GCSE Summer 2020 - Thread 11 Carry on Corona Cohort - Starting New Terms and Settings

Firs case at DS's school this week but not his year. We're in the SE in a fairly low incidence area but cases are growing here too. It has rattled him a bit.

Telly - there is virtually nothing we watch as a family, partly because of different tastes (DS16 and DD14), partly because they do so much sport in the evenings and DH and I do a couple of things each too. About the only things we might all watch together are Bake-off and Harry Potter movies.

DD is a proper telly fan, she has binge-watched Dr Who, Death in Paradise, Torchwood so far this year and is still hooked on Horrible Histories. Also a huge fan of all things Marvel and DC.

DS watches a lot of football, he's also partial to quiz shows, travel and cookery programmes but rarely watches drama of any description (I think he struggles to follow plots, he is quite severely dyspraxic and they move too fast for him, also he is an Aspie and finds people less interesting than facts). He really likes The Apprentice when it's on.

I've been downloading each episode of All Creatures Great and Small to my phone and watching it while chaperoning DD's swimming squad each week, it's been lovely.

Assessment week next week so better idea at that point about grades. Isn’t Maths the one that is the biggest jump from GCSE? DS seems to be really enjoying it so far and it has overtaken physics in current degree favourite but early days yet.

Maths is a shocker. DS scored 78% in the recent assessment and got a C for that! Finding the same here. I'm guessing it's a result of only being allowed to do the A level with a 7-9 GCSE. Everyone's more than capable.

DH and DS watch Home and Away, Question of Sport and Catchphrase

DS and I watch Bake Off.

Otherwise it's wall to wall football.

Turns out the second case at DS' school sits next to him in Spanish, but has been off for a week and a half. I do wonder now about that 'cold' he had...

He got a 'high 14' (?) out of 20 in a sociology test which is apparently a decent B. That'll do for now.

Maths is a shocker. DS scored 78% in the recent assessment and got a C for that! He's going to ask the teacher next week what the grade boundaries were for A/A/B. Progress rteport was B's & C's. I guessing that they are not being terribly generous with the A's/A's.

We watch Agent Carter (DD), Agents of Shield (DD), Bear Grylls Worlds Toughest Race (DS), Rhod Gilberts work experience, Travelman, WILTY

Thanks for the viewing recommendations. They're currently seems to be nothing we all watch together as a family so might try some of these.

Currently DD and I are watching Heroes (iPlayer) which I watched when it was first out but have forgotten. DH and DS are watching Breaking Bad (which DH has seen about 3 times already but it desperate to share his enjoyment of it with someone else).

School has sent home a letter saying that the current lack of any cases in school is purely down to good fortune and it is only a matter of time. Which, tbh, is what we've all thought all along, but sounds more sobering to have it written down in an "official" letter.

That’s really good to hear TheySeeHer, it’s things like that which can make all the difference l

Looking forward to getting DS home tonight. We spent most of yesterday evening online with him, he says he finds it hard at end of the week which isn’t surprising as he does have a very full on work load . Netflix Party and good microphone all been really helpful. His one is so clear it’s like he is in the room with us, so we are going to get the same.

We've all enjoyed Ghosts as a family and Friday Night Dinner. All Creatures Great and Small and Land Girls DD and I have enjoyed too and she's watching The Good Place at mo and has rewatched Anne with an E as loved it so much. Oh and Derry Girls for a laugh but I wasn't as keen but love to watch stuff with DD as love family time so put up with it.

Oh, and both my dc like Ghosts on iPlayer for a TV recommendation - silly but fun

Dd had a good day today - her tutor took her down to the 6th form office and introduced her to a member of staff there with some therapeutic qualifications - so she has a place of safety to go to if she feels overwhelmed She was pleased with this, so hopefully it will give her confidence that she doesn't have to let the anxiety build until it boils over

I've definitely had my struggles with dd's learning style FlyingPandas - she is a deep diver, who will spend ages on one aspect of a subject and then have no time for the rest She has got better though, since figuring out halfway through GCSEs that this really wasn't going to work for her

(We're both rubbish at keeping our desk space organised though!)

