Wednesday, 23 September, 2020

Race to save the whales; Egypt’s mummies uncovered; AFL footy finals revealed; and it’s Eddie Woo day!

 

LINKS

Mummies in Egypt : https://twitter.com/KhaledElEnany6/status/1302691902760849410

Dancing nuns and monks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp7aVYPa6QM

 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

 

THE LOWDOWN

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It’s a race against time … volunteers joined marine rescue experts on the west coast of Tasmania yesterday in a desperate attempt to save some 270 pilot whales that had beached themselves near Macquarie Harbour.

While some 90 whales have already unfortunately died, rescuers yesterday managed to guide 25 whales into the open water and are optimistic that more will be sent back out to the open sea today. 

Using large slings to lift the whales of the sandbars they’re stranded on, local fishing boats are helping out.

Often whales strand themselves on beaches – where it is much harder to keep them alive and get them back out to sea. But luckily, most of the stranded whales are in water – which rescuers are hoping will mean many more of them will be saved.

Rain glorious rain! It’s been falling in bucket loads in outback Queensland, putting smiles on the faces of many farmers and causing an explosion of wildflowers. And yesterday came the news that thanks to some big falls of rain over the winter months, Aussie farmers are looking forward to harvesting a bumper crop – with production of wheat, barley, oats and canola expected to be up by 60% compared to last year.

 

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 Egypt .. home of the pyramids .. where archeaologists have discovered 27 coffins, possibly containing mummies, which are believed to be about 2,500 years old.

Archeaologists – who are people that study history by digging up remnants from our past – are super excited at uncovering the coffins, which were found inside a necropolis – an ancient underground burial cavern.

Ancient Egyptians used to wrap their dead in bandages and bury them in an elaborately painted coffin – also called a sarcophagus.

By studying these ancient coffins and whatever might be lurking inside them, historians can learn so much about the way humans lived in ancient times. 

Mummies are also good for the odd horror or action film – as anyone who has seen Raiders of The Lost Ark, The Mummy or Hotel Transylvania will know. Ok, maybe not the last one. He wasn’t that scary.  There’s a link in today’s episode notes to a video of the discovery.

 

SPORTS TIME

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Can you hear that sound? It’s the roar of the crowd as the AFL Footy Finals get set to kick off with three action-packed days next weekend. It will all kick off with a super Thursday of action on Oct 1 in Adelaide when Port Adelaide take on Geelong in the first qualifying final. The very next night, all eyes will be on Brisbane when the Lions clash with Richmond at the Gabba. And then, the next day, Saturday Oct 3, because too much finals footy is barely enough, there will be two finals played as St Kilda take on the Bulldogs at the Gabba and West Coast clash with Collingwood in Perth. If you’re looking for me next week – I’ll be at the footy …

 

POP CULTURE CORNER

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One of our jobs here at Squiz Kids is to make sure you’re all up-to-date with the latest dance crazes. So we proudly draw your attention to the song and dance craze currently sweeping the internet .. Jerusalema. 

The song, by a South African group and sung in the Zulu language, is super catchy – even if you won’t understand a word. And thanks to social media, there are now hundreds and hundreds of people doing a line-dance to the song and uploading videos of their performance online. Our favourite is the group of nuns and monks in Italy who have posted their effort to the internet. It’s well worth a look, so I’ve popped a link to it in today’s episode notes.

 

ROSIE’S RECIPES

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Every second Wednesday we pop our heads into the Squiz Kids kitchen to see what Squiz Kids ambassador, Rosie, has been cooking up. And this week, she’s been doubling down on dessert – baking a delicious batch of Rosie’s Choc Raspberry Bites.

This is a little recipe she came up with with her friend, Nyree G. Imagine little baked pastry explosions of cream cheese, chocolate and fresh raspberries – and you get the idea. 

The recipe, plus photos of the method and finished product are all on the Squiz Kids website. 

And don’t forget: if you have a recipe you like to make and that you’d like Rosie to try and feature in this segment, send it to [email protected]

 

EDDIE WOO DAY

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Woo-woo! It’s Eddie Woo day! Australia’s favourite maths teacher, author and host of ABC Me’s Teenage Boss, the utterly awesome Eddie Woo is our very special guest in a brand new Squiz Kids Q+A. What’s his favourite number? Why is maths like a language, but with numbers? Did he always find maths easy? These excellent questions – and so much more – are all answered. If you’re listening on a podcast app – it should play directly after this podcast. Otherwise search for it on whatever app you usually use, or have a listen from our website www.squizkids.com.au

 

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 …

  1. In which state of Australia are rescuers working against the clock to save stranded pilot whales?
  2. In which country have archaeologists uncovered a trove of ancient burial coffins?
  3. Which footy code’s finals kick off next week in stadiums around the country?

 

SHOUT OUTS

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It’s September 23 ….. International Day of Sign Languages … where the use of sign languages is encouraged for the benefit of people who are hearing impaired all over the world. If you don’t know even a few basic words in sign language – today would be a good day to learn some. 

And it’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Steve from Canberra, Gus from Double Bay, Emily from Williamstown, Aiden from Sydney, Abbey from Wagga Wagga, Ryan from Blackburn, Scout from Sunshine, Thomas from Port Kennedy, Hudson from Abbotsford, Miranda from North Ryde, Samantha from Padbury, Sonny from Murwillumbah, Sammy from Gilberton, Nathan from Doncaster, Luca from Paddington, Jingxuan  from Concord West, and Caitlin from Tanilba Bay. 

And a belated birthday shoutout to … Jackson from Sheoak Grove.

Happy birthday one and all!

Today’s classroom shout outs go to …  Year ¾ at Broken Hill North Primary School, Years 2/3/4 at Millfield Public School, Mr Demir and Year 5 at Woongarrah Public School, Year 4 and 5 at St John the Baptist Catholic School in Plympton, and Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 at Trevallyn Primary School in Tasmania.

A great big Squiz Kids salute from all of us to all of you … 

 

  The S’Quiz Answers:

  1. Tasmania
  2. Egypt
  3. AFL