To be annoyed they've cancelled my son's nativity

[JudesBiggestFan]

I'm just so tired of the arbitrary and pointless decisions that rob children and parents of yet more joy.
Last year my son had his nativity play cancelled at preschool. This year, the school (after designating him a shepherd and giving him a line...the excitement!) have cancelled again. Because Covid. Never mind all the pubs, restaurants, Christmas shopping, family parties that all the kids, teachers and parents will be going to.
The nativity is some kind of super spreader event that must be forfeited!
It's not going to make the news, but I'm just so bloody tired of it all. He'll never be this little and innocent again...I tolerated it last year but my patience is gone.
Anyone who wants to be is jabbed, we have lateral flows, it's as safe as it ever will be.
Yet the commercial stuff can go on, but the pure joyful ness of a kids Christmas nativity can't. Just wanted to vent really. No point complaining in real life anymore!

Sorry for all those disappointed parents and children. We decided weeks ago to have ours filmed. Since then more than 1/3 of reception children have tested positive. Some of them had speaking parts. Mary is hanging in there but we are on our second Joseph and third Balthazar. The filming was going to take place next week so the children may or may not be back.
Complaints about no live performance have been matched by expressions of concern about putting a live show on so near Christmas.
We can’t win.

This school must be huge! How many teachers work there if theres been 8 off each day since September. And you can't get another PCR test until 90 days have passed so can't be the same teachers isolating repeatedly.

3 form entry primary with nursery.
The tests are staff and children- over 1000 people in total
120 odd staff.
Not 8 every day- 8 am each day.

“ Yeah, I get that. The trouble is, the country is divided. I and many others are forced to share the risk assessments of the more cautious all the time, despite our own judgement”

That’s your opinion. My opinion, as a “more cautious” person is that I’m forced to find a way of living in a society with an awful lot of people who act as if they have no sense of risk at all.

We are recording ours and sending to parents! I don't understand why they couldn't do that at least?

Agreed @Truffs2000
I went to my daughter’s nativity yesterday - they held it outside, us parents wore masks, the chairs for the audience were well spaced, the PTA were manning the tea urns for a warming cuppa during and after, it worked really well. The children couldn't wear their costumes because of all their outdoor gear but the school are filming it indoors tomorrow and sending out a secure link to the parents so we can all watch it
I’m just getting over Covid, I’m double vaccinated but it hit me hard, now my husband (also double vaccd) has it. My dc’s primary school has been brilliant, I can’t fault them. I’m so grateful that they have tried really hard to make things as normal as possible for everyone despite this being an extremely difficult situation. It is not the school’s fault that this is happening, they are doing the best they can.

I would check your privilege on this one. The pre-schooler has years of Nativity plays ahead of them. Packing all the children onto a stage and all the parents into venue = perfect setting for aerosol spread.
If you're cool about this and positive then your child won't even care.
Hugs.

@BogRollBOGOF

It's just a nativity (x2) It's just a Christmas fair (x2) It's just a sports day (x2 but you can watch the football/ tennis on TV) It's just a residential trip It's just a class outing (x2) It's just a disco It's just trick or treating It's just a scout camp It's just two birthdays It's just a birthday party (x a lot!) It's just a holiday It's just Christmas It's just a swimming lesson (or half of your allowence) It's just an open evening It's just a parent's evening It's just seeing your mum's face as you walk out of school after holding it together all day It's just a kiss before you walk through the school doors each morning It's just 10 minutes waiting for your sibling (do not play! Keep your distance!) It's just a play ground It's just SEN support It's just 6.5 months off school without access to friends (when you can hear the key worker children at playtime from your garden) It's just to keep granny safe (even though the care home rules banned you from seeing her and it's now over two years and you barely remember her)

Good job kids are resilient isn't it eh?
It's just a nativity after all.