Thanks for all the tv suggestions. Keep them coming if you have more though :-)

@FlyingPandas I wasn’t like that at all! I was a last minute, cram it in, sail through on adrenaline type! And then I get frustrated with year 10 ds when he tries the same approach (with a major dose of indifference!). But dd is super organised but really slow...... and that also really frustrates me!

My DD doesn’t watch a lot of regular TV. She watches a lot of YouTube videos and make up tutorials. We also do movie nights once a week and watch something together as a family.

Sorry to hear about some of the aspie struggles. @TheySeeHerRowling my aspie DS has always developed stomach aches/sickness as a side effect of stress, has been a common factor each time he has started a new school setting, completely anxiety related but not always easy to identify exact daily triggers as you say. I like the idea of a graph too thank you @AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore might try that!

Covid cases at both DS's sixth form and at younger two DC's school...not entirely unexpected, think it's only a matter of time before there are cases in almost every school in the country tbh but so far none of mine are having to self isolate. I'm just thinking of every day in school as being a bonus at this point!

Assessments for DS1 this week. He was stressy about biology today (stomach ache!) and said he didn't finish the paper but we'll see how he gets on. Biology definitely the heaviest subject in terms of homework. On a happier note he got over 70% in the psychology assessment so was chuffed with that (so was I, frankly, considering I never quite know how much work is going on versus watching shite on Youtube ).

I do find it really hard parenting a DS who is so different to me in terms of his organisation and work style. I found it hard during GCSEs and suspect I'll find it even harder the further we get into sixth form. I was that super organised, make-a-plan-allocate-sensible-amounts-of-time-and-get-it-done-well-in-advance-of-deadline-with-everything-colour-coordinated kind of girl. DS....isn't

Heifer Race across the world on iplayer. Agent Carter from Marvel has plenty of dry humour.

Heifer, we’re all watching Schitt’s Creek together (including DS who is 14). It’s just cleaned up at the Emmys, and episodes are only 20 minutes long so perfect for a quick watch after homework is done.

9 episodes.

Heifer, Dh and I are just finishing watching new series of 'Brave New World'. Like Westworld in the way it's done. Thought I might suggest watching it with Ds1 over October 1/2 Term.

This series has lots of gratituitous sex and orgys implied. But you never see any body parts.

Was talking to Ds about Huxley. Don't think they study it anymore do they?

Still Covid-dodging here, though every time I get a text I expect it to be The News

Thanks for everyone's suggestions for dd - I think she'd actually like that graph idea, Andwhenyougetthere, as she is mildly obsessed with numbers, although not doing A-level Maths

Questioned her about lunchtime arrangements and whether she was getting enough time to recharge between lesson sessions but she says it's all fine and can't really explain what's setting her off

She's gone into school quite happily this morning, so fingers crossed this will be a good day

@heifer, yes we get a heads up every time a child gets a positive test - they seem to send the whole year group home for a day while they work out the close contacts, then the majority come back in.

Headmistress sends a video message each week and was asking girls who were actually unwell not to log on to the streamed lessons - particularly not from bed!!!

We have done Stranger Things, Buffy, Angel, The Good Place, Supernatural with DS. Orphan Black, Fringe and Alias on the list. DD and I loved Anne with an E.

We tend to watch the more ‘family friendly’ stuff with the kids! Favourites were Anne with an E and Stranger Things, plus comedies Brooklyn 99 and Parks and Recreation.

We watched all series of Ozark as a family and DD and I watched Sex Education together. Admittedly first few minutes of Ep.1 Series 2 was an uncomfortable challenge. For both of us 🤮

I'm so grateful to be in suffolk where covid cases are fairly low. I don't think anyone in the schools has had it. They haven't been closed this school year yet. Primary opened 1st June (Ds3 year 6 then, now year 7) ds2 went back sept. same 6th form as his secondary school. Ds3 is at UEA where so far only 43 cases fingers crossed it stays this way 🤞I don't think we will escape through this with continued low cases but I can hope.