Monday, October 9, 2023
Trouble brewing in Israel; Bear on a boat in Florida; Simone Biles is gymnastics GOAT; and a necklace made of giraffe poo.
LINKS
Simone Biles is the GOAT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib8qabEpJpY
Squiz Kids LIVE! Buy tickets to our Canberra show here:
https://moshtix.com.au/v2/event/squiz-kids-live/154887
Squiz Kids Book Club: https://www.squizkids.com.au/book_club/
Newshounds
Get started on our free media literacy resource for classrooms
https://www.squizkids.com.au/about-newshounds/
Classroom Companion:
Teachers! Want to access free, curriculum-aligned classroom resources tied to the daily podcast? Sign up to be a Squiz Kids Classroom and download the Classroom Companion each day. Made by teachers for teachers, differentiated to suit all primary school ability levels. And did we mention it’s free?
Stay up to date with us on our Squiz Kids Instagram!
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Complete the form on our Squiz Kids website. Link: SHOUT OUTS or / send us an email at [email protected]
THE LOWDOWN
——-
First – a welcome back to all you Squiz Kids rocking up for the first day of Term 4 .. here’s to an excellent final term of school for 2023 …
Now, you’ve probably heard a lot in the news over the last 24 hours about a place called Israel – and the fact that war has been declared there. So let’s take a minute to break down exactly what it all means – because it’s a big deal – and, while there’s nothing for any of you to be worried about in terms of our own personal safety, it’s important to know what’s going on in the world around us, and why.
Israel is a country in the Middle East. Its neighbour is called Palestine. Now unfortunately, Israel and Palestine have been in a long-running argument over borders and land and what belongs to whom. And over the weekend, a militant organisation within Palestine called Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel – firing thousands of rockets and entering Israel by land, sea and air, using paragliders – an act that prompted Israel to hit back, sending its own missiles back into a place called Gaza.
The Gaza Strip, as it’s called, is a ribbon of land measuring 41 kilometres long and only 10 kilometres wide – where some 2 million Palestinian people live.
Flights into Israel were diverted or cancelled over the weekend as the world held its breath to see what would happen next.
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 Minnesota – in the United States – where a woman has tried to sneak a box full of giraffe poo into the country.
Now – I’ve been to Africa and there are plenty of wonderful souvenirs that you can bring back home – giraffe poo, I have to admit, is not one I ever considered.
What was the woman planning to do with a box full of giraffe poo? Well, make it into a necklace, of course. What else?
The woman told customs officials that she already had a necklace at home made from dried moose poo – and she thought a giraffe poo necklace would be the perfect new addition to her jewellery collection.
Because some things are just so weird, you couldn’t possibly make them up ..
SPORT TIME
——-
American gymnast Simone Biles has had one very impressive weekend … becoming the greatest gymnast of all time – male or female – after winning another swag of gold medals at the World Gymnastics Championships in Belgium – including gold in the all-around title for a record-breaking sixth time.
She’s now won 34 world and Olympic medals – more than any other gymnast ever.
It’s an achievement made all the more impressive given that she walked away from international competition two years ago, exhausted and determined to work on her mental health.
The break has clearly worked – with the champ wowing crowds in the Belgian city of Antwerp. And it makes for the perfect preparation for the Paris Olympics in ten months’ time. Simone Biles, Squiz Kids salutes you.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
——–
We heard last week how Fat Bear Week has begun in Alaska – where online voting has begun to see which brown bear in the Katmai National Park has put on the most weight over the northern hemisphere summer, in preparation for hibernation. At the other end of the United States, another bear has gone viral – this time, in Florida, where a black bear has been spotted aboard a boat.
The owners of a marina in Naples couldn’t believe their eyes when they spotted the furry intruder hanging out on the deck of a boat tied up to the jetty.
Seems it had let itself onto the boat and was just hanging out – looking for food.
