Current Year 10 2020/2021 support thread

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I can’t see a thread for upcoming new year 10s, so I thought I’d start one, as the long-running GCSE one I’ve been part of for DD has been a life-saver.

DS has opted to take history, German, drama and music, plus double science, maths, English x2, and RE.
He’s pretty bright and does well without having to break a sweat (much to my frustration!), but doesn’t really know what he wants to do in the future. He’s a music scholar at his school, so does a lot of music (DH and I are both professional musicians...or were, before Covid hit...) but loves history and English.

His school provided excellent online schooling and he was lucky to be able to go in 2 days a week for the last 3 weeks of term.

His sister has just finished year 11, so we are biting our nails, waiting for results next week. She has quite a different academic profile, having ADHD and possibly dyspraxia, and has had to work hard throughout the last few years.

I hope us parents of DCs just starting the GCSE journey can help and support each other over the next couple of years. 🙂

The only thing is she says that a lot of the boys are being total dickheads, getting handfuls of hand sanitizer and flinging it at people.

DC's school has adopted a strict no tolerance policy re Covid safety changes. They have spray bottles on their desks to wipe them down after use. A few children who have been silly with them have been given automatic 1 day exclusions. I actually think this is fair enough (particularly as they don't now have detentions due to getting everyone off site as soon after school closes as possible).

What idiots. I hope there are some consequences.

We’ve had a lovely end to the week. DS’s Spanish teacher emailed to say she had tried calling to let us know how great DS is, how well he is doing and that he is an asset to the class. I’ll admit I had a little tear and a lump in my throat. Such a nice thing to do. She could have just given him some points but she composed an email and took time out of her day.

As of the end of yesterday are 11 cases in DD's school, and 4 full year groups out plus a yr7 form. We had a really upsetting email at close of the day saying how tough a week it’s been.
We're also about to go back into local lockdown so when they go back in there's no mixing of households .
Good news is that home learning seems to have gone well this week, and the school trip to the US which is paid in full is still planned to go ahead next summer.............

DDs school has one confirmed case, in year 12 (which is DSs year). So he’s in isolation next week and the rest of the school currently in. Will see how it goes...

Dds birthday tomorrow (how is she nearly 15?) and she’s currently having a socially distanced picnic with 5 friends 😊

As mentioned previously, one of my Y10s is a home due to a case in options group. Three years out at that school now.

Still missing some work, but more has cone through. He couldn't do Eng Lang as the teacher is off and the supply set work from the text books, which are at school. He didn't get the Chemistry, so that lesson has been accessed by the 2/3 of the year that are in but not the third sent home.
I've ordered some Eng Lit study guides, but I'm not a teacher and I also work.

Three cases at my other Y10s' school so waiting still for him to be off. As one quarantine starts another begins.

@MirandaWest

DDs school has one confirmed case, in year 12 (which is DSs year). So he’s in isolation next week and the rest of the school currently in. Will see how it goes...

Dds birthday tomorrow (how is she nearly 15?) and she’s currently having a socially distanced picnic with 5 friends 😊

That sounds like a nice birthday in the sunshine!

@TheOnlyMrsW

As of the end of yesterday are 11 cases in DD's school, and 4 full year groups out plus a yr7 form. We had a really upsetting email at close of the day saying how tough a week it’s been. We're also about to go back into local lockdown so when they go back in there's no mixing of households . Good news is that home learning seems to have gone well this week, and the school trip to the US which is paid in full is still planned to go ahead next summer.............

This sounds tough. Wondering if you are West Mids like me? The cases seem to be building. My cousin's little one was off as the whole primary has closed. That was a case with a supply teacher I believe.

@middleager nowhere near, East Lancashire area, we've only been out of extra restrictions for a month or so . Typically it's been a beautiful weekend, and we'd have been out and about, dd should have started back to league football but not this week!!!

Don't know of any cases at our school but DD says about 20 of her year are off (over 10%) and several teachers and says loads of kids are coughing. She thinks its all negative tests so far but still causing quite a bit of disruption. As we are rural its not as bad though.

English have agreed to move her up at half term which is great then she'll be top set everything, probably just as school shuts down again.

As I posted that got school e-mail about 1st case. Says only a few children now off so presumably a year 7 or y8 child as they are class bubbles.

Our school has years 11 and 13 off (typical!) but touch wood the other years are still in in their entirety. Some staff are off but mainly due to waiting for tests so as long as they are well they are teaching remotely from home!

Years 7,8, 11 and 13 all affected now at one son's school.
In his twin's school years 7, 8, 10 and 13 all impacted.

Most schools I know have cases now. Grim.

