Tuesday, 29 March, 2022
Hooray, it’s Budget day!; the shark that fell through a roof; a slam dunk for blind basketballer; and the Fresh Prince’s big night at the Oscars.
LINKS
Jules Hoogland’s amazing free throw: https://video.link/w/Kuzid
Deaf actor Troy Kotsur’s amazing Oscars acceptance speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQWpK1yi3-Y
Woolworths Fresh Food Kids Discovery Tours:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/discover/fresh-food-kids/discoverytours
Squiz Kids for Schools: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/
Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/squiz-kids/id1494238283
How To Become A Squiz Kids Correspondent: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FH2HA28InnLU6UxE91wrLBAbCMT40Mua/view
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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I know you can barely contain your excitement. I know you’ve been looking forward to this day almost as much as you look forward to Christmas or the Easter Bunny arriving. Yes, my friends, today is Budget day .. and the crowd goes wild.
Alright, alright … I know it’s a lot to expect you to put your maths and economics hats on first thing in the morning – but bear with me.
You’re going to hear a lot today about something called The Budget. Almost as much as you’re going to hear about Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars … but more on that later.
The Budget is when the federal government announces how it plans to spend all the money it collects through things like the taxes it collects from your mum and dad. Imagine if Australia, as a country, had a bank account with a certain amount of money in it. The Budget is the moment when the politicians in Canberra do a little bit of financial stocktaking – which is to say, they look at the state of the bank account, make plans for what they will spend that money on – and give us voters a chance to see how well they’ve been managing that money.
Sound boring? Not when you stop and think that the government will today make announcements that will affect the price of petrol, they’ll announce a one off cash payment to millions of Australians to help them pay the bills – and they’ll explain which big building projects – think dams, roads, hospitals and airports – that they will put money into.
There’s also the really important part of how much money the government will spend on schools, how much they’ll commit to spend on social services – which are support services to people in our society who need looking after.
So do me a solid and put the Budget in the file marked: Very Important: Even If It Doesn’t Seem All That Interesting At First. Trust me.
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It seems almost impossible to believe: but Queensland woke yesterday morning – and will face down again today – another flood emergency.
Towns west of Brisbane, in an area called the Darling Downs and including the regional centres of Toowoomba and Dalby, woke yesterday morning to streets flooded after a night of heavy rain.
And the weather bureau has warned continued heavy falls of rain overnight last night and a low pressure system moving south into northern NSW today could bring flash flooding to a 500 km stretch of coastline from Caloundra in the north, through to Brisbane, and down into the already flood-devastated region of Lismore – where an evacuation alert has already been issued.
Seriously .. how much rain can there actually be up there? Stay safe out there, people.
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 England … where a shark has landed, head first, into the roof of a house.
Wait, what? A shark is sticking out of the roof of a house?
Yep … but don’t worry, it’s not a real shark. It’s a sculpture .. and the shark crashing into the roof was created by a local artist who wanted to convey the shock that civilians must feel when bombs fall out of the sky and smash into their homes.
The 7-metre long fibre-glass sculpture was created back in 1986 as a protest against a war that was being waged back then – and it’s been there ever since: becoming something of a tourist attraction.
It’s currently the subject of a tussle with the local council. But with Russia continuing its invasion of neighbouring country Ukraine – forcing millions of Ukranians to flee their homes as Russian missiles rain down – the owner of the artwork in England says the message behind the shark sculpture is just as relevant today as it was when it was created 35 years ago.
I’ve stuck a link to a photo of the sculpture in today’s episode notes for you to judge for yourselves.
SPORT TIME
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Usually in Sport Time, we bring you stories of athletes dominating the world stage… those ultra-fit humans at the top of their game, whose every sporting move is watched by millions. Today is not one of those days. Instead, we’re heading to a small town in the American state of Michigan, where a blind basketballer just made a ripper of a free throw.
Wait a second… How can a blind person throw and catch a ball – let alone sink it into the basket? Well, Jules Hoogland—the year 11 student who made this shot—proves that when inclusion is the goal, just about anything is possible. Inclusion, of course, is the opposite of exclusion, and Jules plays on the Zeeland Unified Sports team, which is made up of students with and without disabilities. One of Jules’ teammates helps her get in the right position for her free throw… and then the crowd of 2,500 (which, by the way, is half the town of Zeeland) goes completely silent so that Jules can hear a stick being tapped against the backboard. Once she’s listened to where the basket is, she makes her shot… and the crowd goes WILD. Yes, of course, I’ve popped a link to video of Jules in your episode notes. Keep it in mind next time you—or someone else—thinks something is impossible.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Organisers of this year’s Academy Awards – or Oscars – ceremony in Hollywood were so worried that people had started tuning out of the event that they made drastic changes to the way it ran.
They needn’t have worried – after actor Will Smith – aka the genie in Aladdin and the original Fresh Prince of Bel Air – strode onto the stage mid-ceremony and struck comedian Chris Rock across the face. Making the Oscars possibly the most trending story in the world for a brief moment yesterday afternoon.
But actors having a scuffle with comedians wasn’t the point of the Oscars exercise .. it was all about the movies – with Encanto winning the Oscar for best animated movie, the sci-fi epic Dune winning lots of awards – including the best cinematography Oscar for Aussie, Greig Fraser – and the movie Coda winning Best Picture. Coda tells the story of a young girl who grows up with family members who are deaf. The deaf actor Troy Kotsur gave the speech of the night – I’ve stuck a link to video of it in today’s episode notes.
We Don’t Talk About Bruno – from Encanto – was performed live with a special appearance by Megan Thee Stallion. And that’s the last we’ll ever speak of it .. promise. Oh – and Will Smith won an Oscar for Best Actor – not for Best Right Hook …. Though it’s hard to imagine he’ll be remembered more for the former rather than the latter. Oh dear.
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 …
- A 7-metre sculpture of what marine animal is poking out of a roof in England?
- Name the movie that won the Best Animated Movie Oscar at the Academy Awards?
- What sport does inspirational blind sportsperson Jules Hoogland play?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s March 29 … on this day way back in 1901, Australia elected it’s first ever Prime Miniser – a bloke called Edmund Barton.
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today…
Dianna from Woolloongabba, Tori-Jean from Queanbeyan South, Holly from Northcote, Verona from Willoughby, Oscar from North Perth and Oliver from Kent Road Public School. A special birthday shout out to Poppy from Mermaid Beach who has been listening to Squiz Kids since our very first episode!
Classroom shout outs go to classes 5T and 5N at St Joseph’s School in Chinchilla ..hope you guys aren’t too wet out there today …
And it’s a very big welcome to Tenielle Murray, another home educator who has just signed up to a Squiz Kids for Schools Membership. We are delighted to have you aboard Tenielle!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Shark
- Encanto
- Basketball