Monday, 27 March, 2023
Niceness wins in NSW election; Tornadoes tear through Mississippi; 3D-printed rocket has lift-off; and a zebra trots through traffic.
LINKS
Squiz Kids is hiring! See the job ad here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V0nwnzUjumm-sEwmKOyo_hc5Q3Krtra1oTxgZxEEjr4/edit
Today’s Quick Links:
Squiz Kids: Sensational World of Civics: https://www.squizkids.com.au/civics/
Here are the winners and losers from Labor’s NSW election victory: https://www.afr.com/politics/here-are-the-winners-and-losers-from-labor-s-nsw-election-victory-20230326-p5cvcw
Drone footage from Mississippi tornado: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65077137
What causes tornados: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65077139
Terran1 First Launch: https://www.relativityspace.com/
Sero the adventurous zebra: https://twitter.com/hyunsuinseoul/status/1638820623752527872
Theatre activities for kids for World Theatre Day: https://lifestyle.howstuffworks.com/crafts/seasonal/theatre-activities-for-kids.htm
Dig Deeper:
Please excuse me, is there a place for politeness in Australian politics?:https://theconversation.com/please-excuse-me-is-there-a-place-for-politeness-in-australian-politics-177437
Tornado in a bottle experiment: https://www.smallstepforstem.com/tornado-in-a-bottle-create-a-vortex-to-talk-about-extreme-weather/
How tornadoes work: https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/tornado.htm
The genius of 3-D printed rockets:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz165f1g8-E
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THE LOWDOWN
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NSW woke yesterday morning with a new premier – and the country woke pleasantly surprised that niceness had returned to politics.
Dad of three, Chris Minns, led his Labor Party to victory in the state election at the weekend, becoming the 47th premier of NSW – and while there were a lot of highlights around which party won which seat, and which candidate from which corner of the state would be heading to Sydney to represent their community in parliament – one of the most notable things to come out of the election was how polite and civil the two men competing for premier were towards one another.
Speaking after his loss, outgoing NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet said he wanted all people from his party – anyone who supported him – to get behind his opponent and help him to govern.
For his part, the new premier congratulated his opponent for running a good clean campaign, for serving his state as its leader and for being so gracious in defeat.
“Neuther party took the low road, neither political party took the low blow – I think it can be a model for the way democracy is done right across this country. I can’t say that every election campaign in the future will be conducted the same way, but from now on, no one will be able to say that it can’t be.”
Why is any of this a thing? Because election campaigns can get pretty nasty – with opponents saying lots of unkind things about each other as they try to win.
Vote 1 kindness, people.
– BREAK
Don’t forget if you’re keen to get your civics on … Squiz Kids has produced an excellent four-part podcast series explaining elections and parliament and how our system of government works. It’s called the Sensational World of Civics – and you can find it by searching our podcast feed or via our website, squizkids.com.au
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 Mississipi – which is a state in the mid-west of America where a tornado has torn through the state and left a trail of devastation.
Tornados – which are also called twisters – are often catastrophic weather events that occur when cold air from the north collides with warm air from the south. I’ve stuck a video explainer in today’s episode notes.
The collision of air masses causes a massive funnel of twisting air which can reach speeds of hundreds of kilometres an hour and sweep across a landscape picking up and hurling around everything in its path.
Cars and trucks were picked up and thrown, roofs were ripped from houses and entire factories were flattened by the tornado. And with more storms and hail predicted overnight, the people of America’s mid-west were yesterday bunkered down waiting to see what Mother Nature still had in store for them. To any Squiz Kids in that part of the world – stay safe.
SPACED OUT
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[ROCKET COUNTDOWN] We have lift-off! In a test flight named ‘Good Luck, Have Fun’, Terran 1, the world’s first 3-D printed rocket, blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida late last week. By melting together layers of metal that are much thinner than a human hair, this remarkable rocket was created by 3D printers in just one piece! This innovative way of building rockets takes a matter of days, rather than months, or even years of work.
The company that built the rocket, Relativity Space, hoped that the 3-D printed rocket was strong enough to make it through Max Q. ‘What’s that?’ I hear you ask. Have you ever put the car window down when someone’s driving? It takes some effort to keep your hand near the window and stop it from just flapping around, right? Well, about a minute after launch, the rocket is going really fast and has lots of air pressure pushing against it. The point where the pressure is the greatest is called Max Q, and the rocket made it through without falling apart. Yay!
Sadly, during the next phase, the engines shut down, and rather than launching into orbit as was hoped, the rocket crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. But, because of the 3-D printing technology, it won’t be long til we see another rocket launch. “To infinity and beyond!”
CLASSROOM COMPANION CLARION
Oh – will you look at that? It’s the CCC .. letting us know that today’s classroom worksheets are linked to this news item in the podcast – and today we’re exploring onomatopeia and alliteration – two of my faves. Teachers – if you haven’t yet taken advantage of our free daily classroom resources, sign up pronto at squizkids.com.au. And remember, if you’ve been referred by a colleague, be sure to mention in the sign-up process who it is – one lucky referrer this term stands to win a $250 voucher. Imagine all the Easter Eggs you could buy with that?
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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So you’re sitting in peak hour traffic – just minding your own business. And what’s the one thing you least expect to see trotting past you?
How about a zebra? Because that’s what some residents of the South Korean capital Seoul witnesses lasr Thuraday after an adventurous zebra escaped from a zoo and decided to take a little trot about the city.
Sero the zebra was on the run for a good three hours – filmed as he ran along busy city streets.
Eventually Sero was cornered in a laneway, tranquilized – which means shot with a dart that contains sedatives which temporarily sent him to sleep – and returned to his enclosure at the zoo.
And yes, because it’s Monday and who doesn’t want to see a zebra running wild in the city – I’ve stuck a link to video of the great zebra escape in today’s episode notes.
I hope when he was crossing the road he used the zebra crossing (DAD JOKE ALARM) – ahhh come on, it’s been a while between dad jokes, and you got to admit that one was not bad …
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What sort of massive weather event has caused destruction in Mississippi?
- What’s the capital of South Korea where Sero the zebra did a runner?
- What was used to make the rocket, Terran 1?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s March 27 … today is World Theatre Day .. a day to celebrate the incredible history of theatre and how important the arts are in every town, city and country of the world.
It’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today…Jax from Yoorooga, Cameron from the Gold Coast, Liam from Forest Lake, Ashmeet from Helensvale, Estelle from Appin, Aden from St Peters, Hunter from Gladstone, Kaio from Narraweena, Naomi from Rochedale South, Kade from Shepparton, Derek from Mildura and Jacob from Singapore.
Belated shout outs go to…Adalene from Darlington, Logan from Adelaide, Mateo from Brisbane, Lani from Bathurst, Olivia from Concord, Nived from Cherrybrook, Triet from Drummoyne, Adelina from Ruse, Jack from Geelong and Lachlan, Mark and Hammer all from Melbourne.
Today classroom shout outs go to class 5L and Ms Lim at Essex Heights Primary School in Mount Waverley, class ironbark 3 and Miss Skye at Kintore Street School in Katherine, class 4 blue with Mrs Cosgrove at St Eugene College in Burpengary and class 5/6A and Mrs Aitken at St Michael’s Primary School in Deniliquin.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Tornado
- Seoul
- 3D printer