The Twenty-Sixth Republic -Half Term Horror?

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff only – a sort of room of requirement. Baiters, haters, goaders and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Do not give ‘The Every twat for Themselves mob’ the staffroom password as a number of them are operating in an alternative reality.

No DfE muppets allowed

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the toffee vodka is hidden.

If you are fed up with cakes and biscuits there is now a cheeseboard on offer

If you come with a stick to goad us then that is not allowed in the staffroom and you will receive a detention

With the week we had last week we all got a handle on teams A LOT faster than SLT had originally planned for. It went ok. Everyone is pulling together in a way I never thought I'd see though and that's making a huge difference. Our training was pretty much watching someone else do it but by Friday most of us were competent enough to do a lesson.

We’re allowed Pumpkins, Spiders, Zombies and Mummies at my school, but not Ghosts or Witches. It’s a Faith thang I’ve given up trying to work out why some Undead are more equal than others.
Better than a C of E school near where I live. The previous vicar held an assembly and said if he saw any of the children out Trick Or Treating he would make sure he spoke to their parents about whether it was the right school for them . I think they just made sure their costumes were so good he wouldn’t recognise them.....

@SmileEachDay Why is that inefficient?

Herc, I know your question wasn't directed at me, but I have 4 y9s once a week. If they're all off then it would be significantly less work for me to make a prerecorded video and answer questions via teams or email than live teach the same lesson 4 times. Even more efficient if different teachers did different year groups.

Our sixth form don't wear uniform so they have charity dress up days instead of non uniform. One year, it fell on Halloween.
I was most surprised when the head of sixth form came to tell me he'd had to send one of my boys home. I hadn't noticed his full face of makeup - he'd come as the joker...
I was just pleased he was in registration for once!
I was quite annoyed about it because no one sent any of the slutty zombies home. (The kids' description, not mine)

Yeah - exactly what Count said. Much better to have a recorded resource and teacher time freed up to answer questions, give feedback etc.

I don’t think there’s a perfect solution tbh.

Ah yes that does make sense. While we're half in half out, live streaming to those at home is the lesser of the evils tbh. I don't have time to follow up with the kids at home apart from on teams during the lesson.

I agree once they're all out then pre recorded is far better. I'll be pushing for this in our dept.

The live teaching into school when teachers are isolating is - in my opinion - a total waste of time.

Completely agree smile. Seems our SLT need to justify us being paid so this is their way of doing that.

Yep, Herc same with us I think.

And with us.
It did stop those of us not invited to the great pub get together not self isolating for two weeks from brandishing our pitchforks quite so violently though.

Live teaching in just made me cross because my classes knew I could do nothing about behaviour.

Me ineffectively muttering “”Joe you do NOT sit next to Carlton” had little impact...

Didn't know if anyone had seen this...

Dutch teachers taking government to court.

veiligonderwijs.org/articles/background?lang=en

I've worked in a C of E school for aaaaages.... (since the last milennium!) and we don't mention Halloween AT ALL. Although back then all talk of Halloween was banned by the entire local education authority. I have no idea why to be fair. I don't think it's ever been officially overturned but enough new staff and local education authority bods have come and gone since then that I imagine a lot don't know it was banned once upon a time.

We did have the Bishop's visitor officially complain that we had copies of Harry Potter books on our shelves when he visited several years ago, when they were first a big thing - apparently that was not desirable as they had MAGIC in them!

Mental!

Halloween is officially banned in Wales this year though. We're to stay home and not go out except for essential shopping, work if it can't be done at home or for exercise. SO trick or treating (or trickle-treating as so many kids insist on calling it) is OUT!

Thank goodness our school hasn’t yet suggested beaming in from home... there is still time of course. Would be a real shame if my internet didn’t work properly that day though 🤣 tbf I would do it for my small further maths class as they would be great and wouldn’t even need an adult in the room. Other than that, just don’t think it would work for our school and if you’ve got a member of staff there anyway they can just put up the cover work....

We teach English using Harry Potter DrMadelineMaxwell so that doesn’t bother us! Although I do surreptitiously slide Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett across the desk, as ‘background reading’ for all things magical.
I’d like to think the banning witches thing is down to the Church atoning for the horrendous treatment of single, vulnerable women back then but I doubt it.

I think it was a personal opinion as it's never been mentioned by any other Bishop's visitors. I also promote TP as a different author to try in my y6 class. And use his 'circumfence' when teaching the difference between radius and circumference! Love those books. I have a few reading Truckers now this year after recommending it.

@DrMadelineMaxwell

As a CofE school, we also don't mention Halloween really though it's not a rule. Although that does make it harder to talk about Allhallowtide.

Celebrating Bonfire Night is really weird when you think about it.

To pp worrying about teams, honestly it is really easy to use. I am poor at IT ( video clips in lessons have me going “ I don’t know why there is no sound” and the kids going “ it switched off on you tube miss”)

We have a mixed system whereby if kids are isolating then we join them to our lessons via teams, it’s a little stressful setting it all off especially if you have just come from the furthest corner of the school but then has worked really well, and the kids at home really seem to appreciate it.
I haven’t had to (yet) but if we are at home si them have to teach via teams, and if whole year groups end up at home we will be expected to do a bit of live teacher input to start each lesson off via teams before setting them onto work without us.

If anyone wants my guide to teams, message me and I'll send it. It's been added to this term again!

MrsH I'd love your guide, will PM you. I'm fairly OK with teams but would benefit from a bit more info as I don't think I'm using it at full capability.

@MrsHamlet are these further updates from when you sent it previously? If so yes please!

Are we quite unusual using google classroom/meet etc?

mrsHP I think there's been one more since I last sent it out so I'll send that on too.
At this rate, our teacher planner will require a whole folder just for the teams guide 🤣

Are we quite unusual using google classroom/meet etc?

My son’s school use that - are you primary Honey?