Another path ....... the journey begins

[chopc]

Hello @321zyx @AvocadoPlant @bendmeoverbackwards @BigWoollyJumpers @Braveheart35 @calculatorqueen @ChimneyPot @Dobbyisahouseelf @Eastisup @jano69 @Majaso12 @MidLifeCrisis007 @NCTDN @Notagardener @OnTheBenchOfDoom @Parsonage63 @Pumpkintopf @Peaseblossum22 @quest1on @Peaseblossum22 @SATSmadness @SeasonFinale @Tenpastseven @Vargas @Xenia

Apologies for anyone I omitted to tag

Great to hear from everyone. Madness to think the first term is almost done and we will be collecting Ds a week today. He seemed to only have one lecturer who wasn't able to give a class but we will find out more tomorrow in our usual face time call.

@chopc so sorry to hear your Dh got covid. I hope he has recovered and everyone else managed to stay covid free.

I haven't looked at the Oxbridge 2022 thread but have seen the titles.

Ds says they don't much feedback either so he worries about where he is pitching stuff. I think he gets some stuff back in January which will help him understand where he is etc. Even though first year doesn't count toward his final grade he is still anxious about his grades.

Seriously where has that term gone? I am not complaining because he will be home but this has gone so fast.

Thanks for the good wishes @OnTheBenchOfDoom . We are testimony that we vaccines work as I had mouth to mouth contact (sorry about TMI) with DH when he must have been harbouring Covid. No one else in the house got it and hope it stays that way as we are desperate for some sunshine over the holidays.

However wondering how we prove my 13 year old has had one vaccine? If anyone has done it do let me know

@chopc nothing wrong with a bit of mouth to mouth with a husband I am pleased no one else was affected.

Re vaccine proving you contact your GP surgery and ask to register as proxy access for your child and the surgery will guide you through what you need to do for that. Once that is set up on their database it should then appear as a "linked profile" on your NHS app where your vaccines are too.

I haven't done this but this myself however this info is on the NHS website I just needed my lovely Dh to find it for me as it was part of a conversation he had this week with a colleague.

Hi everyone, I haven't posted for a while. Hope everyone is ok and looking forward to Christmas. I'll catch up properly with everyone's news shortly.

My dd is fine, really busy with multiple drama performances going on and still some work to hand in before the end of term.

She came home this weekend just gone which was really lovely. We went to a show on Saturday night - a musical version of Little Women - really enjoyed it and lovely to spend time with her.

2nd Year house news - all a bit stressful really. She's in a group of 5, they've seen a few places but in recent days one of the group has said her budget is lower than what she said previously. Dd doesn't want to make her feel bad or ditch her over this but at the same time she doesn't want to end up living somewhere grotty. It sounds like dd has been doing most of the work, finding places, speaking to the agents, arranging viewings etc. While she was home she saw a house online that looked like it ticked all the boxes and the rent was fine. Dd sent them the details then one of the girls (not the one who changed her budget) said she didn't like the look of it! Arrghhhh!

@chopc sorry to hear about your dh, hope he's recovered well.

@Majaso12 that would worry me too. Would she open to an honest conversation with you? Maybe try and tactfully ask her what her Plan B would be if it didn't work out with the boyfriend?

Oh and dd's other news - she has been accepted for a term abroad at her first choice - Prague! However after really wanting it, she's a bit nervous about accepting. She would be there from Jan - June 2023. I think she's worrying about what she would miss in Bristol in that time. And I haven't even looked into the financial aspects yet.

@chopc vaccine proof for teens is very very difficult. I THINK currently for travel, there's very few places you can travel to with single jabbed teens. And even if you manage to get them a second dose, because they can't access the app, it's difficult to prove.

We've had to re-think our Christmas holiday plans again and again. Third attempt - Mexico - which currently has NO restrictions!

@bendmeoverbackwards re vaccine it is why you link your app to your child's vaccine using the proxy thing at the GP surgery. Dh's colleague works in this field.

Prague, how very beautiful. On my to do list. I can understand the fear of missing out on Bristol life but Prague!

