Monday, 14 September, 2020
Victoria’s playground-a-palooza; Rwanda’s mountain gorillas return; Naomi Osaka’s tennis triumph; and watch out for dog prams.
LINKS
Rwanda’s mountain gorillas: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-54126468
Comedy Wildlife Photos: https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-54118899
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
———————-
There’s going to be high demand for the slippery dip and a line-up for the swings from today in Melbourne as the first set of lockdown restrictions are lifted for our Victorian cousins.
Playgrounds will be open again for the first time in almost 2 months – woo-hoo – as the number of hours Melburnians are allowed out of their homes to exercise each day lifts from one hour to two hours.
Squiz Kids in regional Victoria will have an added skip in their step, as the easing of restrictions outside of Melbourne mean that outdoor pools will reopen … but maybe take a jumper. Minimum daily temperatures are still in the single digits in many parts of the state. Brrr.
Hang in there team: summer is just around the corner.
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 Rwanda, in the middle of Africa – where a successful program to save mountain gorillas is being celebrated.
Forty years ago, the population of gorillas in the mountain jungles of Rwanda was around 250. Today, thanks to a big effort to protect their habitat and ward off illegal gorilla hunters, the population has grown to around 1000.
The gorillas are one of the subjects of renowned English conservationist, David Attenborough’s new BBC nature documentary series, called ‘Extinction’ – which is airing in the UK this week. In the doco, Attenborough – who has met practically every species of animal on the planet – says spending time with the gorillas was one of the most special moments in his career. There’s a link to a lovely video in today’s episode notes – with lots of cute baby gorillas. You’re welcome.
SPORTS TIME
———–
And it was a second US Open for Japanese tennis star, Naomi Osaka yesterday when she smashed her way to victory..
Things didn’t exactly get off to the perfect start for the champ – who famously beat Serena Williams to take out the winners trophy in 2018. She lost the first set to Victoria Azarenka by six games to one. But the fiery little pocket rocket came storming back in the second and third sets to claim victory and hold the winner’s trophy aloft.
The men’s final got underway first thing this morning, Australian time – with Austrian Dominic Thiem taking on Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
———–
If you have a pet – you know how easy it is to spoil them, right? Maybe your cat gets to sleep on your bed every now and then – or your dog gets to sneak up onto the lounge when mum and dad aren’t watching. I have a dog called Louis – and he pretty much has the run of the house. But not even I would go so far as to put him in a pram. But that’s what’s happening on city streets all over Australia as more and more dog owners push their pups around in prams.
Especially popular with smaller pooches, dog prams are supposedly good for dogs who have little legs and get tired out when they walk too far – or for those smaller dogs who get intimidated and nervous when they’re around bigger dogs. Sounds a bit nuts to me. There’s a link in today’s episode notes to pups in prams … and while you’re there, check out the link to the Wildlife Comedy Photo award winners … the smiling fish and the dwarf mongoose are definitely my favourites.
EDDIE WOO CALL OUT
———–
Here’s a quick maths question for you … what’s four minus three? The answer is of course, one – which is a coincidence, because that’s how many sleeps you’ve got to send in your questions to our next special guest in the Squiz Kids hotseat – Australia’s most famous maths teacher, Eddie Woo.
Thanks to those Squiz Kids who have already sent in your questions – they’re really good. For those of you who want to put a question to Eddie – and go in the draw to win a prize for best question – you’ve got until the end of the day tomorrow to email your question to: [email protected].
Because Eddie + Woo = amazing to the power of 10.
THE S’QUIZ
—————–
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What animal’s population has staged a comeback in the mountains of Rwanda?
- Name the Japanese tennis star who won this year’s women’s comp at the US Open?
- What form of transport is becoming more popular for city-dwelling Aussie dogs?
SHOUT OUTS
——————-
It’s September 14 ….. On this day in 1868 – the first ever hole-in-one was recorded in the game of golf. We’re talking about 150 years – so they were probably playing with sticks and rolled up bits of string – so, you know – no mean feat.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Nandika from Hornsby, Amali from Burleigh Heads, Gemma from East Lindfield, Emma and Max from Ashgrove, Lachlan from Port Kennedy, Aleesha from Aberfoyle Park, India-Rose from Wollongbar, Ainslie from Perth, Kira from Abbotsford, Josh from Sydney, Oliver from Rouse Hill, and Lara from Brunswick West.
And some belated birthday shoutouts… Dasol from Concord West, Hamish from Boorowa Central, Alanny from Fairfield and Liam from Five Dock.
Happy birthday one and all!
And so to classroom shoutouts — remember – we want to dedicate the next couple of weeks’ worth of classroom shoutouts to Victorian school kids who are home learning … so if you’re a teacher of or a student in a class in Victoria and you want to give your students or classmates a shout out – drop us a line at [email protected]
Today’s Victorian classroom shout outs go to … all the wonderful staff and students at Overnewton Anglican Community College and Good Shepherd Lutheran Primary School in Melbourne; Prep B and Year 3B at Featherbrook College in Point Cook, and classes 1B and 3HS at Blackburn Primary School.
A great big Squiz Kids salute from all of us to all of you …
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Gorillas
- Naomi Osaka
- Dog prams