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Welcome to the video news page. On here you will find a weekly bulletin telling you what is going on at your Harton Technology College. Here you'll find all the news from our dedicated sports, technology and entertainment teams along with vital information for the week ahead. If you have a story, or wish to find out more, contact us
The A - Z of Drugs
Click here to to learn about the effects of Drugs.
The Great British Stammer - What IS it?
Sound Familiar?
It is easy for others to hand out advice, particularly when they don't know what it is like to stammer. Their advice is well meant - but doesn't help you very much.
You just want the stammer to go away so you can get on with your life.
While it isn't that easy, you can definitely learn to have more control of your stammering and how you feel about it
The more you know about stammering and the way it affects you, the better able you will be to control it and not let it hold you back. That's what this leaflet is for.
What is stammering?
"It is an involuntary repetition, prolongation or block which interrupts the normal flow of speech."
This describes what is happening but does not tell us anything about how you might feel: the shame and embarrassment, the fear and tension, the loss of self-confidence and the sense of frustration. After all, you know exactly what you want to say and may often feel you have something important to add to the conversation, but despite your best efforts, the words will not come out smoothly, normally.
When does stammering develop?
It usually starts between 3 and 5 years, it appears less often between 5 and 9 years and is very rare for it to start after 12 or 13 years old.
Who is affected - why me?
Stammering is more common than you might think.
One in 20 children less than five years old goes through a phase of stammering. About three in four of those will grow out of it. That still leaves half a million people in the UK who stammer. Stammering is found in all parts of the world and affects the rich, the poor, those that are highly intelligent and those who have learning difficulties.
There are many famous people who stammered, for example King George VI (the Queen's father), Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis and Gareth Gates.
What causes it?
We don't know exactly what causes stammering, or what triggers it in some situations. Current research suggests it results from the way some people's brains process speech. Stammering is not caused by anxiety or nervousness. There could be a genetic factor because stammering tends to run in families. You might have a parent, grandparent or other relative who stammers, but often this is not the case.
Many people spend a great deal of time trying to find out why they started to stammer. Perhaps they believe that if they could get an answer to this question, they would be 'cured'. Unfortunately such beliefs are not true, and only lead people to focus on the past rather than on what is happening now. By the time you are a young adult, the cause is unimportant - the real issue is what you can do about it.
Don't let your stammer hold you back
The teenage years are all about exploring, experimenting and communicating - talking, emailing and texting. You've got a real opportunity to find out what works for you, what doesn't work and how to talk to other people, teachers and adults. The first step is to realise that developing a positive approach will start to make other things happen.
You want to be independent and you're learning to adjust to the physical and mental changes that go along with sexual development. Making friends becomes more challenging as your own expectations of relationships change.
You're learning about your strengths and weaknesses. New experiences with parents, friends, and people at school or teachers occur every day to challenge your self-esteem and confidence.
And if you also stammer- It can be a dilemma - "Did I choose to avoid that situation because of my speech or because I wasn't confident?" It can be easy to blame the stammer - but perhaps that is not the whole truth.
Let's talk about it
Throughout your childhood many problems have been discussed in the open - except perhaps stammering. Often people pretend it is not happening. You might struggle to hide or avoid stammering - or talking, which can make it worse for you, even if you have tried to stop other people being embarrassed.
For example: You do not talk to them because you believe they do not want to talk about it, and they do not talk to you because they believe you do not want to talk about it!
However, being able to discuss a problem with someone makes it easier to deal with.
What can I do about it?
The main aim must be to take the mystery out of stammering. The British Stammering Association can help you to learn more about the problem. It can put you in touch with a speech and language therapist in your area, who specialises in stammering and has access to all the latest information and types of therapy available.
Therapy
- There is no guaranteed 'cure' for stammering. However, therapy will:
- Help you develop ways to speak more fluently and to take responsibility for your progress
- Help you to deal with your stammer, learn more about yourself and achieve your potential
- Enable you and your parents to cope better with your speech difficulties and with your own development.
- Address issues to do with school, teachers and friends. It will help you understand the problems they may have with your stammering and to develop strategies which will improve your confidence in dealing with them.
- Put speech techniques in perspective, to see whether certain speech skills can be taught and used successfully in everyday life.
Stammering can affect every part of your life. This is why speech therapy must address every angle: help you to help yourself in developing confidence, social skills, self-awareness, speech fluency and problem-solving strategies.
