Friday, 28 May, 2021
School’s out in Victoria; Ecuador’s giant tortoise returns; Squids in space; and the launch of ‘My Lockdown Life’.
LINKS
Galapagos tortoise: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/26/americas/galapagos-turtle-not-extinct-intl-hnk/index.html
Squids in space: https://www.9news.com.au/technology/baby-squid-and-tardigrades-to-be-blasted-into-space/3dbc2cc0-34d0-4a75-bd98-26f3ab387910
QUESTIONS FOR SQUIZ KIDS in VICTORIA – ‘My Lockdown Life’
Remember to answer in full sentences, with lots of good details!
1) What did you think and feel when you heard your state was going into lockdown again?
2) If you could talk to the Coronavirus, what would you say to it?
3) What advice would you give to kids who feel scared or sad about Coronavirus and lockdown?
4) What’s the silliest or most fun thing your family does to pass the time in lockdown?
5) What’s the first thing you will do when you get out of lockdown?
What To Do:
Get a big person in your house to sit down and record the questions and your answers on a smart device (a phone or tablet, for example). Try to do it somewhere quiet! And remember to make sure when you speak, you’re nice and close to the microphone! Then email the audio file to [email protected] – and listen all next week to see if you’ve been featured!
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Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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School’s out in Victoria for the next week as the state today begins the first of a seven day ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown following a spike in coronavirus cases there.
Kids in Victoria will remain at home for so-called ‘remote learning’ as the state battles to get on top of the outbreak.
And while not going to school for the next seven days might sound like a hoot to anyone not having to do it – like all of you Squiz Kids in the rest of the country – remember that this is the fourth time that Victoria has been in a lockdown – and one of them was really long, and ultimately, not all that fun. For kids or their parents.
Yesterday, Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino described the sudden lockdown as a ‘circuit breaker’ – which is an expression used to describe an action that is taken to stop something from progressing. Which, in this case, it’s an action that’s being taken to hopefully stop the spread of the coronavirus in its tracks.
And so: it’s masks on again for Victorians every time they step outside; it’s only going out of your house for food shopping or exercise; and it’s not having any visitors to your home. So – you know – as I said before – a whole lot less fun than it sounds.
But … to help out our Squiz Kids friends in Victoria – and help the rest of us understand what they’re going through – we’re launching a new segment for the next seven days called My Lockdown Life. Keep listening to find out details …
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops. And today we’ve landed in Ecuador in South America, where scientists have discovered a giant tortoise they thought became extinct 100 years ago.
To say an animal is extinct means it no longer exists on Earth.
So imagine the surprise of conservationists in the Galapagos Islands when they stumbled upon a species of giant tortoise they believed had died off over a century ago.
The Galapagos Islands is home to a stunning array of wildlife – from flamingos to marine iguanas, sea lions to boobies … and stop your giggling, a booby is a kind of bird.
There’s a link to photos of the giant tortoise in today’s episode notes.
SPORTS TIME
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There’s been a little bit of COVID chaos in the AFL with the announcement of the Victorian lockdown – with two games being moved interstate and several teams being forced to stay away from home longer than planned.
Tonights clash between the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne at Marvel Stadium will be played with no spectators, and the roof of the stadium open. And Saturday’s game at the MCG between Collingwood and Geelong will also be played in front of an empty stadium.
Meanwhile, Victorian-based teams like Essendon and Richmond and Hawthorn are working out whether to stay away or get out of Victoria early to make their interstate matches. While the Gold Coast v Hawthorn game that was meant to happen in Darwin this weekend has been moved to Sydney. Did you get all that? I know, clear as mud, right. Imagine being the person organising their travel plans …
SPACED OUT
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Squids in space … have you ever heard anything more ridiculous? But that’s what’s about to happen with an upcoming Space X trip planning to take a load of glow-in-the-dark baby squid up to the International Space Station in June as part of a series of science experiments.
One hundred and twenty eight baby bobtail squid will be aboard the rocket that takes off on June 4. Hundreds of scientific experiments are carried out each day on the space station; it’s an orbiting laboratory, after all.
Astronauts oversee these experiments and report back their observations to researchers on Earth. The research helps us gain a better understanding of life in zero gravity as well as discovering benefits that can be applied on Earth.
How cool is that?
My Lockdown Life CALL-OUT
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Alright Victoria … this one’s for you. Because you’ve been sent into another lockdown – boooo – because we know there will be a lot of hours between now and when it ends stuck inside – and because we think it’s really important that Squiz Kids outside of Victoria understand what it’s like to be in lockdown .. again … we’re asking you – the kids of Victoria – to help us put together a new segment which we’ll run for the next seven days called ‘My Lockdown Life’.
It’s a chance for you to tell the rest of the country what it’s like in lockdown. The good and the bad. What you’re doing to pass the time. How you’re feeling. How many times your brother or sister gets on your nerves. Tips and tricks to make the days go faster. This is your chance to have your voice heard – so what are you waiting for?
We’ve stuck five questions in today’s episode notes for Squiz Kids in Victoria for you to record your answers to and email in to us. Over the course of the next week, we’ll be playing a selection of your answers on the podcast.
If you can’t find the episode notes – drop us a line at [email protected] – and we’ll email them out to you.
Together, we’ve got this Victoria!
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- How many days is the Victorian ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown?
- Which country in South America is home to the Galapagos Islands?
- What animal is being sent up into space for scientific research?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s May 28 … birthday of Aussie pop singer, Kylie Minogue.
It’s also a Friday and that means an extra long series of birthday shoutouts … birthday reggae tune ….
Happy birthday to these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today Nicola from Oran Park; Archer from Mount Warren Park; Eden from Dubbo; Eliana from Sunnybank Hills; Wesley from Bexley; Ian from Calamvale; Analisse from St Leonards; Charlie from Abbotsford; Henry from Riverview; Trisha from no location given; Zac from Como; Amelie whose listening all the way over there in Singapore; and Ayla who’s listening in from Switzerland!
Plus an extra special birthday shout out to Lachie in Heidelberg, who was so looking forward to having friends for pizza and a movie for his birthday, but is now in lockdown. Hang in there, Lachie!
Not forgetting of course those Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday over the coming weekend: Evelyn from Mt Lawley, Saphal from Invermay, Henry from Cronulla, Maggie from McKinnon, Candice from Surrey Hills, Tsubi from Shoal Bay, Jobie and Dominic from Dubbo, Benjamin from the Sunshine Coast, Hamish from Burradoo, Levi from Victoria, Raphael from Gold Coast, Riley from Rockingham, and Amelie from Camden.
And a belated birthday shoutout to Jason from Towradgi; Chloe from Abbotsford; Joshua in Echuca, Dylan in Mosman Park, and Erin & Zoe from Albury would like to wish their awesome Mum Cathy a very happy 47th birthday for yesterday.
And today’s classroom shoutouts go to 3/4M at Gosford East Public School with their teacher Mrs McLean, who is celebrating a birthday tomorrow, and 6 White at Holy Family Primary in Canberra, who say their teacher, Miss Salcedo, is the best teacher ever!! Plus It’s her birthday today.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Seven
- Ecuador
- Squid – bobtail glow-in-the-dark squid, to be exact.