Corona Cohort’s Year 12 adventures

[FoolsAssassin]

We’ve made it into year 12 and rapidly approaching the end of the first half term .

Lots of challenges we could never imagined as we started the year but we’re all keeping on keeping on and this thread is for anyone who would like to jump on board to share the rather unusual journey this is turning out to be.

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Revision this weekend for standardised assessments all next week for both YR12 DS & YR9 DD.

We’ve all started on the voluntary random regular COVID 19 testing for ONS. Hoping not to test positive this week so they can both sit these tests and “bank” these formal marks. No reason to think we will test positive - apart from being part of the asymtomatic contingent which is the whole point I guess.

Dd has 'progress week', so she's been set her first serious essays in all subjects

They are wearing masks in corridors but not classrooms - but dd keeps her mask on anyway as it makes her feel safer (not just for Covid reasons, I think)

In lessons it's up to the individual teacher if they ask the class to wear masks. DS says none of his teachers have asked so far. Windows are open.

This week's 'fun' was Maths Challenge. DS not confident of a good score. Chose to miss a few questions rather than be hit by deductions. Anyone else's DC sit it?

Mine did Eww. Hated it. Last time was Y9. She’s not in love with Maths right now which is such a shame as last 2 years’ teaching had resulted in her to be pretty good at it.

DS did maths challenge- doing AS. He got nothing year 10 for intermediate and then gold and kangaroo for year 11 much to everyone's surprise! He said it was hard and he also chose to miss questions rather than risk the deduction. He's not expecting anything this year

DD seems not to be coping with the workload. Getting very very stressed esp as teachers talking about how much more there is going to be.

She won't meditate or do yoga or anything like that. She can't do any of her sports, so all her energy is going on worrying that she won't be able to cope. Getting migraines which isn't good.

I know at school she's always the 'cheerful' one, but at home she's a ball of stress.

Any ideas on how to help gratefully received. I can't say anymore 'don't worry about the future workload, just do one task at a time' as she's just not listening to a damn thing.

@Wheresthebeach, my DD is very sporty but no way would she do yoga or mediating or any of that mindfullness rubbish (her words, certainly not mine).. So DH asks her to go running with him when we can see that things are building up. That definitatey helps her. She enjoys it and usually then goes for a few more until she misses one then stops for ages. Occassionally we can get her to come to the beach with us with the dogs, which she never wants to do but always says it was ok after :-)

Re stressing about workload, DD finds it helps to write a list on a massive while board in her bedroom. If it's planned out when to do what, she feels she can manager better. Then it's just a case of trying to stick to it. DD can't sleep if she doesn't finish something that she knows she won't have time the next day so often works until she has finished it (12.30pm) if needed.. it's not ideal but there is just no point me saying at 11.00pm, stop what you're doing you need sleep as she won't sleep anyway. To be fair she has never slept much anyway and is definitely on teenager/young adult body clock. I hope things get easier for your DD

Re Christmas and birthday lists - DD always has things in the shopping basket - I could spend £500 on clothes and still she would want more! She doesn't expect things, but will never so no... She knows that occassionally I will look on her laptop and buy her some things for no reason. She is supposed to have a summer and winter clothes budget but I am rubbish at sticking to it.

Thanks @Heifer. Def going to have to force her outside. So much of her sport has been cancelled - even during the relatively free time of summer.
With work she's super organised. Its teachers telling them about how hard everything is going to be, how much more work they're going to have to do that does her in emotionally. She's not working crazy hours - it's more like she's dreading the workload and teachers are making it worse.

@Wheresthebeach what sport does your DD do? Mine plays hockey so at least got to play from Sept till now. I find that I miss watching as it's been such a large part of my own social life since I was 14 (I stopped playing last season) I love watching DH or DD play instead. I will struggle myself I think let alone a 16 yr old who needs that social interaction and exercise.

If DDs teachers were pilling on the pressure like yours seem to be, I would say to DD that they are just trying to scare some of the lazy ones. Maybe some of her class aren't working hard enough so they will definitely struggle later on if they don't buck up. I would just encourage her to keep up with whatever work she has, keep organised and she will be fine. She may not even notice the increased workload if increased slowly? It's vital to stay on top of it and then take each week at a time I think.

@Heifer - DD waterskis. So it seem bonkers that she can't train on the water, afterall her coach is in the boat. Yes it's big part of our social life as well and we've missed everyone this summer as virtually no comps.

We're saying the same things, in her head she knows it, but she still feels the stress.