Ds has had his first piece of work back and now has a mark so he is feeling much better. His two friends got much lower marks than he did so he was able to see how well he has done.

@Majaso12 I did live with my boyfriend in 2nd year but we met at the start of first year. 3rd year we lived separately as 3rd year accommodation was on campus and single en-suite rooms which I felt I deserved. I would just ask her what happens if they break up and they are sharing a bed? They could rent a 2 bed place so that one could potentially leave and the room could be filled with another student. I suppose there is only so much you can do. She will still be in that loved up bubble.

I can’t seem to speak to her about anything at the moment. She either says she doesn’t want to think about it or she can’t spare the time. I thought we were talking tonight about a few things, but she’s said she’s with him now.

She doesn’t say she can’t spare the time but every time she says she’ll talk tonight, she then says she’s out when I ask if I can call. Getting fed up with it now.

Thanks all for the advise about the vaccines and teens. Currently the place we plan to go accepts a single jab for the under 18 as being fully vaccinated and I am hoping there won't be any more rule changes before our trip next week. But I won't get excited until nearer the date

@bendmeoverbackwards many congratulations to your DD. Is the first year the only opportunity to study abroad? Seems awfully early. I would have the same reservations as her. She is just getting settled into Bristol .......

@chopc no it’s in the second year. Starting January 2023.

DS had originally thought he might like to do the term abroad but has rejected it on a number of counts including missing out on Bristol, trying to work out how accommodation works or whether he still just has to pay rent for a place here as well as abroad and also the fact that if their grade schemes/marking/expectations are different he does not want modules studied there to potentially stuff up grades here as well as "its not really travelling and I would b better off doing that in holidays or after uni".

Just a few spanners to throw into her potential works.... I am sure you may have thought of some of these anyway.

Yes @SeasonFinale I’m a bit worried how it works with assessment. I don’t even know if it’s organised by the History department or centrally??

One of the reasons I wanted DD to choose Warwick was that she could have had a term in Venice studying the Renaissance. My idea of heaven.

But that was my dream not hers. She then picked Exeter and they had a Renaissance module, only for it to be pulled this year, because the lecturer left....... sad.

Just a slight word of warning...
Many practices won't allow a parent to be a proxy for 13-16 year old as they would then be able to access their notes which could be very risky and inadvisable.
At the moment it seems as though many practices are having to print out evidence of vaccine status for the under 16s.
Another bit of non-joined-up thinking by the powers that be....

DD’s labs are now cancelled the rest of this term. She had 3 hour labs today and 3 hours tomorrow, which was for her coursework that’s due next week which counts towards her grade. Doesn’t know what’s happening with that now. Lectures were already online so not that much was in person, so assume it’s all been cancelled now. On their website it says anything essential would still be in person so would think labs were essential. Her lectures are still going to be online next term as well.

@Majaso12 presume due to Covid fear as opposed to strikes?

Yes due to covid to the announcement yesterday. Also had some cancelled due to strikes.

Because of the announcement yesterday.

@Majaso12 That's absolutely indefensible, even after the announcement yesterday. I honeslty don't know how universities have been getting away with this for so long, and also now extending exclusions, which shouldn't have been in place anyway.

The only way this should affect universities is that all lectures, seminars and lab attended by students should wear masks. That's it. Nothing more.

It makes me really angry on your DD's behalf.

Also, how lucky my DD has been, in that everything has been functioning as normal all term at Exeter, and that they had just been reminded on the mask rule coming back as a requirement.

That’s good about Exeter this year. My son finished his undergraduate at Exeter last year and everything was online, didn’t have any labs the whole year either.

Makes me so angry. It’s guidance to work from home if you can and starts next week but hers have been cancelled from today. Would think labs were essential anyway. Worried what next year will be like now.

@Majaso12 I would be furious too. Just because it's work from home if you can doesn't mean you abandon your students and go online. Perhaps there is a case if a lecturer is vulnerable. Schools are going on as normal.

The student Union needs to make a case and fight for the students. Bristol managed to turn their decision round with the power of the student Union.