The remote learning for my one year 10 has improved lots in the week he's been SI so credit to the school as it now has multiple years out.

Still not been any confirmed cases at DC’s school but I know there are pupils and teachers self isolating. I think the lack of tests about could be a contributing factor to there being no confirmed cases though.

Just thankful for each day they go in. 🤞

We had all 3 DC home on Monday/Tuesday with colds developed over the weekend but because they then acquired a cough school insisted on them being tested. We were able to just rock up, queue and had results by 06.30 Tuesday morning.

Y10 still seems to be going ok here. DS taking it all very seriously and working quite hard.

Apparently a few children off is 49 year 11s who are now just being pointed to Oak Academy. DD says most of year 10 are coughing and year 11 and 10 were mixing before in corridors with no SD. School just said move vulnerable people at home out. Not sure where the kids are supposed to move their parents too Quite a few teachers off just with coughs and negative tests but school rules are not in school for 14 days.

I've got a kidney infection atm so really hoping neither of mine bring it home now. Poor DD is so worried even though we reassure her, asking us both about our preferred funerals and if I'm creamated what type of ring I would like to be made into that she could wear. And how will money work. Tried to reassure her but she still worries.

Oh gosh @KoalasandRabbit. I hope you get better soon. And poor DD she sounds lovely.

Interesting that your school don't have detentions at the moment RedskyAtnight. I just got an email saying that the period of settling in after school absence is coming to an end and with it the "lenient and supportive approach to all students as they have embraced school and dealt with any anxieties and difficulties they may have faced since returning" - "However, we now must ensure our behaviour policy is used and that students know that poor behaviour will result in sanctions" and therefore detentions are starting up again - although different days of the week are allocated to different years (and there is a split between behaviour detentions and punctuality detentions - this is presumably because the punctuality detentions are linked to the amount of time the student is late, so they are let go in dribs and drabs). They go on to say: "In times of Covid restrictions, we will not be able to move detentions for any student, so we would appreciate this request not being made. " It used to be that if a particular day they had an after school activity, you could request the detention be held on another day. Admittedly, there are far fewer after school activities available, so it is presumably going to be less of an issue, although at the moment DD's violin teacher is still coming in person here, and is within the rules (although we did do zoom lessons over lockdown, but it was by no means so satisfactory).

Thanks Mercedes

Re detentions our school just has a 1.5 hour after school one now, rest have gone but they've gone straight into that.

@middleager

The remote learning for my one year 10 has improved lots in the week he's been SI so credit to the school as it now has multiple years out.

Update. He wasn't set any work yesterday. There are assessments next week too. He won't let me contact the school as he doesn't want to "stress the teachers"

Our year 10s are now the oldest in the school as years 11-13 are all off! School is Not Happy and says it is no coincidence that it’s the older years that have positive cases as they are all ignoring social distancing and self isolations rules. School behaviour policy has been updated with a COVID section. Am off to have a read now! 😳
I think we should all consider ourselves Told Off. 🤣

Oh and middleager - definitely contact school. It may just be a tech issue after all.

Naem DD's school can't have detentions at the moment because they are not running anything after school - the students are directed to leave the site as soon as possible after the last lesson. (and the timing of "last lesson" varies as they have staggered end times) And they can't have lunch time detentions as they have cut lunch to 30 minutes which is scarcely long enough to get from lesson before lunch to locker, to designated lunch eating area, back to locker and then to next lesson - let alone actually eating lunch somewhere in there!

The lack of after school clubs is a real shame. I understand why school has done it, but it does feel like it's all the "fun stuff" that's been removed from school life.

On the plus side (crossing everything) there are no cases in school yet reported. DD has her hospital referral for her ankle (she was referred in February) the week after next. I really don't want her to be self-isolating and have to miss it.

RedskyAtnight they are not running anything after school at DD's school either, and they also have staggered entrances and exists for different years. I imagine if you stay for detention, you will leave after all the other exits, and that is why they have different days for different years with detention. But the after school detentions are coming back! Although presumably not the lunch time ones. One of the things that has been abandoned is lockers. Yup, that is right ,they are all having to carry everything they need around on their backs. They were supposed to be getting chromebooks (that we have paid for, except for those on free school meals) which was supposed to cut down on the load, but a) no sign of the chromebooks; b) all the teachers have given heavy exercise books, and some of them have textbooks (although a fair number of the textbooks are indeed online). I raised concern on the mums whatsapp group about the weight of what is being carried around, and there are loads of mums equally concerned, but there doesn't seem anything to be done. DD, like all her friends, baulked at the suggestion of a wheelie for her books, but has been complaining that her back is hurting her.

exits