Tuesday, 20 April, 2021
Whale watching season begins; dust off your passports, travel bubbles are here; a new Aussie high jump star; and Big Bird and big rabbit go missing.
LINKS
Migaloo the white whale: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-19/migaloo-white-humpback-whale-hopes-off-victoria-coast/100078250
High-jumping queen: https://twitter.com/7Sport/status/1383648487695290373
Missing mega-bunny: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/darius-giant-rabbit-stolen-uk_n_6075c805e4b0fcee71a3187b
Squiz Kids Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
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Squiz Kids is proudly supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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And it’s a big warm Aussie g’day to our Kiwi cuzzy bros with the opening yesterday of the Australian-New Zealand travel bubble that saw hundreds take a flight across the Tasman Sea and tumble into the arms of loved ones.
It’s a big milestone as we start to imagine a life after COVID – marking the first time Aussies have been able to travel freely to another country since coronavirus-inspired travel restrictions were imposed over a year ago.
As choirs greeted visitors arriving at Wellington airport, and welcome parties were thrown at Auckland airport, New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern described the development as ‘truly exciting’.
And the excitement may not end in New Zealand – with Australian government hinting that the bubble may get bigger – and all going well, we may soon be able to travel to countries like Singapore or Pacific Island destinations such as Fiji and Noumea. Dust off your passport …
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Not that you’d want to be going too far from home any time soon – what with whale watching season about to begin. The season was kicked off yesterday after a white whale was spotted off the coast of Victoria yesterday. Seasoned whale watchers are hoping that it might be Migaloo – a white whale that has been spotted swimming up and down the east coast of Australia for the past few years. Marine scientists are urging any one living on the east coast to keep an eye out for Migaloo – as humpback whales undertake their annual migration from the cold waters of the Antarctic to the warmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef. There’s a link to photos and video of Migaloo 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 Europe … as in the, entire continent of Europe … where a football revolution is threatening to erupt.
What’s a revolution? It’s a term given to the overthrowing of an established order of things in favour of a new system. And that’s what is happening among European professional soccer clubs .. or, rather, ahem … football clubs – where some of the biggest name clubs in competition are threatening to break away and form their very own Super League. Teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan are among the super popular clubs who have announced plans to have their own competition. But they’re going to have a fight on their hands – with the football governing bodies in each of their countries threatening to ban the clubs and any of their players from representing their countries in competitions like the World Cup. Like a penalty shootout in extra time … this one is tense, and could go either way. Watch this space.
BIGGEST, FURTHEST, LONGEST
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Australian high jumper Nicola McDermitt was on cloud nine yesterday after she leapt her way into the record books by becoming the first Australian woman to jump over 2 metres.
With her soaring effort, Nicola has earned herself a place on the Australian Olympic team heading for Tokyo later this year.
Clearing the 2 metre high mark, Nicola beat her own personal best effort by a whole 2 cms. Which might not sound like a lot, but when you are hurling yourself up into the sky to clear a bar – it’s loads.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to video of Nicola’s record breaking jump. Go you good thing!
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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And it’s a special ‘missing animals’ edition of Animal Kingdom today with tales of two animals that have gone missing on two separate sides of the earth.
Police and residents in the English village of Stoulton are on alert after Darius – the world’s biggest bunny – went missing from his owner’s backyard. Darius – who measures four foot long and weighs about 8 kilograms – holds the Guinnes World Record for the longest rabbit ever recorded. His owners have posted a two-thousand pound reward for his return.
Meanwhile, closer to home – police are on the lookout for Big Bird in Adelaide, after a thief snuck into a travelling circus and stole the famous Sesame Street costume.
The thief left a trail of yellow feathers as he made off with Big Bird – which police are hoping will help them track him down.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to photos and video of the big bunny. But not of Big Bird – because we all know what he looks like.
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 sort of a whale is Migaloo the white whale?
- In what sport did Nicola McDermitt just break an Australian record?
- The costume of which popular Sesame Street character has been stolen from a circus in Adelaide?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s April 20 … today is the official UN Chinese Language Day – where the United Nations celebrates one of the most popular and important languages in the world. So, ni hao to you all today.
It’s also a special day for these kids celebrating a birthday today … Aadi from Wentworthville, Jake from Lysterfield, Lily from Eaglemont, Sidney from West Beach, Cuba from Fremantle, Dexter from West Wallsend, Laycie from Lake Munmorah and Erica from Redlynch.
And not forgetting of course all of those kids who celebrated a birthday over the Easter Holidays — whose names we are working through all this week wih the help of the birthday reggae tune … happy belated birthday to Chelsea from Kempsey, Amanda and Braxton from Jindalee, Alex from Lilydale, Evelyn from Newcastle, April from Concord West, Liam and Bella from Roseville, Kelly from Dural, Maxwell from Thorneside, Oliver from Albert Park, Lucy and James from Haberfield, Marshall from West Wallsend, Imogen from Annandale, Avyaan from Doncaster East, Ryder from Forest Lake, Olivia from Pymble, Rafa from Malabar, Abigail from Victoria, Cooper from Mansfield, and Jessica from North Ryde.
And welcome back to school for the following classrooms… Mrs Livah’s 3L class at West Wallsend Public school, and the awesome kids in classes 3/6C, 3/6M, and 5/6G at Goulburn South Public School. And some special shoutouts to 1-M class with Mrs. Moran at Glen Huntly Primary and 6B with Mrs Brady from St Joseph’s Kempsey, both of whom celebrated their birthdays earlier this month.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Humpback
- High jump
- Big Bird