Do you want to know more about stammering?
The British Stammering Association has a lending library for its members and sells self help books and other items. CD-ROMs are available to help you to prepare for GCSEs English oral work and for oral work in S1 to S4 in Scotland.
The British Stammering Association (BSA) is a registered charity founded in 1978. BSA offers a free information service. We can provide details of specialist speech and language therapy, intensive courses and self-help groups. We also provide a professional telephone helpline and email service offering confidential information and support to all whose lives are affected by stammering. Through these activities we aim to provide up-to-date information about therapy for stammering.
We also help people who stammer to help themselves. BSA works to raise awareness of stammering together with those difficulties experienced by people who stammer. We aim to initiate and support research into stammering and wherever possible we aim to promote enhanced life experiences through shared understanding.
Becoming a member of the BSA
To join the BSA you must be 16 or over, but if you are under 16 your parents can join on your behalf. The benefits of membership are: quarterly issues of Speaking Out - the world's leading magazine on stammering; invitations to open days, access to the BSA lending library as well as advance information on special events, national and international conferences.
A list of Do's and Don'ts compiled by a group of young adults who stammer:
Try to:
Try not to:
A few tips when talking to people
| Icebreaker: Other people might want to help you with your speech but are afraid to ask you because they don't know what to say. Telling someone that you stammer and asking them to be patient can be a big help. And it will make you look stronger. |
"If I'm worried that someone will react if I stammer, I just say 'hello'. It's much better than saying nothing"
"If people know, it's much easier." "I try to find people who are okay with it. In a group, if the first person reacts well, it's okay."
"Act normal and not get nervous. I allow myself to stammer and do not think of other people's reactions."
If people take the Mick:
"I ask them how they would like it if they stammered."
"Act confident and don't react, don't look scared." "Stand up for yourself. Just look at them and wait until they stop."
If someone laughs at you, ask: 'If I was you and you were me, how would you feel?'
"Remember that the bully has problems. What is their future going to be? If they put you down, it's an incentive to do well and prove them wrong."
About 9% (almost 1 in 10) of the UK population stammers. It is about three times more common in males than females. It usually starts in childhood
For a printable version - click here .
Anorexic Actress Reveals All
The size zero debate is once again dominating Milan fashion week. But this time the emaciated frame causing the furore is not on the catwalks, but on a billboard.
A disturbing photograph of a naked anorexic woman, blown up to traffic-stopping scale, has been drawing shocked gasps from passing Milanese.
The photograph of 27-year-old Frenchwoman Isabelle Caro, who weighs 31kg (4st 12lb), bears the legend "No Anorexia" and the slogan of the Italian womenswear brand Nolita, for which it is an advertisement.
The Nolita campaign has been given the blessing of the Italian ministry of health, with health minister Livia Turco saying the image promotes responsibility towards the problem of anorexia.
The man behind the image is fashion photographer Oliviero Toscani, who was responsible for the controversial Benetton advertising campaigns of the 1980s and 1990s, including his 1992 portrait of dying Aids patient David Kirby.
Flash & Partners, owners of Nolita, have said that the image aims to raise awareness of an illness "caused in most cases by the stereotypes imposed by the world of fashion".
The billboards, launched during Milan fashion week, have met with a distinct froideur from many in the fashion industry, who dispute the theory that blame for anorexia can be laid wholly at their door. Caro, they point out, is not a model, but says that she has suffered from anorexia since she was 13 because of a "difficult childhood".
Designer Giorgio Armani queried the link between fashion and anorexia, commenting that "even people who take no notice of fashion get anorexic", while designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana described anorexia as a psychiatric problem with "nothing to do with fashion".
Isabelle Caro, author of a blog about her battle with anorexia, said she had appeared in the campaign "to show young people how dangerous this illness is".
What is anorexia?
Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion with an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Individuals with anorexia are known to commonly control body weight through the means of voluntary starvation, purging, vomiting, excessive exercise, or other weight control measures, such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. It primarily affects adolescent females, however approximately 10% of people with the diagnosis are male. Anorexia nervosa is a complex condition, involving psychological, neurobiological, and sociological components.
What are the effects?
Lack of food deprives the body of essential protein and prevents the normal metabolism of fat, resulting in:
- An irregular heartbeat that can lead to heart failure and death
- Dehydration
- Kidney stone formation and kidney failure
- Weakness because of muscle wasting
- Constipation
- Growth of fine downy hair on the face and arms
- Lack of calcium, which may cause osteoporosis
- Interrupted or no periods
Can it be prevented?
