York, Tokyo to Sydney and maybe even Limerick to Dublin – parkour is becoming a popular way for people to get fit and have fun. The main goal is to move from one point to another as quickly and efficiently as possible, using only your body. This means lots of running, jumping, climbing and flipping over obstacles. The sport was first developed in France by David Belle and his friends in the 1980s. They were inspired…

Clare's Safer Than Ever The Irish Coast Guard in Clare and the Ennis Fire Service are both celebrating the news that they will be receiving new safety vehicles. The Clare branch of the Coast Guard welcomed a new AW 189 helicopter (one of six that are going to be supplied over the next few months) to replace the older Sikorsky helicopters. Ennis Fire Service were equally delighted with the €500,000 fire engine they got. Built in County Carlow, the new fire engine has all the bells and whistles – including water pumps, generators, ladders, crash rescue equipment and a massive 1,800-litre water tank! FLASHY FACT The Irish Coast Guard doesn’t just help people in trouble at sea or on land. It also organises immediate medical transport and assists ships and…

Artists: Unknown Egyptian (who lived about 4,000 years ago); Carl Walters (1883-1955) In 1917, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) in New York acquired a small ancient Egyptian figure of a hippopotamus. It quickly won people’s hearts and they flocked to see it. Today the figure is the unofficial mascot of the Met! The little hippo had been placed in a tomb around 1961–1878 BC, to magically guarantee the rebirth of the dead person in the afterlife. In 1910 AD he was excavated. His museum label says: ‘Hippopotamus (“William”)’. Of course, William is a nickname! In 1931, in a magazine story the author wrote that his family owned a picture of the Met hippo and had named him ‘William’. He said they took his advice on everything, as he…

13-YEAR-OLD BEATS TETRIS Thirteen-year-old gaming fanatic Willis Gibson ‘beat’ the famous computer game Tetris when he reached the final level (157) and caused the game to freeze. DANIEL’S COOL RUNNINGS Daniel Fairbrother trained for a marathon world record by running with a fridge named Tallulah, inspired by movie Cool Runnings, tied to his back! SPACESHIP FOR SALE This spaceship, created for a sci-fi movie called Pitch Black, was put up for sale in South Australia last year. No flying experience necessary! ICON OF THE SEAS SETS SAIL The world’s biggest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, set sail with water slides, pools and fun-packed adventures, making it a magical floating playground! MONEY-MAD CECIL! Meet Cecil the Goldendoodle who devoured $4,000 he found. His owners salvaged $3,550 by piecing together chewed…

Eye Spy Time for the magnifying glass, everyone! To solve this puzzle, all you have to do is find the 15 objects in the crowd … in under 90 seconds. Time starts … NOW! Your teacher has the answers to all these puzzles (not that you'll need them… but just in case you do). Just ask nicely … AFTER you’ve tried them all, of course! Sum It Up Check out this rather lengthy sum and see if you can make it work out so that you end with the number 22. Word Search For this month’s word search, we’ve packed the grid with new-year-related words for you to find. As always, we’ve included a secret word not listed below. We're in it now! ▢ New year▢ January▢ Celebration▢ Resolution▢ Wishes▢…

Dia duit! Is mise Otis. I am a long-eared owl, and I can be found in most parts of Ireland. In fact, I’m the most common type of owl in the country. We long-eared owls get our name from the long tufts located above our facial discs. Don’t be fooled though! Those are not our ears – they are just feathers. Our real ears are openings hidden beneath the feathers behind our eyes. We look a bit like a cat, which is why we are called ‘ceann cait’ (cat’s head) in Irish. We raise our ear-like tufts when we are disturbed, but they lie flat when we are relaxing or flying. I like to live in woodlands near open fields where I hunt for my dinner of mice, rats, shrews…

Dog Man 2025 FEB A freak accident results in a police officer and his dog becoming one person – half man, half dog, all hero. Can Dog Man stop supervillain Petey the Cat? Goldbeak 2025 FEB Goldbeak, a baby eagle raised by a loving family of chickens, has always believed he couldn’t fly. But when he discovers his wings – and learns the truth about his real family – he’s swept away on an incredible adventure. A Minecraft Movie 2025 APR One for the gamers! The blockbusting (get it?) game Minecraft is coming to the big screen. When four humans are pulled into the Minecraft world, they have to figure out how to survive the cubic realm and find their way home. Lilo and Stitch 2025 MAY Our favourite mischievous…

Have you ever been to a wedding and noticed the beautiful flowers? Or have you seen someone receiving a bouquet and how it makes their face light up? This job all comes down to a person called a florist. Skills As well as working in a place that always smells fantastic, florists get to do a job where creativity is key. Florists enjoy one of the only design jobs where a college degree or formal training isn’t essential. For many florists, flower design and arrangement is something they simply have a passion for – although they can take courses to improve their skills if they wish. Hard work Being a florist isn't always a bed of roses (hee hee!). As well as getting their hands dirty, florists need to be…

In last month’s issue, we invited you to enjoy a Christmas colour on us. With a lot of difficulty, we eventually managed to pick out five winning entries, where each artist won a yummy selection box and NF hoodie. Thank you to everyone who sent in an entry. They were all super! Panas Fedorchuk Class: 2nd Age: 8 School: Adrigole NS, Co. Cork Ray O'Brien Class: 2nd Age: 7 School: Scoil Chlann Naofa, Co. Leitrim Áine Murphy Class: 4th Age: 10 School: Duniry NS, Co. Galway Julie Melbourne Class: 4th Age: 10 School: Monasteroris NS, Co. Offaly Elena Murray Class: 3rd Age: 9 School: Coolanarney NS, Co. Offaly…

Official Name: El Reino de España (The Kingdom of Spain) Population: 47.7 million (over 9 times the population of Ireland) Capital: Madrid Area: 505,990 km2 (6 times the size of Ireland) Major Mountain Ranges: Pyrenees, Sierra Nevada, Cantabrian Mountains and Sierra Morena Major Rivers: Tagus, Duero, Guadiana, Guadalquivir and Ebro Official Language: Spanish Money: Euro Spain is a large country in the southwest of Europe. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the south and east coasts. In the north, the Pyrenees Mountains form the border with France and the tiny state of Andorra. The Atlantic Ocean is to the northwest and to the west is Portugal. Spain and Portugal together make up the Iberian Peninsula. Madrid Madrid is Spain's capital and its biggest city, and has a population…

Match of the Month January 25 Manchester City vs Chelsea The Premier League champions’ grip on the trophy is loosening after a shock losing streak and they cannot afford another defeat when an improving Chelsea side visit Manchester. NF PREDICTION: MY PREDICTION: Gaelic Football's New Rules The new men’s GAA season starts this month with the National Leagues in both football and hurling throwing in on January 25. It will be a historic one for football as the games will be played under the 49 new rules that were passed at GAA Special Congress last November. Everybody will be watching the early rounds to see how teams cope with having to keep three outfield players in their own half, while a shot over the crossbar from outside the new 40m…