Artograffi #152
We find out about Chatty Benches
Have you seen the Chatty Benches in Amble? Chatty Benches are seats where if you’re feeling lonely or you just want to talk, you can sit on the Chatty Bench, and another person can come along and talk to you.
We went to see the one in the Town Square. We talked to some passers-by. One lady hadn’t seen the bench. She said it sounds like a nice idea.
Ashley Sims, Lynne Morelli and Guy Nutting trying out the Chatty Bench
Then we talked to Lynne Morelli, Ashley Sims and Guy Nutting who were just walking through the town square.
Lynne said she knew about the Chatty Benches. “If you are feeling lonely you can sit on it. If I saw a lonely person sitting on the bench I would go and talk to them”.
Ashley said “I didn’t know anything about the Chatty Benches before. But I think its a very good idea. If you want to talk, then you can”.
Guy said, “Loneliness is a big problem. Sometimes you need to get something off your chest. It’s nice to be able to signal that you want to share something.”
What we think
Issy: When we were at Amble Links First School, they had a club that helped people who were lonely. There was a sign next to a bench and you could sit on the bench if you wanted to take part. You were helping yourself by helping someone else.
Skylar: If I saw someone on a Chatty Bench I would go and talk to them, even though I have social anxiety. I’ve felt like I had no one to talk to before, so I think it’s a very good idea.
There are 12 Chatty Benches in total. They are in Amble Town Square, on the Harbour, JCSC, King Edwin Primary, Amble Links Primary, Dolphin Court, St Oswald’s Court, on the Braid, at the Welfare and there are still some to go in other places.
They were funded through the National Lottery and organized by Warkworth Harbour Commissioners.
By Skylar and Issy
Message to adults: you think you know about young people?
Older people think they may know what us young people go through but it reality they don’t.
Did you know that we do have a hard time, getting bullied, peer pressure, homework, deadlines, etc.
You may think that we always eat sugar, vape, steal, litter etc, but we don’t! We look out for each other, especially when getting bullied, many of us donate to charity and take care of the environment.
‘Puffin Pickers’ photo by John Wingfield
Cora and Lola (pictured above) did a litter pick in the Town Square at the beginning of April. They said that they couldn’t believe how much rubbish people actually leave behind instead of putting it in bins.
By Eden
What is happening in the USA?
Ever since Donald Trump was elected as President of the USA near the end of last year and got into office at the start of this year, a LOT has happened. Whether that’s good or bad I will leave up to you.
One of the first things Trump promised to do, was lower the prices of groceries. However, due to tariffs on imported items, that has not happened. For those who don’t know, a tariff is a tax placed on goods which are imported into a country, so there could be tariffs on car parts which were made in Germany, or tariffs on champagne made in France.
This would make the companies which receive these imported products have to pay more for them due to the tax, so if they want to make a profit, they would have to increase how much their products cost.
Some of the new tariffs include a 54% tariff on China, a 46% tariff on Vietnam and a 10% tariff on the UK. There is even a 29% tariff on exports from Heard Island – an island near Australia that is only inhabited by… Penguins and seals?
Bear in mind that this man also bankrupted a casino. How do you even do that, and is he trying to do the same to the USA?
By Grace
Personal boundaries: aka ‘We wanna be free’
Just because someone is wearing a short skirt or a dress IT DOES NOT MEAN YES!!! (for unwanted attention). Just because they wear tight tops is NOT A YES EITHER!!!!!
It doesn’t matter what anybody wears. It shouldn’t mean people should comment or assume that they want your attention. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Leave people alone. Many people are told not to wear certain things or to wear different things and so they are not allowed to be themselves.
If everybody wore the same thing no one would have their own personality or lifestyle. Sometimes people bully others for how they want to be and how they live their lives. Leave people alone. Let them be who they want to be.
By Skylar
Are you OK?
Some people look okay but they are just hiding it with a smile.
Examples of things they might be going through are problems with their health including mental health, bullying, homophobia and difficult home life.
Some people have a lot going on and they don’t talk about it. Sometimes people say stuff about their problems on social media and other people repost it. But they never reach out to these people. I think we should always ask if they are okay.
Don’t just assume they are ok because some people are not.
By Indie and Nina
Girls football at JCSC
At JCSC we play a variety of sports but one of the main sports we have is football.
Lately a lot of girls have been complaining about which gender does which sports.
In PE girls are focusing on hockey and handball, and boys are doing football and hockey. But lately girls have been noticing during PE boys have been doing a humongus amount of football and the girls are very frustrated about it.
We wish we can get this sorted out as the only option is to play after school.
By Esme
