Wednesday, 30 November, 2022
Report card on Barrier Reef; World’s biggest volcano erupts; Fake news on Wikipedia; and the school kids who became farmers.
LINKS
Mauna Loa volcano eruption – VIDEO
Squiz Kids Shortcut on Earthquakes and Volcanoes
https://www.squizkids.com.au/podcast/your-shortcut-to-earthquakes-and-volcanoes/
Newshounds
Get started on our free media literacy resource for classrooms
www.squizkids.com.au/newshounds
Squiz Kids + Lego ‘Build To Give’ Christmas Campaign
Help Lego give away Lego sets to families in need this Christmas.
- Build something using Lego
- Share your creation to Instagram (a story or a post)
- Tag @ squizkids and #buildtogive
We’ll re-share your post on our Instagram, and on December 9, reveal just how generous Squiz Kids are …
Squiz Kids For Schools – Classroom Activities tied to the podcast
Sign up for a 30-day free trial at squizkids.com.au
Stay up to date with us on our Squiz Kids Instagram!
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Complete the form on our Squiz Kids website. Link: SHOUT OUTS or / send us an email at [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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It’s that time of year .. when school winds down and report cards are issued.
So it was timely yesterday when a report card came in for the way we’re looking after the Great Barrier Reef.
And it’s fair to say we’re on about a C-minus – with the report card noting we have a lot of work to do to improve our grade.
The report card in question was issued by an organisation called UNESCO – which is the part of the United Nations that looks out for sites of natural or cultural significance around the world. At the moment, the Great Barrier Reef is listed as a World Heritage site – meaning it’s a natural wonder of the world that all effort should be taken to protect. But scientists from around the world who visited our Reef in March and studied the state of it have recommended it should be included in a list of World Heritage sites that are ‘in danger’.
Global warming and run-off from agricultural land near the coast – which is to say polluted water that runs from the land to the sea – are both to blame.
But it’s not too late: there’s lots we can do to restore the Reef and make sure that it can be enjoyed by generations to come.
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 Hawaii – where the world’s largest volcano has erupted.
Called Mauna Loa and located on the biggest of the islands in the Hawaiian island chain – which rather confusingly is called Hawaii – the volcano started spewing out red hot lava in the early hours of yesterday morning and has been rumbling away ever since.
Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano in the world – rising more than 4km above sea level.
There were no reports of any one being in danger, yesterday, but authorities are keeping a careful eye on it. Because it slopes are quite steep, if lava starts to flow down them, it can move really quickly.
Get this: during an eruption in 1950, the lava travelled 24 kms from the mountain top to the sea in less than three hours. Yikes.
I’ve stuck a link to video of the lava flow in today’s episode notes … and if that doesn’t satisfy your curiosity about all things volcano and earthquake – check out the Squiz Kids Shortcut that Amanda and I recorded on that very topic. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about where they happen, why they happen and how the people who live with them have adapted. I’ve stuck a link to it in today’s episode notes, or search for it in the Squiz Kids feed in your podcasting app. You’re welcome.
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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And today it’s a big ol’ Squiz Kids Salute to the seven students of Hermidale Public School in country NSW – who will be paying for a school excursion all by themselves after planting and harvesting a wheat crop.
Yep – that’s right – as school fundraisers go, they don’t get more inventive than this.
Hermidale Public School has only seven students in total from kindy to Year 6. Can you imagine?
And because so many of their parents work farms and because it’s such a big part of their lives, it was decided that as a fundraising activity, the kids would plant a crop of wheat and harvest it.
Harvest means to collect the grain once the wheat has grown.
For large parts of this year, the students have swapped school shoes for work boots and been out on the land tending to their crop.
How much wheat grain did they finally grow? Oh – only about 170 tonnes – enough to make 290,000 loaves of bread. Amazing. And how much is that worth? Oh, only about $50,000.
The kids had initially hoped to raise enough for a bus trip to the beach. Now they’ve got enough for a trip around Australia. Hang on kids while I pack my suitcase – I’m coming with you.
NEWSHOUNDS
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Every Wednesday, Squiz E the Newshound sticks his snout into Squiz Kids HQ and lets us know what fishy stories he’s sniffed out on the internet this week. And today his nose is a’ twitching after he’s copped a whiff of toast .. mmm… toast. Who doesn’t love the smell of toast ..
And it’s all because this week a great big Wikipedia fraud was exposed about the inventor of the electric toaster. About nine years ago, a university student created a fake Wikipedia page, claiming that the inventor of the electric toaster was a man called Alan MacMasters who lived in Scotland in the late 1800s. But Alan MacMasters was actually his mate – who was alive in 2013 and sitting next to him in a uni lecture. Problem was: so many people have come to believe everything they read on the internet – and especially on Wikipedia – that it soon became accepted wisdom that Alan MacMasters had invented the toaster. Schools in Scotland did projects on it, a TV cooking show repeated the lie, and the fake toaster inventor MacMasters was even on a list of important historical figures to feature on the British 50 pound note. It took an eagle-eyed 15 year old to suspect the photo posted of Alan MacMaster was a fake – and this week, the story of how the internet was fooled unravelled.
