Friday, 20 May, 2022

It’s election time!; Taiwan’s Oreo pizza; the alligator that went to school; and Tanya Plibersek says be nice to teachers.

 

LINKS

 

Squiz Kids Q+A with the Opposition’s Tanya Plibersek: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-specials/squiz-kids-qa-with-the-oppositions-tanya-plibersek/

Taiwan’s Oreo pizza: https://soranews24.com/2022/05/16/pizza-huts-new-oreo-pizza-is-like-nothing-weve-ever-seen-before/

Van Gogh Lego: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/van-gogh-lego-scli-intl/index.html

Sensational World of Civics: https://www.squizkids.com.au/civics/

 

Squiz Kids for Schools: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/

Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/squiz-kids/id1494238283 

 

How To Become A Squiz Kids Correspondent: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FH2HA28InnLU6UxE91wrLBAbCMT40Mua/view

Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en

Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

THE LOWDOWN

For six long weeks it’s been dominating the headlines … you can’t turn on a TV or radio or open a newspaper or news website without bumping into a politician – or an annoying political ad.

I’m talking about tomorrow’s Federal Election. Where everyone in Australia over the age of 18 troops off to a polling booth to vote for who they want to run the country. 

Opinion polls are suggesting it’s going to be a tight race between the main contenders, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese – one of whom will be Prime Minister for the next three years. 

If the vote count is really close, it could be days before there is a result. If one side convincingly beats the other – which in electoral terms is called a landslide – then we could have a new prime minister – or the same one reinstalled – by as early as tomorrow night. 

In the meantime though, we’ve made elections easy to understand, with our four part civics series, produced in association with the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra. 

The final episode of the Sensational World of Civics is out now: the best one yet in my humble opinion. An episode on how kids can get involved in the political process. Sure, you can’t vote until you’re 18 – but there are plenty of things you can do in the meantime to make sure your voice is heard. 

Check out the entire series by searching whatever app you’re listening on now, or via our website squizkids.com.au. And for our Squiz Kids for Schools members, today’s Classroom Companion activity sheets are all about how kids can get political. 

And in the meantime: take heart. There’s only another 24 hours or so to go before the election campaign is all over … 24 hours until there are no more Clive Palmer ads on the telly … only 24 more hours to have to listen to  ‘there’s a hole in your budget’ over and over and over again. 

And breathe …  

Can’t get enough of the Federal Election? Keen to know what the Labor Opposition would do if they win tomorrow? Then wrap your ears around our special Squiz Kids Q+A with Shadow Education Minister, Tanya Plibersek. 

The Shadow Minister kindly took time out of her super busy, last minute campaigning schedule to take the Squiz Kids hotseat in place of her party’s leader, Anthony Albanese – who finally wasn’t able to join us. 

If her party, the Labor Party, win government tomorrow, Ms Plibersek will be the education minister – and so will have a massive influence over all of your lives.

Find out what she thinks about bullying in politics, how teachers should be  treated and whether she ever got into trouble at school.

It’s all in the Q+A – which, if you’re listening on an app, should run immediately after this episode, or otherwise available under the Specials section on our website, squizkids.com.au.

You’re welcome. 

 

SPIN THE GLOBE
——–

Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops, and today we’ve landed in Taiwan – where an Oreo pizza is the hot new trend in fast food.

What’s in the Oreo pizza, I hear you ask?

Well it’s a cheesy pizza base, topped with Oreos, obviously, a sprinkling of popcorn fried chicken and – wait for it – salted deep-fried calamari rings. 

Excuse me while I vomit a little bit in my mouth.

Cleverly, the pizza is constructed so that the savoury bits – the chicken and calamari are positioned at the centre, or the pointy bit of the pizza slice, and the Oreo near the outer crust – so that you have an entire meal – dinner and dessert – in one single slice. Genius.

Yeah nah … I think i’ll stick to Hawaiian thanks .. 

If you’re up for a giggle, i’ve stuck a link in today’s episode notes to photos of this particular crime against good taste .. you’re very welcome. 

 

ANIMAL KINGDOM

———

You’ve heard of the kids picture book The Tiger Who Came To Tea … well, this news item is about the Alligator Who Went To School … and so it’s off to South Carolina in the United States we go, where police had to be called in this week to remove an alligator from a primary school.

Alligators live in the wild in various parts of the United States – and it’s common for them to leave the swamps and ponds and rivers that they normally live in to wander about neighbourhoods. So much so, that police generally tell locals to leave them be and herd them back into the nearest pond.

But when a six-foot long alligator sauntered into the playground of a Charleston primary school – well, they figured they had to act. And so they captured the unwelcome visitor and relocated it to the nearest waterway. 

Wonder if it was there to brush up on its maths or reading? 

 

POP CULTURE CORNER 

—-

Lego Masters may be well and truly over … how good was that finale? … but that doesn’t mean the building fun has to stop – especially if you like mixing a bit of high art with your brick work.

Lego has just announced the release of a new set which allows you to recreate  Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh’s famous painting, Starry Night.

It’s a super-cool, 3D version of the painting masterpiece – features a mini-fig of the artist himself – and features 2,316 bricks … so, you know, not the faint hearted.

The Starry Night Lego was one of several ideas sent to the toy company as part of its Lego Ideas PLatform …. Where fans of Lego send in ideas for cool sets … Other sets to have come out of the Ideas Platform include a working typewriter and the house from the movie Home Alone. How cool.


THE S’QUIZ
—————–

This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …

1. What sort of animal wandered into a playground in South Carolina?

  1. What’s the name of the artist who painted The Starry Night? 
  2. Which country has released an Oreo pizza? 

 

SHOUT OUTS

——————-– 

It’s May 20 … Today is National Walk Safely To School Day .. and it’s also World Bee Day … here’s hoping you saw some bees today while walking safely to school.

It’s also a Friday … and you know what that means. An extra long birthday shout-outs segment – for which we’ll have to crack out the ol’ birthday reggae tune … hit it ..

And it’s a happy birthday today to …Oliver from Walpole, Zane from Haberfield, Tily from Bathurst, Jethro from Shoalhaven Heads, Charlie from Moonee Ponds, Vedha from Canberra, Parker from Exeter, Julian from Victoria and Gus listening from over in Kuala Lumpur.

Not forgetting of course all of those Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday over the coming weekend and there are A LOT of birthdays this weekend….

Ollie from Corowa, Rhys from Woongarrah Public School, Charlee from Mansfield, Zachary from Paddington, Oscar from Brookvale, Mikaela from Berry, Dash from New Farm, Ariana from Adelaide, Alisi from the Gold Coast, Amaia from Manly, Ava from Netley, Declan from Shoal Bay, Rylo from Castle Hill, Hattie from Box Hill, Pareesa from Wahroonga and Oliver from Malvern East. And a special birthday shout out to Miss Luongo from All Hallows Catholic Primary School in Five Dock.

Belated birthday wishes go to .. Jayden from Abbotsford Public School, Kakashi from Flagstaff Hill, Juan from Perth, Aston from Preston and Leo from Northam.

 

The S’Quiz Answers:

  1. Alligator
  2. Vincent Van Gogh
  3. Taiwan