| Hello teachers! |
| I’m not sure my playground-duty hat would make it onto a Melbourne fashion runway, but it’s about to have its moment. It’s Aussie Bird Count week, and I’m hoping we can all squeeze in a little time outside, looking up. |
| Before we grab the tally sheets, we’re finding classroom inspiration in Melbourne Fashion Week and packing our listening ears for a trip to Nigeria. There’s also a truly extraordinary kookaburra to admire, and at the end, some help translating whatever your students just said. |
| We’re working on our rizz, but I make no promises. |
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From the catwalk to the classroom
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New York, London, Milan, Paris… Melbourne!
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| After the big international fashion weeks, it’s Melbourne’s turn to strut, with Melbourne Fashion Week running from 19–25 October. And whether your own school-day style is carefully coordinated or dug directly from the washing basket, there’s plenty of learning stitched into this one.
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Clothes can tell stories about culture, identity and belonging before we’ve said a word. They’re also solutions to design problems. Take the school uniform: why those fabrics, colours and shapes? Can everyone run, climb, sit comfortably and stay warm or cool in it? Challenge students to redesign an item and explain their choices. Suddenly, you’ve got design thinking, persuasive language and a very invested audience. |
| There’s rich territory for philosophical enquiry, too. |
| Does wearing the same thing make us equal? Should we judge people by their clothes? Who decides what’s fashionable? Then there are the bigger questions behind the price tag: who made this, under what conditions, and what happens when we’re finished with it? And why and when did it become the height of style to wear pyjama bottoms out of the house? |
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| A few ways to try it in your classroom: |
- Watch, move, design. We love this free ballet character lesson from New York’s Museum at FIT. Children watch ballet excerpts, explore movement and create their own character and costume. It’s recommended for Prep–Year 2, but I reckon older students could get plenty from investigating how costume tells a story without words.
- Follow the label. Fashion Revolution’s education resources invite students to investigate where their clothes were made and the people behind them. With activities for different ages, they’re a useful starting point for deeper thinking about fairness, workers and our choices as consumers.
- Unpick fast fashion. ABC’s War on Waste fast-fashion segment makes a useful discussion starter about clothing and environmental impact. Try: What makes clothing disposable, and how could we help it last longer?
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| Up for an excursion? A nearby op shop could become a fashion investigation. Arrange a visit to explore fabrics, examine labels and ask staff what happens to donations. Students could imagine a new life for an old garment… no purchases required (alright… maybe just for the teacher). |
| Who knew a school shirt could start so many conversations? |
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Talking drums and warrior queens… we’re taking you to Nigeria
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We’re taking you to Nigeria.
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| How do you make a drum talk? What happens when a pharmacist becomes a royal ruler? And why might cooking dinner require some serious muscle? |
| Join us on Tuesday when we visit this vibrant country where more than 500 languages are spoken, and powerful queens have helped shape history. |
| We’re off to school to discover a different kind of passport: the Nigeria Learning Passport, which brings lessons to children through phones, tablets and computers. And along the way, we’ll even explore Nollywood… Nigeria’s enormous movie industry. |
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| An audio excursion packed with history, culture and everyday life. Listen carefully, there’s a S’Quiz at the end! |
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Bird lover… or just bird-curious? 
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| It’s one of our favourite weeks of the year: an excellent excuse to grab a hat, head outside and see who’s hanging out in the trees. Australia’s biggest citizen science event has room for everyone, from dedicated twitchers to those still working out which end of the binoculars to look through. |
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| Taking part is simple: spend 20 minutes in an outdoor space, count the birds you see and submit your results through the Aussie Bird Count app or website. There’s even a bird-finder tool to help with those “small, brown and rather speedy” mysteries. Your observations help BirdLife Australia track how our urban bird populations are faring. |
| For your class, that’s observation, identification and data collection with a real purpose. Take tally sheets into the playground, turn your findings into graphs, or discuss what makes your school grounds a welcoming place for birds. What might you notice if you spent a little less time rushing past and a little more time looking up? |
| And if you need inspiration, have a scroll through this gorgeous ABC photo story about Darwin’s birds, which we came across yesterday. Among the rainbow bee-eaters and colourful finches is an extraordinary all-black blue-winged kookaburra. We’ve never seen one like it! |
| Here’s hoping the weather cooperates and your local birds are ready for roll call. |
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Fun Finish: No cap, we need a translator
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| Ever understood every word a student said but none of the sentence? Let’s spill the tea! US teacher Mr Lindsay has made decoding student slang something of a specialty, helping bewildered adults keep up with Gen Z and Gen Alpha. |
| Consider it a little staffroom professional development. Will it boost your aura? Unclear. Will using it in class be labelled cringe? Almost certainly. But watching students recoil as you casually announce that their paragraph “slays”? That’s a teacher perk. No cap. |
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What’s on this week?
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| Here’s what’s happening around the country and the world: |
| Monday |
- Start of Aussie Backyard Bird Count
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| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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| Thursday |
- Wombat Day
- International Stuttering Awareness Day
- CAPS LOCK DAY
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| Friday |
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| Saturday |
- Start of Children’s Week
- Start of Media Literacy Week
- United Nations Day
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| Sunday |
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Housekeeping
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We love hearing from you
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| Spotted an unusual bird? Heard a student expression that left you completely baffled? Hit us up! I’d love to compare notes on both. |
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Pass it on.
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Know a teacher who’d love this? Get ‘em on to Squiz Kids…Copy and paste this link to others:
https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-blog/come-for-the-birds-stay-for-the-teacher-rizz/ |
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Want more Squiz but for adults?
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Squiz Shortcuts – the backstory to the big news stories. Click here to get it in your inbox, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify to get it in your ears.
Saturday Squiz – news, weekend style. .
News Club – the place to go for conversations about the news, hosted by OG Squizers Claire Kimball and Kate Watson. Hit follow on Apple or Spotify to get News Clubin your ears. |
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