Some of our young people are half way through their degrees (2019/20 intake): lockdowns on repeat, light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations (?) and the legacy of COVID-19

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

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Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose is all I can say!

I'm assuming it depends where you are in the country as to whether you get offered a vaccine. DH has a Ds he is 36 and just been called up. So I'm not expecting ds1 to be called for a while.

I think some of the call-up for younger people is locale variant upturn related, isn't it? So Twickenham had a mass vaccination day on Monday (because it's close to Hounslow which has seen a rise in Delta variant cases) aimed at young people which was very successful (they did 15K).

BUT I do know that some places are doing 'random' free-for-all vaccination sessions (a friend's DS1 got his that way a few weeks ago at the age of 21), so think it's worth our young people keeping alert to opportunities.

There was a news item a few days ago announcing there was a vacc centre in London that was calling anyone of any age who wants the vaccine to come. Perhaps I should've posted it here, just assumed everyone will know about it. It appeared in my daily news updates.

Apologies to those who thought Dd2 (age 16) is in hospital. I mentioned hospital as we went in to get the Pfizer jab as they wanted to do it in ‘her’ hospital due to the nature of her CV status. Thank you for remembering her though. Her big sister is the one at university. It would be a relief to get Dd1 done as it is a mystery as to what virus caused Dd2’s brain injury and subsequent problems. Dd2 was absolutely fine with the vaccinations. As were we.

@Shimy it was Twickenham Rugby Stadium where the big vaccination push happened earlier this week, although I imagine it was aimed at people living locally(ish).

Glad to hear that your DS2 isn't in hospital @Zandathepanda. How is she doing now?

DS would like to wait until his exams are over before he gets vaccinated, just in case he feels rough afterwards for a day or so. It wouldn’t be very helpful if that coincided with a 24 hour exam.
Having said that, exams are over on 16th June and it is unlikely that he’ll get called before then anyway.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 Yes indeed it was Twickenham stadium. The offer was for anyone in the country, I hear it was absolutely packed. Just for one day though.

I got an email today to rebook my second jab to an earlier date because I'm on 'high priority' list . Didn't know I was but who am I to complain. Did anyone else get this?

DD wouldn't want to risk being out of action for revision and exams either if she was invited for her vaccine now.

DD got very good results for the presentation that she was having panic attacks about. I am thrilled for her.

Just one more exam next week, then she is done. It has been a difficult year for her and for most of our students. She is now starting to think about organising her 21st birthday next month.

Some disappointing news. DS just got his mark back from last group work and it's not good, brought his average right down from a 1st to 2.1 So annoying. He's hated every group work they've done, reasons include people not turning up for scheduled zoom meetings, some very vocal members arguing about what was deliverables (misunderstanding the question). He's still got a couple more marks he's waiting in so hoping these will bring his average back up.

Oh no Shimy.
DD hates group work for that reason. She nearly failed a GCSE because the other girl didn't contribute in her group.

I hope his next marks pull up his grade.

Thanks Rampant he's so upset about it. I know it's to prepare them for working in teams etc in the 'real world' but team work at uni is nothing like the real world. I hated it when I did my degree all those yrs ago too for the same reasons yet I've worked in teams on major projects for yrs and it's been great.

@Shimy my eldest hot footed it to Twickenham on hearing they had opened it up to all comers (he lives in a different London borough) only to be turned away by the police as they ran out of vaccines an hour before they closed ☹️

DD’s housemate who advertised their room without telling anyone has now moved out with the help of their Mum who screamed all sorts of abuse at the others basically accusing them of driving her child out 🙄. The remainers were quite shaken up at the whole incident and have asked for the locks to be changed in case they come back. Not a great way to end the year!

@Shimy is there a way he can appeal his grade for the group work based on his contribution alone? My eldest had a similar scenario and ended up doing most of the work alone to make up for others who couldn’t be arsed - so unfair

@VanCleefArpels That sounds horrible. Clearly the girl felt differently about what happened/spun her mum a tale.