It's difficult to prevent anorexia from developing because it's unclear precisely why the condition occurs. But it may be possible to avoid or address some risk factors, such as social and cultural pressures to be thin, bullying, low self-esteem and family dysfunction. The most important step is recognition by the individual that they've got a problem.
What's the treatment?
After assessment by a psychiatrist at a specialist eating disorders unit, counselling, antidepressants and advice on healthy eating may be offered.
Admission to hospital is often needed to treat any physical problems that have resulted from under-eating.
Burma: Mapping the aftermath
         
The cyclone disaster that struck Burma on the 3rd May caused widespread devastation to the Irrawaddy Delta in the south of the country.

These are the most up-to-date statistics provided by the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs courtesy of the BBC:
Dead: 77,738; Missing: 55,917
Displaced: 150,000 people, in about 120 temporary settlements
Affected persons: 2.4 million people, of whom 1.4 million are in severely, affected areas requiring priority assistance.
The city of Rangoon, referred to by an eye witness as ‘the dead city’, as been knocked out power and water supplies, felled trees and damaged hundreds of buildings due to the catastrophe that the cyclone caused. But the city has seen the best of the relief effort - troops have been working to restore basic services, while aid agencies can operate more freely in Rangoon than anywhere else.
Nonetheless, many people who live on the outskirts of Rangoon have lost their houses and remain in temporary shelters. More aid is getting to them than to people further south, because the logistics are far less daunting. Both UN agencies and charities have been distributing supplies in affected areas.
Meanwhile, the US, French and British navies are in international waters off the Burmese coast, waiting for permission to land aid in the country.
Check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7385289.stm for videos and further news reports
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Wii
The latest craze ‘Nintendo Wii’ people have been going crazy over this new console since just before Christmas. Plus the newest gadget that has been released this spring is Wii fit. Whether you want to lose weight, have fun with friends or just generally enjoy gaming this is the perfect buy for you!
The Wii is for any age and will definitely improve you fitness no matter what! They are quite expensive however you can get the console with 2 controls and a free game for around £130. The Wii fitness board range from £60-£80. You won’t ever regret buying one!
Recommended games:
Mario & Sonic Olympics
The big brain academy
Wii sport
Guitar hero 3
Boom blox
Guitar Hero
After the success of the previous 3 guitar hero games, the first of which winning a previous game of the year award, there was bound to be another hit in the series. Guitar hero 3 brings a whole new look on the game with new battle mode and online-play available.
You still have the same dance mat game system of hitting notes as they come towards a certain part of the screen, but with a new set of songs and the ability to play with friends (or rivals) online, this game is bound to be a success. Some songs to note are Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses; One – Metallica; Anarchy in the UK – Sex Pistols; When You Were Young – The Killers and Ruby – Kaiser Chiefs just to name a few.
You can now rock out wirelessly with the new Gibson Kramer guitar. Of course you can still use your old ones which plug directly in, but you can get a second and play co-op with someone at your home.
You’ll be playing for hour’s upon-end as the addictive game play has over 60 songs aswell as downloadable content on Xbox live. There also is 4 difficulty levels ranging from easy, (3 notes) and expert (chaos with 5 notes).
If it’s your first time on Guitar Hero, there are tutorials built into the game to help you learn. Simply hold in the coloured button or chord that is heading down and strum the strum bar.
Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4 moves past the ditches of World War II and into modern warfare. The game promises to be one of the strongest titles this holiday season, and I was eager to see if it could live up to the mountains of hype. Graphically, Call of Duty 4 outstrips all competition in the field of shooters and not only does it look so realistic but there’s always lots going on at any given time.
The single player campaign mode is more of an add on than the main feature for the reason that COD4 is all about online play over Xbox Live or over the internet for the PC users, with its advanced ranking system with 605 online ranks and lots of unlockable features the online mode contains endless hours of gameplay. On the campaign mode the player gets to separately control 2 characters- an SAS British soldier and a United States Marine as they try to hunt down a Russian who wants to return Russia to its former glory. Overall the single player mode isn’t perfect but after you knife your first victim, it won’t matter.