Another sterling example of why, as Squiz E says, we should always STOP, THINK and CHECK before believing everything we see, read or hear on the internet.
And a reminder: if you want to hone your Newshounds skills – then don’t forget our excellent new media literacy program for primary school kids called -you guessed it – Newshounds. Teachers, sign up for free at squizkids.com.au so your class can join Squiz E the newshound as he teaches kids to tell online fact from fiction. (HOWL)
SQUIZ KIDS SUMMER CONTENT
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Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?
Bad? Okay, well, I’m sorry to tell you that there are only a couple of weeks left of the podcast until we break for the summer holidays. (Booo.)
No, wait, don’t be sad! Not only do you get to go on holidays (yay), but we’re giving you presents – lots of them! Each week over the holidays, we’re going to be releasing THREE free podcasts to keep you entertained.
On Mondays, there’ll be a Squiz Kids Shortcut – a deep dive into a big topic, like weird and wonderful Christmas foods… or Fireworks … or YouTube.
Two days later, Amanda will fire up the Squiz Kids Superfast Supersonic Jetliner to take you on an audio excursion to a different country each week. Your holiday itinerary includes Cuba, Ireland, Peru, and Morocco, so be ready to depart every Wednesday morning, all summer long.
And each Saturday, we’ll have an Adults versus Kids Bumper S’quiz. It’s your chance to challenge your parents, and prove once and for all that kids are smarter than grownups. Perfect for holiday road trips.
So that’s three free podcasts, every week, for the entire school holidays. Tell your friends!
Subscribe to the Squiz Kids feed in your favourite podcasting app and they’ll pop up automatically or keep an eye on our website. You’re very welcome.
CHRISTMAS with LEGO (for THURS)
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Hear those bells? That’s a reminder that we’ve only 10 days to go to bring some joy to families in need this Christmas.
What in the world of stocking-stuffers am I talking about? I’m talking about the Squiz Kids Christmas charity campaign in association with LEGO.
In a nutshell: for every build that’s created and shared to Instagram – tagging Squiz Kids and using the hashtag BuildToGive – the generous folk at LEGO will give a LEGO set this Christmas to a family in need.
How cool is that?
And so it’s up to you how far we spread the Christmas joy this festive season. The more we build, the more families get a free LEGO set.
Already we’ve had some awesome builds shared to our Instagram – @squizkids – and a huge thank you to all who’ve been busy building already. We’re currently at 180 builds – but I reckon Squiz Kids are more generous than that. I reckon if we put our minds to it, tell our friends, maybe make it an end-of-year classroom group activity – we can easily crack the 500 mark. Do we dare to dream we might even hit one thousand?
And a big shout out to the Year 6s at Livingstone Primary School in Vermont South – who managed to mix maths and giving back to the community with a series of awesome builds – you guys rock!
So – don’t just sit there – get building! Create as many builds as you want – just be sure to tag @squizkids when you share a photo of it to Instagram and use the hashtag BuildToGive .. that’s ‘to’ … T-O – not the number 2.
Aaand … help ‘bring the joy’ this Christmas ..
I’ve stuck details in today’s 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 …
- Where in the world is the erupting volcano Mauna Loa?
- What useful kitchen appliance, popular at breakfast, was until recently described on Wikipedia as being invented by a man called Alan MacMasters?
- What sort of grain did a NSW public school harvest to pay for an excursion?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s November 30.. only 24 days until Christmas… if you haven’t yet decked the halls, now would be a good time to start .. abd over in Qatar today, the Socceroos are preparing to take on Denmark in a very important World Cup match … C’mon Socceroos!
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today ..
Riley from Tumut, Kiaan from Sydney, Zachary H from Glenbrook, Laura, Elsa and Markus from Preston, Corbin from Gregory Hills, Tommy from Dysart, Anne from Katherine, Thomas from Edensor Park, Millie from Paddington, Nolen from Cronulla and Fateh from Melton.
Belated birthday shout outs go to…Jaxon from Junee and Aodhan (pronounced Adon) from Bega.
Classroom shoutouts go to … class 4G and Mrs Garven at Glenbrook Public School, class 4 & 5L and Mrs Luenburger at Waitara Primary School, class 5/6 and Ms Grace at Mt Carmel School in Yass, class Emmaus and Ms Crockett at All Saints College in Maitland, class 5/6 Red and Miss Vickery at Bathurst South Public School, room 9 at South Perth Primary School, students in K to 6 at Caragabal Primary School with Miss Bradley, Mr Jones, Mrs Carter, and Miss Marie and lastly a shoutout to Mr Starr at Cherrybrook Public School – who is celebrating a birthday today!
The S’Quiz Answers:
- China
- Rats
- Pong