Cultural exchange

Children and young people from Palestine will visit Hull this month to forge new links between the two communities.
Travelling from the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, they will visit Kingswood and Endeavor schools to share their culture and speak about their lives.
During their six days in Hull, they will also stage traditional dance workshops with pupils, present a photography exhibition at the John Street Gallery, and socialise with young people at The Warren in Hull city centre.
They will also dance with young people from Hull at the day-long Gig in the Gardens music event to be held in Queens Gardens on June 21 as part of Refugee Week.
The visit is sponsored by Hull City Council and Arts Council England with transport provided by Hull Trains.

Normal service resumes

Residents are celebrating the reopening of a local church after its recovery from last year's flooding.
Bodmin Road Church in Bransholme was badly damaged, meaning that services had to be moved to a nearby community centre.
But after months of refurbishment work, supported by a £15,000 Hull City Council grant from the North Carr area team, the building reopened last month.
The grant enabled a soft play area for children to be installed within the church.
"The past twelve months was an upheaval so we're delighted the building is back in use," said church administrator Natalie Brackenbury.
The church has served the community for 40 years and provides activities for people of all ages from tots' play groups to lunch clubs for senior citizens.

Go green gladiators

Protecting wildlife, reducing carbon footprints, and the importance of reusing and recycling waste were just some of the topics tackled by year six pupils during this year's Green Gladiator project.
More than 1,000 pupils took part in the week-long project, now in its sixth year, which included talks and assistance from the council's parks and gardens team, The Wildlife Trust and the Paediatric Asthma Task Force.
Also taking part were Humberside Fire and Rescue, HM Coastguard, and Scrapstore, the charity that makes practical use of scrap material for children's play activities.
"The knowledge that children have gained will help them to have a more environmentally sustainable approach to life in future years," said Angela Dunn, head of community care services at the council.

Safety first

Families have the chance to enjoy fun activities at Hull's Stay Safe Day.
Parents, adults with childcare responsibilities, and children and young people can learn about all aspects of staying safe in the home, while out and about and while surfing the internet.
Representatives from a range of council services will be there, as well as the emergency services, Hull FC, Hull Kingston Rovers, and Kingston Communications.
Held as part of National Child Safety Week, the event will be fun to attend with family games and activities and free Stay Safe goody bags.
The event takes place in Queen Victoria Square on June 21 from 10am to 4pm.

World party

The contribution being made by Hull's diverse communities is to be celebrated with a week of cultural and educational events.
Refugee Week, starting on Sunday June 15, includes public discussions, films, music and other activities at various locations across the city.
It is organised by Hull City Council in partnership with the Refugee Council, Humberside Police, and other agencies.
"We've held Refugee Week for eight years and this will be our biggest and best yet," says Steve Ibbetson, the council's asylum and refugee service manager.
The week culminates with 'Gig in the gardens', a huge free-to-attend music festival to be staged in Queen's Gardens on Saturday June 21 from 1pm to 5pm.
For more details on Refugee Week events see Out and About on pages 41-42.

Going live

Hull's children and young people can now get online and get clued up.
By visiting www.cluedupinhull.com, the city's young can find out how to stay healthy, enjoy life, stay safe, get involved, achieve and read tips about homework and careers advice.
The website has sections designed for children aged 12 and under, and those aged 13 and over.
"It looks great, the homework section is useful, and I'll visit the site every time I go on the internet at school and at home," said Oldfleet Primary School pupil Brandon Ledger, who joined children and young people from across the city for the launch at the Guildhall.
Meanwhile, 'ask Nigel' is an interactive feature of the site giving users the chance to email comments and questions to Nigel Richardson, the council's director of children and young people's services.
"Children and young people played an important role in the design of the website by helping us choose the right content to make it appealing, informative and something they really want to use," Nigel said.
And this is only the beginning – children and young people will play a leading role in the future development of the website.

Best foot forward

Children and young people took steps to fight climate change and reduce their carbon footprint during Walk to School Week.
24 schools and 7,000 pupils across the city put their best foot forward last month as an alternative to travelling to classes by car.
Walking is not only healthy and fun but also reduces carbon emissions which cause global warming.
Pupils were given pin badges, certificates and t-shirts to encourage them to walk, and schools were decorated with banners.
"Walking shouldn't only be for one week a year, hopefully many will now make it part of their daily routine," said Louise Holtby, Hull City Council's school travel advisor.
For information on safe walking routes to school phone Louise on 300300.