3VOLUTION FESTIVAL 2008
Spillers Warf:
Headlining- The Streets
Kate Nash
Reverend and the Makers
Duffy
Lightspeed Champion
Glasvegas
The Whip
This Ain’t Vegas
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The Line Up
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Baltic Square:
CSS
New Young Pony Club
Crystal Castles
Does It Offend You Yeah
Hercules and Love Affair
Whomadewho
The Ghost Frequency
Kinevil
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Newcastle Gateshead Bank Holiday Monday 26th May 12pm-11pm
Luckily the weather stayed fine throughout the day, as the indie-music lovers, not just from the north-east spilled onto the Newcastle and Gateshead quay side ready to enjoy an entire day of both big known bands and local bands. Spillers Warf stage accompanied some of today’s biggest names in the music business e.g. Kate Nash, Duffy the streets, where as, just a hop, skip and a jump over the Millennium Bridge, the Baltic Square stage catered for some other less-well known bands. In the Spillers Warf area, there was a small stage next to the entrance where some un-signed local bands played. The Ramsays, from the nearby town Cramlington, featured on this stage and this particular band has supported the well-known indie band: One Night Only. 
It was a great day out for both family’s and groups of friends, and it was proven in news coverage from Tyne-Tees the same evening and the following day. But as expected, the crowd went wild for their favourite bands so it was best for the little ones to stand well back; when The Ramsays staged, the barrier was broken and fans piled onto the stage uncontrollably to the performance was cut short, but gladly security was a little tighter at Spillars Warf and Baltic Square.
But overall, the day was of great enjoyment thanks to all the bands, sponsors, the funding companies and co-ordinators. The day was a great success.
Editor
Rebecca
The Wombats
The Wombats class their selves as an indie/punk/rock band,
but under what ever category you label them, they are not
your average band, sit back and prepare to be amazed…
The three Scousers will blow your mind away, literally,
as you ‘bop’ along to their rhythmic tunes and dance the
night away, to songs you would not ever imagine to be so
enticing.
On Monday 12th May, The Wombats performed a
wild concert at the Carling Academy Newcastle. It
consisted of two support bands: The Blakes and The
Teenagers, who weren’t so good but The Wombats stillmanaged to steal the stage. Playing their album, ‘A guide to love, loss and desperation’, the 21st centaury
indie band rocked the night away. They opened with
the acapella ‘Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials’ then
continuing on to sing the famous Kill the Director,
Moving to New York and Let’s Dance to Joy Division.
The audience went wild when an inflatable wombat
was lowered into the crowd to accompany the band.
They ended their gig on their newly released song Backfire
at the Disco. I would like to say, on behalf of everyone
that was their, the entire gig was amazing.
Things to keep you occupied in the Easter holidays!
Plan a trip with mates to Bolden cinemas during the holidays. Here are some good films out.
BE KIND REWIND (12A)
Directed by: Michel Gondry
Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover |
10,000 BC (12A)
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Camilla Belle, Steven Strait, Cliff Curtis |
SEMI-PRO (15)
Directed by: Kent Alterman
Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin |
ACCIDENTAL HUSBAND (12A)
Directed by: Griffin Dunne
Starring: Uma Thurman, Colin Firth, Jeffrey Dean |
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (15)
Directed by: Paul Thomas
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Dillon Freasier, Paul Dano |

VANTAGE POINT (12A)
Directed by: Pete Travis
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker |
Kerrang - 5th February
Kerrang Tour, Newcastle Carling Academy
It was 7pm, central Newcastle, a queue of people was wrapped round the Carling Academy with two words on their lips: Kerrang Tour.
To say that this tour had been eagerly anticipated is an understatement, the atmosphere was electric. No one would want to start off a gig like this, with die-hard Coheed and Cambria fans desperately waiting to see their icons.
But Circa Survive stepped bravely into the breach with songs from their album, On Letting Go. Sadly they fell flat. Though some fists were waved and some people started jumping; they failed to win over the crowd.
Up next were Fightstar, led by former Busted member Charlie Simpson who finally started things going. With their calls for a mosh-pit finally heeded they belted out songs such as Deathcar and Floods like metal greats.
They were followed by Madina Lake (my favourite band on the bill) whose energetic pop-punk led to a fury of sweat-drenched jumping while lead singer, Nathan Leone crowd surfed. For me they were the highlight of the evening whatever the prog-rock kings Coheed and Cambria die-hards might say. I can’t wait till next year.
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