Thursday, November 23, 2023
Being a good neighbour, Oz-style; Paris’ pastry Olympics; Matildas mania here we come; and the mystery of the fake Harry Potter film.
LINKS
YouTube’s Hit Pause: https://www.youtube.com/hitpause
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:
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Are you a good neighbour? Do you think you’d do a reasonable job of helping out a neighbour if they needed it? Because that’s what Australia got to show yesterday in two separate instances – playing its part in helping out other countries of the world.
Firstly – we offered to help out some of our Pacific Island neighbours, who are not as good as we are at fending off cyber attacks. What’s a cyber attack? It’s an attack by hackers to damage or destroy a computer network or system – and when it happens in a country, it can cause all sorts of chaos.
Yesterday Australia announced it would be sending cyber patrols to our friends in the Pacific to help them fight off cyber attacks. Think of it as a high-tech Paw Patrol. But with some palm trees and tropical islands as a backdrop.
We also showed our willingness to help out as a country yesterday following reports that the Australian government has granted more than 800 temporary visas to Palestinian people in the month since the Hamas terror group launched its attack on Israel – triggering the conflict that is going on over there now and which we’ve talked about before in the podcast.
Providing a safe place to live – even if only temporarily – for people affected by that war is another example of how, as a country, we’re doing our bit to help out people in need.
The news came as Israel yesterday agreed to a ceasefire in the conflict – meaning a temporary stop to the fighting – in return for the release of 50 women and children who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists six weeks ago and have been held against their will in the Palestinian territory of Gaza ever since.
We have problems here in Australia – for sure – but compared to many countries, we have it pretty good – and making the most of that good fortune by giving back is one of the most important things as a country we can do.
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 France … in Paris, to be exact – where a pastry shaped like a diving board has won the Paris Pastry Championships.
Pastry chefs from all over the French capital were invited to create a pastry that reflected the upcoming Paris Olympic Games – yet still adhered to all the traditions of French pastry making – and most importantly – tasted delicious.
There was a chocolate pastry shaped like a whistle, a cream-filled pastry shaped like a sports stadium, and a couple of pastries in the shape of a gold medal.
But finally the judges decided the pastry shaped like a diving board – hovering over a blue reflective plate to look like a swimming pool – was the winner.
Judge at a pastry competition … now there’s a job I’d like to get …
SPORT TIME
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Were you one of the millions of Aussies who got caught up in Matildas mania earlier this year, as Australia hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Wasn’t it loads of fun?
Well – we could be set to do it all over again with news yesterday the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup is looking likely to be hosted here in Australia.
(CHEER) … I know right? If it happens – which football authorities yesterday said they were quietly confident was very likely – it would see games played all over the country again, as the Matildas set out to prove they’re the best team in Asia.
The countries of Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan have also put their hand up to play host – so it’s not a done deal. But if the decision which is expected to be made in a couple of months, goes our way – January 2026 could see a whole new wave of Matildas’ mania sweeping the country. Fingers and toes and arms and legs crossed!
NEWSHOUNDS
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Every Thursday Squiz-E the Newshound sticks his snout into Squiz Kids HQ and reports back on fishy things he’s sniffed out on the internet.
And this week he’s sniffed out a Harry Potter fake! (DA-DA-DUM!! MUSIC) … yes that’s right … last week a TikTok user posted a link apparently showing the Disney+ home page with a trailer for a new Pixar Harry Potter movie.
Naturally the internet went into total meltdown – with everyone getting their knickers in a knot wanting to know when it would be available and how they could see it ..
But problem was: the trailer was a fake … made entirely by AI – or artificial intelligence. And according to the person who made it – and posted it to TikTok – they did it to test to see how easily people could be tricked. Mission accomplished ..
It’s another reason to always do as Squiz-E the Newshound tells us – and that’s to STOP, THINK and CHECK before believing everything we see, read or hear on the internet.
And a shout out to the kids of Gardenvale Public School in Melbourne and their teacher Nancy for hosting a special Newshounds session with their local Federal MP, Zoe Daniel in attendance. It was so good to meet you all – and thanks for your excellent questions! And if you want your classroom to be among the 1,800 who have signed up to do Newshounds – Squiz Kids’ very own, free media literacy program for primary school kids – hop on over to our website quicksticks and sign-on up. You’re welcome.
JOKE-A-THON
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A big thank you to the kids who have been sending in their hilarious jokes for our end of year Great Big Squiz Kids Joke-A-Thon. You guys are seriously funny …
Don’t forget if you’ve got a joke you want to share with the rest of Australia – email it through to us at [email protected] – and we’ll make sure you’re part of our holiday podcast.
And don’t dilly dally because you’ve only got until Monday to get your jokes in to us ..
And yes: there will be prizes … for the best individual joke – and the best bunch of jokes sent in by a whole classroom.
So don’t just sit there … get emailing already!
SQUIZ KIDS MERCH SHOP
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[Christmas Bells] Things are beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at Squiz Kids HQ. Did you know there are only 33 days to go until Santa harnesses up the reindeer and hops aboard the sleigh. Mums and Dads have you started your Christmas shopping? If not, never fear, Squiz Kids has you covered this year. We have our very own Merch store with some awesome Squiz Kids branded merch. We’ve got caps, drink bottles, badges and more. The perfect stocking stuffers for your Squiz Kid…or their teacher. Links are in the episode notes and on our website squizkids.com.au. You’re welcome!
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 …
- What is the capital city of France, where a pastry competition has just taken place?
- Name one of the two other countries bidding for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.
- A fake trailer for a Pixar animated movie about which famous child wizard did the rounds of TikTok last week?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s November 23 … it’s Thanksgiving Day today in the United States … the biggest holiday outside of Christmas .. where families all over the country get together to give thanks and express gratitude .. which is a good thing to try and do everyday ..
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Carter from Forster, Mohammad from The Ponds, Luke from Blackbutt, Luke from Heyfield, Joanna from North Willoughby, Ava from Cannon Hill, Ellen from Somersby, Camilla from Sydney and Tahlia from Crookwell.
A belated shout out goes to… Sofia from Pascoe Vale.
Classroom shout outs go to … Room 17 with Mrs Baggio at St Leonards Primary School in Glenelg North, class 6 Red with Mrs Smith at Sacred Heart Parish School in Booval, classes 5/6 R and 5/6H at Pitt Town Public School, class 5C with Mr Clacher at John Paul College in Logan, class 6 Acacia with Mrs Vekic at Birrong Public School, class 5JS with Mr Smith at St Therese’s Primary School in Bendigo, class P7 with Miss Phillips at Maitland Lutheran School, Grade 5 with Miss B at All Souls St Gabriels School in Charters Towers, class 4/5G with Miss Griffin at Double Bay Public School, class KL with Mrs Louks at West Wallsend Public School and lastly today class 1 Crimson with Mrs O at Burpengary Meadows State School.
And because it’s Throw Us A Like Thursday, a big shoutout to KatieG99, to Younsoo, and to Kelly who listens to the podcast everyday and to Sofia who thinks that firefighting goats are super cool…so do we Sofia. If you’d like to leapfrog the Shoutout queue – sling us a Like on Apple Podcasts on Spotify and we’ll feature you here.
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The S’Quiz Answers:
- Paris
- Saudi Arabia or Uzbekistan
- Harry Potter