Corona Cohort - Year 12 - 2021 - NO 'Self isolating' please.

[Oblomov20]

We just want our kids in school. Please. If at all possible.

And driving lessons. And good Mental Health. And happiness.

In-and-amongst all this Covid nightmare and lockdown debacle.

Old thread:

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We did a virtual escape room for DH’s birthday which DS enjoyed too.. Just had a moment as realised next birthday for DS is 18th and it’s less than 8 months away.

DD has just discovered that her landmark tests that were going to be the week before half term, and then weren't when lockdown happened, and then were again at the beginning of last week are actually 2hr on-line exams with no timetabled lessons the rest of the time! She needs to do some revision, but so far no let up in homework which usually takes until 9pm most nights.

On the bright side, this may give her more ammunition to drop her 4th subject!!

A very popular gift for students at the moment is a projector you can link to phone or laptop. We gave one to DS1 and watched the David Attenborough programmes cinema scale. www.amazon.co.uk/Projector-APEMAN-Videoprojector-Portable-Including-LC350A/dp/B07WCSB5G1?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I like the projector, we have something similar at work but unfortunately we don't really have any bare walls and our rooms are tiny (Coronation St type house).

I'm really not sure about escape rooms, DS and I both hate the thought of real life ones but online would be different. He has a lot of difficulties with puzzles and stuff though, we had those verbal and non-verbal reasoning books when they were younger and he couldn't do most of it at all (SENs).

DS1 watches films on the ceiling at University!

You do have to like escape rooms for that to work I think! Like the projector idea and am wondering if that may be good for DS’s 18th.

I think for the real life escape rooms we (DS and I) don't like the idea of being shut in a room (i know its not a prison but it might feel claustrophobic). Then, as a family, we are such a mish-mash of dyspraxia, dyslexia, Asperger's etc (everyone except me) that we really aren't great at these sorts of puzzles. I can't abide any sort of role-play either.

Oh and DD hasn't got a competitive bone in her body and would lose interest, DS would get upset if he couldn't do things. I actually wouldn't mind doing one all by myself online but not with my family.

Miranda, Whatsnext, crazycrofter DD also really liking the idea of a gap year. She will still apply as school will be helpful with personal statements and their own recommendation letter but will then defer once she's had offers. She wants to do Primary Education and needs experience so will use that year to volunteer at a primary school, pass driving test (if not done so already) and perhaps earn some money doing something part time so she has some cash for spends at uni.
It may not work out socially for her of all her friends go Sept 2022 and she goes year after but we'll see.

Still no GCSE certs.

We've both signed up to be Marshals at our local vaccination centre so once training done can sign up to sessions. Will be easier if online at home but if back March 8th will only be able to do weekends as school don't let them out in their study / free periods.

Who thinks we'll be able to go to a London theatre (miles away from us) and watch a show we booked and gave as a Christmas present to DD that is in Feb half term? I'm assuming unlikely but online it only says it's closed until Feb 14th. I'm hoping it's cancelled as tix were £££ and I don't fancy tubes etc as can only drive so far.

We had email from DS’s old school the other day, certificates coming next month.

If schools aren't opening till March I can't imagine theatres will be.

DS is finding physics practicals tough online. Has just emerged from his man cave, bellowed that he needs a glass jug of some kind, grabbed a flower vase, and then dived back into his cave with it. :)

@essentiallydelighted we did an escape room once with my siblings (there's five of us) and their partners (as well as our two kids). It was siblings against in laws and kids. The sibling team were absolutely hopeless; we realised that our sibling traits disadvantaged us! On a team you need people with different skills. And none of us got it at all; we were trying to apply logic and reasoning, but it was nothing like that. To me it seemed totally random and frustrating! I guess it was creative thinking/ thinking outside the box? The other team escaped with about fifteen minutes to spare. We were nowhere near escaping when the hour was up!

@AnneOfCleavage Boris said he will tell us all on 22nd Feb his time line for things opening. Starting with schools first which he hopes to be in march. So nothing will open before then.

Crazy.

We asked DS did he want to go anywhere for his birthday and then remembered we couldn't. Unfortunately its a Monday - I'm thinking takeaway and birthday cake and his choice of TV (he isn't one for films either, his language impairments make it hard for him to keep up).

Not sure if anyone else's DC here has an EHCP. Part of that is an annual review meeting between family, school and local authority. DS had his this year and it was useful to start talking through all the options for post-18. There are various schemes for helping young adults with SENs transition into work, as well as the usual college and universities. DS almost certainly won't be ready to leave home and start uni at 18 but a foundation year within commuting distance is possible.

As @oblomov20 has pointed out we are near to end of thread...any title ideas peeps? It is coming up to a year of pandemic now...I'm rubbish at these things! Sorry!

I mean had his this week.

There's a petition going in my local area for the year to be frozen i.e everyone repeat the whole academic year. There seems to be a lot of support for it, although I notice most are parents of primary aged dc.

Personally, while I can see the merit in repeating for much younger age groups, I think it's an awful idea for older yrs. They are too far into this academic year! I can't imagine telling ds he will have to repeat all his lessons, coursework, tests etc all over again and those in yr 13 with offers, that they are won't be going to uni till 2022.

Would anyone here support the petition?

I definitely wouldn't.

It's a bit of a British obsession with exams etc that is fuelling some of it.

I can see why parents of the very youngest would want to delay starting school though.

I can't either oblomov : sorry... everyone seems obsessed with escape rooms, so some sort of play on that!?

Not oblomov, sorry orange!

SORRY! just saw it''s near end of thread. Name idea:
Corona Cohort Yr 12 2021 - 'Vaccinations and Eliminations' OR

Corona Cohort Yr 12 2021 -'To Remain Locked or UNlock'?

Please can anyone who wants to answer my question continue when the new thread starts. Thank you.

@Shimy If we could have made that decision a year ago or even for lady September it might have had merit but of course no one knew Covid would still be such an issue a year later. Those in first year at uni have not had a great experience. And I think there may be issues with the standards for some degrees where they have missed lots of labs/practicals.

To do this they would have had to make children due to start in Reception for a year as schools would not have capacity in terms of classrooms & teachers otherwise.

Overall I think it might be better to carry on, perhaps introduce summer schools like they do in the US for kids who need to catch up

If they repeated a year...how would they ever catch up? Surely they'd always be a year behind? If all year groups stayed an extra year.

Do we have a link for a new thread?

EssentiallyDelighted Design is own hockey stick? DS got one as his xmas present and the quality seems ok. You choose all aspects including bow etc. Surprisingly no more expensive than the usual brands. www.ragecustom.com/product-category/equipment/field-hockey/

Making everyone repeat a year sounds dire. Coming out of this we all, whatever age, need to feel as if we are moving forward.