Thursday, 23 June, 2022
Teachers strike in NSW; Tonga’s sensational sunsets; big news for Aussie F1 driver; the house of 6000 bees.
LINKS
‘Have A Go’ Month – Australian Olympic Committee: https://www.olympics.com.au/have-a-go/
Squiz Kids for Schools – Free 30 Day Trial: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/
Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content – Free 7 Day Trial: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/squiz-kids/id1494238283
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
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Teachers in NSW will walk off the job next week hoping to send a message to the government there that they’re tired, worn out and overloaded with work.
For the first time teachers in both the public school and Catholic school systems will join together in the strike action next Thursday – a sign, they say, of how many teachers are reaching breaking point.
What’s a strike? It’s when people who do a certain job all come together and agree not to go to work for a short period of time, to protest what they believe are unfair work conditions.
In the case of NSW teachers – it’s not that they don’t like teaching you lot – for the most part they do – but rather, according to their representatives, it’s that they don’t feel like they’re able to do their jobs to the best of their ability because they’re overloaded with tasks that aren’t strictly related to teaching you stuff.
Teachers also say there aren’t enough teachers in the system, and those that are there aren’t paid properly for the job they do.
The strike action is the second in as many months by NSW public teachers, many of whom took to the streets back in May to protest for better conditions.
Pure coincidence – I swear – but in this week’s Squiz The World episode, Amanda takes us on a virtual visit to Finland – voted the happiest country on earth – where the sun doesn’t go down in summer, kids get a free lunch at school and teachers are given an extra 200 hours a year to prepare lessons for their students.
Squiz The World, of course, is one of the two weekly podcasts available to all classrooms that Squiz Kids for Schools subscription – or to parents who sign up to our Apple Subscriber Specials … links to free trials of both are in today’s episode notes.
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 Tonga … where particles thrown up into the atmosphere by January’s volcanic eruption have been causing spectacular sunrises and sunsets here in Australia.
If you’re an early riser or a sunset stroller and you’ve noticed the sky putting on a spectacular orange, pink and purple light show – it’s because of a volcano that erupted three and half thousand kilometres away.
How about that?
Scientists say that when the volcano erupted, it sent particles of ash, water vapour and a thing called sulphates up into the atmosphere .. and now, when the sun sets or rises, the light passes through those particles and makes for a pretty amazing light show.
Ain’t nature amazing?
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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What would you think if you pressed your ear to the wall in your lounge room, and heard a buzzing sound?
Need more clues? Imagine you’d also recently planted bee-friendly flowers outside, because you’d heard that bee populations all over the world were under threat. And then imagine you’d recently discovered 30 bees in a bedroom upstairs.
For a couple in Omaha in the United States, it turned out the buzzing was coming from thousands of bees who’d moved inside the walls of their 100-year-old house!
Members of a nearby bee club came to the rescue, cutting a hole in the wall, and gently vacuuming out 6,000 bees without hurting them. They took the bees, as well as three big pieces of honeycomb, away to a bee farm. And if you think 6,000 bees is a lot—apparently the last homeowners the bee club had helped had 15,000 inside their walls! I think I’ll stick to getting my honey from the shops, thanks.
SPORT TIME
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It was a tale of an old hand and a young gun in the Aussie sporting world yesterday – with basketball superstar Lauren Jackson being named in the Opals squad, and Formula One up-and-comer Oscar Piastri being tipped to get his first drive in a big race.
Jackson retired from basketball years ago, after captaining Australia at the Rio Olympics, but the 41 year old has worked her way back – in gruelling training sessions in her hometown of Albury – to be selected again for the Opals – which is the name of the Aussie women’s basketball team. Just in time for September’s World Cup in Sydney. Amazing …
Meanwhile, Aussie race car driver, Oscar Piastri looks set to get his first start in a Formula 1 race at the French Grand Prix next month. Alongside Daniel Ricciardo, having Piastri behind the wheel of an Alpine vehicle will mean two Australians on the starting grid in France. Which will technically double our chances of winning. Technically…
OLYMPICS – Have A Go Month
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(sound of clock ticking) … Hear that? That’s the clock counting down to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games – which if you can believe it, are only 10 years away…. to celebrate we are bringing you a super sporty segment from the Australian Olympic Committee…
It’s Have A Go month – and today’s Olympic sport in the Squiz Kids spotlight is aerial skiing.
Now, you might be thinking: ‘but I’m not a skier .. that sport’s not for me’. But did you know that Australia is one of the world’s best at aerial skiing – and a lot of the athletes who’ve gone on to great things started out in gymnastics, trampolining and diving? Because the skills you need to do flips in the air can be taught without snow or skis. In fact, you can even practice your skills by going off a jump and landing in a pool – like they do at the aerial skiing training facility in Brissie.
Who’d have thought that having a go at Olympic sports like gymnastics, trampolining and diving can not only give you some incredible experiences, but even give you a shot at the Winter Olympics.
To discover the right sport for you and to find out more about ‘Have A Go Month’ go to haveago.olympics.com.au – I’ve stuck the link in your episode notes.
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- How many bees did homeowners in Omaha discover inside their walls?
- What’s the name of the Australian women’s basketball team?
- In which country did a volcano erupt in January, causing speccy sunrises and sunsets here in Australia?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 23 … today is Olympic Day .. on this day, 128 years ago, the International Olympic Committee was formed .. marking the start of the modern Olympic movement and the summer and winter games …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Olivia from Woongarrah, Tammy from Calamvale, Henry from Curtin, Asha from Shenton Park, Reuby from Malanda, Samuel from Carlton, Zion from Capalaba and Jinx listening all the way over in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Classroom shoutouts are going to…class 5JG at Albany Hills State School, class 5C and Mrs Rad at Parktone Primary School, class 6EK and Mrs Katris at Parramatta East Public School, class 5/6H and Miss Nguyen at Harrington Street Public School and lastly it’s a happy birthday to Mrs Betram at St Peters Campus in Maitland – your students request that you don’t work them tooooo hard in the gym today!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- 6000
- Opals
- Tonga