DS did the maths challenge this week - had forgotten about it and says he doubts he’s done too well. He’s not bothered though

Under cross examination, after some muttering of 'dunno' I have ascertained DS did the Maths challenge. Has no idea how it went, 'guess we'll see.

No masks needed to be worn for DD in classrooms but they must be in corridors and communal areas.
Link to Beeb advice, for Sixth Form, highlighted in PHSE about mask wearing during sexual activity and the positions one must adopt to be safe

I think I might let school give them that info Proggy

DS did leave questions he wasn't sure about in the maths challenge rather than potentially take the mark hit.

@FoolsAssassin
I’d rather discuss the ‘no kissing’ and ‘positions’ during COVID than the UKMT challenges
DD was ‘sloshed off’ with said challenges being used as ‘extension’ work for Maths in KS3

Proggy

EalingWest Same here in that DS has not sat it since year 9. He wasn't in top set maths last year.

Interesting to know others felt it was hard & missing questions was a good move.

Heifer Another hockey parent here. DS missing it and doesn't go for runs. Usually his fitness training is playing tennis year round so turning into a couch potato. Dropping hints about a new stick for xmas though.

Those with DC taking Maths and FM, is the teaching broken down into Maths and FM or are they merged together at this point! Including on tests? DS has the latter which surprised me as I had assumed there would be a distinction. College know what they are doing so I’m not worried but found it interesting.

DS having to adjust from being pretty much top in quite a few subjects to being in a very able cohort and working out where he now stands, I don’t think he has worked it out yet, suspect he is somewhere in the middle. He seems fine with with it and seems to be coping with his workload which is substantial with 4 A levels plus a project..

A levels have been a massive change for our household with him boarding during the week. Hopefully the transition to university will be easier, I am now used to empty nest during the week and not finding it too hard thankfully. I was a bit worried as had got my head around him going in two years time then suddenly had to adapt to him going earlier.

Sport stopping is a problem here too - at the start of term DS had football x2, hockey x2 a week plus a part time job. All are gone now, the work was seasonal. So nothing to burn off energy or de-stress. He does go out to the park with a friend to play footy a couple of times a week which thankfully is allowed this time, we're also grateful that professional football is still on so that's a distraction too. Not really the same though.

DS never got contacted about the football. It does make you wonder about the efficacy of contact tracing , and the rules they apply to be honest! That said, I haven't heard of another member of the team testing positive.

DS goes out for a run every day but his school does no sport in sixth form so there are going to be a lot of very sedentary older teens!

For double maths at DS's school they cover A level syllabus in Y12 and FM in Y13. It may be partly because they have a high drop out rate, so transferring to single maths is smoother if there are no gaps in content. They don't have twice as many maths lessons, just 50% more and go through it all faster.

He did maths challenge last week. They were given log in details to do it at home but he was rigorous about not cheating as he is self-competitive and wanted a real mark. He worked out that statistically you should guess rather than leave it blank - there are 5 options so you should get 1 right and 4 wrong, which would be a net gain of 1 mark, but chose not to guess. He got gold and into kangaroos last year.

@pasanda DS had a bottle of wine when we were away for 1 night a year ago for DS1 concert. He also had a packet of Oreos and was sick all over the sofa in our basement, which still bears the scars! Luckily a couple of very sensible friends had come to see him as he passed out on the sofa. They carried him up 3 flights of stairs to his bedroom although they are both half his size! He learnt a lesson though and is much less interested in alcohol now.

Missing sport here too, rugby cancelled and his school is not doing any sport. It struck me that boarding school is the place to be now as all in-school extra curriculars are allowed, so lock down just means they can't have occasional visitors, but impacts life much less.

Games afternoon once a week and CCF afternoon once a week/alternative sports/activity. All after school sports training/matches cancelled for the lockdown period (don’t apply to DS but to plenty others).

No sport either at DDs school apart from pe lessons, which even though she is studying A level PE they don't actually have sport in 6th form.

Normally she would have access to the swimming pool, gym plus before school, lunch time and after school activities. She is also disappointed that they aren't in the 6th form block (Y13 are) so don't get the sofas and toaster!

DD’s school do voluntary games on Wed afternoons. Amazingly she decided to do netball, mainly as a way to meet new people as she’s not at all sporty, but that’s continuing which is good.

The extra curricular rugby, which she also surprised me by joining, isn’t allowed to run during lockdown. There’s no logic to this but hey ho.

DD has Wednesday afternoon PE (badminton and Zumba this half term) but Hockey team practice is now only 1 lunchtime - all after school activities are cancelled.