@Shimy sorry for your DS - group work in Covid times has been v difficult. One friends DD was in a group with someone in Singapore in a completely different time zone

@VanCleefArpels What a shame about the vaccine! you don't know anyone up in Wales do you?
Re: group work - Was your DD able to appeal hers? I hadn't thought about that at all, I also doubt DS would go that extra mile to up his grade unfortunately, this is the dc who couldn't be bothered with a remark when one of his A'levels was 5 marks away from the next grade up.

@bigTillyMint Thanks for the commiserations. Group work with team members in a different time zone must've been super hard. Did they pull it off?? mind you, I know someone who started at Stanford last year but hasn't been able to resume physically in America yet so all their lectures have been online but due to different time zone, all lectures are in the middle of the night! every night he is up then sleeps during the day. Nightmare!

@shimy - no appeal, just did the lions share if the work to ensure a half decent grade. I’d think it’s worth asking the module convener if there is a way to appeal / remark esp if it means dropping a level for your DS

@VanCleefArpels Thing is, he has to want to do it and that's something I can't make him do. I'll make some noises but he has to make the contact and do the leg work. I am hoping his few remaining pieces of work will be high grades although this particular project I think carried a lot of weight and they got 54% in it.

Dd has managed to avoid group work this year - in fact it was the deciding factor in a module choice she had. She said there was one set of weekly seminars where one girl in her pyjamas said it was 3am where she was! I hadn’t thought about that’s why they made the exam time period 24 hours long.

Dd2 still has seizures which aren’t controlled by medicines so ongoing investigations will mean us transferring to a specialist hospital. I only touch on it briefly because it’s pretty identifying but it is so nice people remember her from way back on a thread supposed to be for her sisters age group. I am so tired from listening out for night seizures and also menopausal that I am typing in ‘a fog’ most the time anyway!

MN keep me semi-sane. I think. Others may disagree!

@Zandathepanda That's very clever of your DD. I'll mention that to DS for next yr.
Sorry to hear the seizures still aren't controlled, I remember when you first posted about it and it was a very worrying time for you all. I have a good idea about what it's like laying awake at night listening out for any telling sounds (have dsis who suddenly developed seizures in late teens) and how that can take its toll on the whole family.
Hope you find the right answers at the specialist hospital and treatment or at least proper management of her condition can begin.

@VanCleefArpels Thing is, he has to want to do it and that's something I can't make him do. I'll make some noises but he has to make the contact and do the leg work. That sounds like DS. They often don't want to make a fuss, do they? Such a total PITA for your DS though if he is riding high at first level (does he get the option to cherry pick the best module results at all?).

Canny of your DD1 to avoid group work modules @Zandathepanda. I

That’s something I’m not sure about I.e how their overall results will be determined. I’ve heard some say it will be the best of Yrs 2 and 3. I’m really hoping this will be the case.

@Shimy I did ask DS this very question only last week but he's yet to respond and-most likely won't

I don’t even have to ask DS to know the answer will be, ‘I don’t know’. That’s the standard answer to anything I ask.

It's interesting to see so many of you mention group work marks. My DS has had several group work modules this year and is currently at war with a course leader about having marks deducted. Apparently, if another student feels that someone made a lesser contribution through peer review, the student concerned loses 20% marks for that module. (Does this happen elsewhere?) This happened to DS in one module, but it was largely a miscommunication between him and another student (who did a portion of his task unbidden), so he got 10% returned on appeal. In the latest the group was awarded a 1st, and DS worked really hard on this one and has asked the group if any of them gave him a negative peer review. They all insist that they had no reason to, yet he has had a random number of marks deducted (not 20%). The course leader claims to be unable to disclose the reason. He has gone back to him again, but I doubt that he will get anywhere, though one of the pretty girls got hers back in a similar situation.
At least he has passed the year, unlike one of his friends who is having to retake the whole year.

@Zandathepanda I'm sure many of us remember your DD2 and her health troubles. Glad to hear that she is ok and getting the vaccine. No sign of any vaccinations for younger age group in our area, but DS has been taking tests as a couple of his friends had covid.. DH and I have had both doses, though I am still a week or so away from full immunity.