Wednesday, 9 February, 2022
Ringing the school bell earlier; Africa’s doctor chimps; record-breaking at the Winter Olympics; and who wants a sleepover at Bluey’s house?
LINKS
Kamila Valieva makes Ice Skating history https://7plus.com.au/winter-olympic-games-beijing-figure-skating?video-id=7FSK-TFW72-YFSKX
Ireen Wüst makes Olympic history https://7plus.com.au/winter-olympic-games-beijing-speed-skating?video-id=7SSK-0Y6I7-KSNQ1
Welcome to the Bluey house: https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/queensland/airbnb-offering-20-stay-in-queensland-home-that-inspired-bluey/news-story/4a4367a5329620f94780d31501d1e56f
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
——
The school bell to mark the start of the day could be ringing earlier if changes to school times are adopted around the country.
Yesterday, the NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet floated the idea of changing school hours in his state so they fitted in better with the average working day.
At the moment, most schools have kids filing into the classroom around 9am. Problem is, according to the NSW Premier, that’s the same time a lot of mums, dads or guardians are due to be at their workplace – and that makes the school-to-work scramble a real and frantic one.
School days that start at 7am and end at 1pm or days that start at 8am and finish at 2pm have all been floated. To float an idea means to send it out into the world to see if it is warmly embraced or sinks like a stone.
Did you know that the laws governing school hours in Australia were created back in 1880 – which is over 140 years ago – when daily life looked a little bit different.
You might be interested to know too that school hours are different in different countries around the world. In France, kids are in school from 8am to 4pm and go to school on Saturdays .. in Japan and Spain, kids go home for lunch, and in South Korea, kids are in class from 7.30am to 2pm.
The one thing that’s certain? If things do change on the school hour front, they won’t change quickly and there will be lots of arguments put forward for and against the change in the meantime.
SPIN THE GLOBE
——–
Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops … and today we’ve landed in Gabon … which is a country in western Africa, where chimpanzees have been playing doctor.
Scientists have been watching a troop of 45 chimps who live in the Loango National Park and were fascinated to see a mother chimp snatch a flying insect from the sky, chew it up and apply the mushed-up insect to a cut on her teenage chimp’s foot.
The scientists then observed other chimps doing the same thing – sometimes to other members of the troop that had injuries, sometimes to cuts or abrasions they had themselves.
Insects are known to have healing properties – and some animals are known to eat certain plants to sort out health problems. You’ve probably seen your dog eating grass – which they know to do if they have tummy problems. The interesting thing about the chimps is that they are not just using mushed-up insects to treat their own wounds – but also to treat the wounds of others. And that’s called empathy. And that’s not something that lots of animals display. Or humans, for that matter. But that’s for another day…
SPORT TIME
—–
Imagine this .. you’re speeding on super slippery ice, wearing knives on your feet, and you jump in the air and spin not once, but four times, before landing gracefully back on the ice .. as if it was nothing. That’s what 15 yo Russian ice-skater, Kamila Valieva has done at the Winter Olympics, making history by becoming the first woman to land what’s called a quad. Quad is Latin for four. Kamila won the free skating event an incredible 30 points ahead of the next skater. Did we mention she’s only 15? Wow.
Rounding out the Winter Olympic wows – and at the other end of the age spectrum – is Dutch speed skater, Ireen Wüst, who, aged 35, won her fifth Winter Olympic gold medal on Monday .. Ireen is the first Olympian ever to win an individual gold medal at five consecutive Olympic Games. Consecutive means in a row. What an achievement! There are links to both superstars’ performances in your episode notes.
And on the subject of the Winter Olympics, if you’re a classroom that’s signed up for Squiz Kids for Schools, or a parent who’s signed up to our Apple Subscriber Specials, a brand spanking new Squiz the World episode dropped this morning, and you guessed it, we’re heading to China. Everything you ever wanted to know about China in one ten minute deep-dive, kid-friendly podcast. You won’t believe what kids there have to do at school on Mondays… Teachers, get into a free trial of Schools on our website, squizkids.com.au, and parents, head to Apple Podcasts and search Squiz Kids to get your free trial.
POP CULTURE CORNER
——
Hands up who knows Bluey the Blue Heeler ? Keep your hands up if you think you’d like to sleep in his bed .. because that’s what one lucky family will be able to since the creators of the hugely popular cartoon have built a real-life version of Bluey’s house in Brisbane.
The real house has been built as an exact replica of the cartoon house – meaning the bedrooms look like they do in the show, the backyard and front yard look the same and the living room has all the same furniture and decorations as the show.
The catch? It’s only going to be available for one family to stay in, for one weekend in March.
I’ve stuck a link in today’s episode notes to some news stories featuring photos and videos of the Bluey house.
That sound you hear … that’s me packing my bag and getting ready to head across town and move in!
NEWSHOUNDS
——
Each week, Squiz-E the newshound sniffs around the Internet, and reminds us to stop, think, and check whether we’re what we’re reading or seeing is true. But this week, Squiz-E has noticed another story in the news where things could have turned out differently if only people had listened to his advice to stop, think and check.
In a Newshound nutshell: a bunch of text messages sent by Australia’s deputy Prime Minister, in which he called his colleague, the actual Prime Minister some not very nice names – have become public.
We’ll hear plenty more about politics in the coming months as we hurtle towards a federal election, but in the meantime, Squiz-E wants everyone to remember, including adults in high places: everything you write, even if you think it’s private, can become public. So stop, think, and check, before you click “send.”
THE S’QUIZ
—————–
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What sort of animals have been observed using mushed up insect to treat wounds?
- What’s the name of the ice-skating trick when you jump in the air and spin four times?
- A replica of which cartoon dog’s house has been built in Brisbane?
SHOUT OUTS
——————-–
It’s February 9 .. National Pizza Day in the United States … oh man! Why can’t we have that day here?
It’s also a special day for Ariana from Melbourne – who celebrates her birthday today.
Belated birthday wishes go to the following Squiz Kids who celebrated birthdays over the holidays… Abigail, Lani, Tyenin and Michael – from Forest Lake.
Classroom shout outs today go to…
Class 5A with Mrs Barbagallo and Mrs Barra at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Ingham.
And a warm welcome to Ms Hibbert and her grade 4 class at St Francis Xavier Primary School in Montmorency, who just subscribed to a Squiz Kids for Schools membership. It’s great to have you aboard ..
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Chimpanzees
- Quad
- Bluey