☝🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Op I hear you. Kids have been thrown under a bus. Just with kids I know they are increasingly presenting with anxiety. Everyone I speak to is either struggling as a family or know someone who is. I have said from the start the mental health impact of pandemic will remain long after the last death within 28 days of a positive test. We have fucked over an entire generation. @BogRollBOGOF is spot on - so many it’s just….. my now 9 year old last saw his grandad in hospital March 2020, when he was moved to a care home, I’m struggling having been able to see my dad a handful of times since, the care home ban kids. My dad now can’t remember his grandchild so they won’t see each other again. There’s been no witnessing of slow decline, just bam can’t remember. You can’t explain it like you could if someone died.

But yeah kids are resilient!

That’s horrible!
We’ve been very lucky and ours haven’t been cancelled, this year or even last year. They just separated the chairs out and made us wear masks.! I love the nativity so I get your annoyance.

Check your privilege??

@BogRollBOGOF - great post.

Agree with @BogRollBOGOF. There are double standards for adults and children. Children have sacrificed too much over the last 18 months.

Yes, Covid has affected many children at our school too, but its invariably a very minor illness.

Viruses mutate - it's to be expected.
Continue to vaccinate and protect the vulnerable, but let's get back to 'normal' for the children.

Yanbu it’s unnecessary. Some people have anxiety issues - which they appear have no interest in resolving - and society must now be organised accordingly

@Siameasy

Yanbu it’s unnecessary. Some people have anxiety issues - which they appear have no interest in resolving - and society must now be organised accordingly

Would you call it "anxiety issues" to a child whose parent died of Covid?

Trivialising the very real seriousness of the pandemic is offensive to everyone who has been so deeply affected. Those who have lost family members and friends. Those who have had essential medical care disrupted because the NHS has been forced to focus on Covid care. Those now horribly unwell with long Covid.

You can be frustrated with restrictions, that's fine. But dismissing and minimising what the pandemic is, what Covid is, is just a horrible thing to do. 145000 people have died in the UK.

Covid is the problem.

Not anxiety.

End covid, end the problems caused by covid.

^works out alternative lyrics to John Lennon's Imagine starting with
^
🎶 Imagine there's no covid. It's easy if you try...🎶**

Some people have anxiety issues

@Siameasy

Yanbu it’s unnecessary. Some people have anxiety issues - which they appear have no interest in resolving - and society must now be organised accordingly

Some people have issues with accepting we are still in a pandemic.

Ours is still going ahead. But it's next week so still time to be cancelled!

@BettyOBarley

Ours is going ahead but being filmed by a professional company so we all have to pay £15 to watch it!

How sad to make you pay

Surely they can perform it in school and record it. What a shame they have to cancel it completely.

I haven't RTFT but since now every child has their own office 365 or zoom account set up by the school for the event of remote learning, can they still go ahead with the play and have parents watch it over in the child's account?

I fully agree with pubs, restaurants etc not complying but FYI, we all caught covid from DS who got it from secondary. Several other people also caught it from their children and some of them have had long covid and a year later haven't fully recoverd. DH would pick them up by car so they wouldn't have to take the bus which they normally would, DS would wear a mask all day at school, we never mixed with anyone but as soon as this academic year started he caught it. He said the boy sitting next to him had already been diagnosed with covid. I and DH are doubly vaccinated so it was alright although we did have symptoms, DH 3 days with fever.

The irony is, that if the school hired a theatre, it could go ahead and every man and his dog could go and watch.

But in the school hall, with just their parents? Nope!

@rrhuth

Some people have anxiety issues

Aye! I'm riddled with anxiety, that I won't be able to go for the three xmas,meals I have booked, and the pub get togetheres over the next couple of weeks with friends😀 I'll be mightily missed off if hospitality/ travel is affected because of schools staying open so that kids can do Xmas crafts!

Does it make people feel better if others are anxious along with them? What does being anxious achieve other than attention-seeking or some sort of moral high ground?

“I’m really anxious about Covid so I’m a better person”.

Being anxious achieves absolutely nothing; often those who are excessively worried about Covid can’t even articulate why they’re so obsessed. That’s when you have a problem. It’s unreasonable but crack on and live an anxious life if you want; I shan’t be joining in.