Hello teachers!
There are some big ideas and one big opportunity in this week’s newsletter.
As Newshounds prepares to roll out across South Australian primary schools, we’re searching for a brilliant local educator to help lead the way. We’re also sharing our new Shortcut to Understanding Racism, along with discussion questions to help you continue this important conversation in the classroom.
And because this week marks both Landcare Week and National Homelessness Week, we’ve gathered some excellent resources exploring two issues that clearly matter to Australian children: caring for our country and caring for one another.
It’s a thoughtful and, at times, fairly heavy collection. So make sure you stay with us until the end, where two polar bears are waiting to provide the coolest possible finish…
Could you be the face of Newshounds in South Australia?
As Newshounds prepares to roll out to primary schools across South Australia, we’re looking for a brilliant local educator to help bring the program to life.
Our new Schools Lead, Newshounds (South Australia) will work closely with schools, teachers and the SA Department for Education—helping educators get started with Newshounds, building a strong school community around the program and ensuring the voices of teachers and students continue to shape what we create.
We’re looking for someone who understands how schools and classrooms work, loves building relationships and shares our passion for helping children become clever, confident consumers of news and information.
If that sounds like you, we’d love you to apply. And if it sounds like someone you know—perhaps a wonderful teacher, education leader or media-literacy enthusiast in your South Australian network—please pass this opportunity along.
This week’s Shortcut’s an important one: Understanding Racism
What can a bag of jellybeans teach us about racism? More than you might expect…
In this week’s Squiz Kids Shortcut, Bryce sorts jellybeans into groups—and then decides what they must be like based entirely on their colour. It’s a silly experiment, but it opens the door to an important conversation about the way humans have divided and judged one another throughout history.
Along the way, students will discover that, despite the boxes humans have created to divide ourselves, any two people are commonly described as sharing around 99.9% of their DNA. They’ll also explore Australia’s history of racism and migration, and, most importantly, the practical things young people can do to question stereotypes, interrupt racism and make sure their first thought doesn’t automatically become their final thought.
It’s an important and thought-provoking episode that provides a useful starting point for a sensitive, age-appropriate classroom conversation.
Find it in your podcast feed or on our website on Tuesday.
Classroom discussion questions
We’ve included some Bloom’s Taxonomy-inspired discussion questions below to help you continue this important conversation in the classroom.
Remember
What is a stereotype?
What does it mean to make someone a scapegoat?
What is an echo chamber?
Name two groups that have experienced racism during Australia’s history.
Understand
Explain racism in your own words.
Why can stereotypes be described as “brain shortcuts”?
What does the statement “Your first thought doesn’t have to be your final thought” mean?
Apply
What could you say if someone claimed, “People from that group are all the same”?
What could you safely do if you heard a racist joke in the playground?
What could you do if you noticed someone was regularly being left out?
Analyse
How is judging people by their appearance similar to Bryce sorting the jellybeans? How is it different?
How can recommendation algorithms make an echo chamber stronger?
How is a useful survival judgement… such as avoiding a dangerous animal… different from a stereotype about a group of people?
Evaluate
Why might a supposedly “positive” stereotype, such as assuming someone must be good at maths, still be harmful?
Which is more powerful when challenging racism: making a strong statement or asking a thoughtful question? Defend your answer.
Do you think social media platforms have a responsibility to prevent racist ideas from spreading? Why?
Create
Create a slogan encouraging students to question stereotypes.
Write a short role-play showing someone safely interrupting a racist comment or assumption.
Create three questions people could ask themselves before sharing a claim about a group of people.
Two big issues. Plenty of small ways to start.
This week marks both Landcare Week and National Homelessness Week, and while they may seem like two very different occasions, they have something important in common: they’re both issues young Australians care deeply about.
When we ran our PM for a Day competition earlier this year, children from across the country told us what they would do to make Australia a better place. Again and again, they spoke about helping people experiencing homelessness or struggling to keep a roof over their heads, and protecting and caring for the country we all share.
If you can squeeze a little extra learning into an already busy week… or simply bookmark something for later… there are some excellent resources available to help students dig deeper into both issues.
The Junior Landcare Learning Centre is packed with fun, hands-on activities exploring biodiversity, food production, First Nations perspectives and waste. We particularly love its wonderfully simple See, Hear, Smell and Feel the Seasons activity, which invites children to head outside, tune in to their senses, and notice how the natural world changes throughout the year.
For National Homelessness Week, Homelessness Australia’s Action Kit contains important facts and messages about Australia’s growing housing crisis. The excellent team at StreetSmart Australia has also created free, Australian Curriculum-aligned primary classroom resources. Students can explore what truly makes a home, listen deeply to relatable stories from people with lived experience and tackle a myth-busting quiz designed to challenge common assumptions about homelessness.
After all, you don’t need to be PM, even for a day, to begin making a difference.
Fun Finish: The coolest bears in Prague
Well, it’s been quite a heavy week already. So, to finish, let’s take a deep breath and chill out like the polar bears in this story…
As the continuing European heatwave sent temperatures soaring towards 40°C, keepers at Prague Zoo ordered in several tonnes of ice for 16-year-old polar bear twins Aleut and Gregor.
While the rest of the internet is dunking themselves in ice baths and calling it a challenge, for these two cool customers, it’s all in a day’s work.
What’s on this week?
Here’s what’s happening around the country and the world:
August 3 - 9
National Homelessness Week
National Landcare Week
Keep in mind that next week is National Science Week
Monday, August 3 - The final day of Garma 2026
Tuesday. August 4 - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day
Wednesday, August 5 - National Indigenous Fashion Awards… always spectacular!!
Thursday, August 6 - Jeans for Genes Day
Friday, August 7 - Aged Care Employee Day
- The first photo of Earth was taken from a satellite (1959)
Saturday, August 8 - National Indigenous Music Awards… Deadly as always!
- International Cat Day 🙀
Sunday, August 9 - International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
Know a teacher who’d love this? Pass it on.
Know a South Australian educator who would be perfect for our new Schools Lead role? Please forward this newsletter to them or send them the job description directly. We’d love your help spreading the word.
That’s it from me this week. Thank you, as always, for making room for the big conversations, encouraging children’s big ideas, and helping create classrooms where everyone feels they belong.
Have a wonderful week… and stay as cool as a polar bear in an ice bath!
If you’d like to hit us up, you can always reach me at [email protected].
Now get out there, and have a most excellent day!
Over and out.
- Christie Kijurina, Squiz Kids Educator