Bear on a boat, necklaces made of giraffe poop .. I think we can officially declare today a topsy turvy news day.
SQUIZ KIDS Q+A
—
Have you ever wondered what I must be like to be Prime Minister? To be in charge of the entire country? Have you ever thought what it must be like to be a part of history by becoming the first female Prime Minister of Australia?
Well now’s your chance to find out as we bring you the exciting news that former Aussie PM, Julia Gillard has agreed to take the Squiz Kids hotseat and answer YOUR questions.
Prime Minister Gillard ran the country before most of you were born .. but the impact she had is still felt today – not least in proving what you should all already know: and that’s if you can dream it, you can be it.
PM Gillard moved to Australia as a migrant from Wales when she was only 5 years old and grew up in Adelaide – then went on to study law, become a politician and become the country’s first female PM … Amazing.
Where did she go to primary school? What dies she remember about her teachers? What were her favourite subjects? What advice would she have for kids who want to become PM?
Don’t just sit there: get cracking with your teachers or parents and start putting together questions you’d want to ask – send them ASAP to [email protected].
CANBERRA SHOW
—
(FANFARE SOUND EFFECT) Alright funsters … it might be the first day back at school for many of you – but a quick reminder for our friends in the ACT that the first ever Squiz Kids LIVE show is heading your way.
It’s all happening this coming Saturday – which means if you want to be part of a live podcast recording, if you want to get your groove on with our daytime disco – and join me as I bring all the best bits of the podcast to life on stage – then you better get your tickets quicksmart!
Come with your family, come with your friends – get your teacher to organise the entire class to come with special group booking discounts – because it’s going to be super fun.
Tickets available via our website, squizkids – or via the link in our episode notes . Can’t wait to see you there ..
THE S’QUIZ
—————–
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What sort of animal poo did a US woman try to sneak into the country?
- What’s the name of Australia’s first female Prime Minister who’s about to take the Q+A hotseat?
- What’s the name of the US gymnast who’s scooped the field in the World Championships in Belgium?
SHOUT OUTS
——————-–
It’s October 9 … the city of Hobart in Tasmania celebrates its 219th birthday today .. she looks pretty good for 219 …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today and tomorrow… Hunter from Oyster Bay, Adelina from Campbelltown, Ember from Unanderra, Ruby from the Gold Coast, Sushna from Canning Vale, Max from Clothiers Creek, Ben from Rydalmere, Aaron from Gubbi Gubbi Country, Hayden from Forster, Rahni from Traralgon, Anika from Kellyville, Sophia from Upper Mount Gravatt, Lily from Cobbitty, Tyler from Munno Para, Aston from Sydney, Olivia from Camden, Elise from Everton Hills, Iniko from Carnegie, Annie from Bethanga, Oliver travelling in Sri Lanka and a special shout out to Hugo from Tamworth.
And belated shoutouts go to… Addi from Santhers, Olivia from Hendra, Charles from Double Bay, Ayak from Goodna, Jasmine from Mareeba, Austin from Upper Coomera, Stevey from Brisbane, Eva from Flora Hill and Harrison from Seventeen Mile Rocks.
And we are still working our way through the belated shoutouts for those Squiz Kids who celebrated a birthday during the recent school holidays – including… Hamilton from Valentine, Eli from North Manly, Dakota from Junee, Casper from Ainslie, Alia from Truganina, Vaeyolla from NSW, Macey from Mernda, Jackson from Abbotsford, Matty from Collingwood Park, Darius from Burpengary, Phoebe from Croydon, Indi from Rosemeadow, Kaela (pronounced Kayla) from Forest Lake, Noah from Albany Creek, Levi from Ashmont, Amany from Oak Park, Ty from Sydney, Victoria from Middle Harbour, Chloe from Heidelberg West, Nate from Coffs Harbour and Tobias listening over in Cancun Mexico.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Giraffe
- Julia Gillard
- Simone Biles