The Twenty-Sixth Republic -Half Term Horror?

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No secondary

@TheHoneyBadger

Are we quite unusual using google classroom/meet etc?

We use google classroom and secondary. Made the move over to googlemail a few years ago for some reason but I liked using classroom while in lockdown. Not liking google slides/sheets/docs just not as good as word/ppt/excel especially for maths formula and animations.

I need to check your guide again. I taught a lesson last week from my room to my class in the computer room. Main issue was that I could mute the kids, but they kept unmuting themselves. This meant a)loads of feedback because they were in the same room together on laptops, but b) in an actual lesson at home the twats would just keep shouting at me. Need to be able to turn that option off.

But we're planning on 5 min recorded lessons, then groups of 6 for feedback/to look at work - for maths and English. Anything else we'll look at when they're back in school.

We use google meet because we use google classroom and gmail for all the pupils, and it's easy to toggle on and off the code for pupils to use to enter a meet.

Brownies used zoom last few weeks.
I couldnt get all the kids on screen at once so had to flick between them which is annoying trying to follow who was talking.

ohthegoats the muting thing isn't in the guide but does exist. I'll dig it out tomorrow and send it on!

Amazing, thanks. I need them to have to raise a hand before I unmute them.

We use Google Classroom and have used Google Meet to join bubbles together for Harvest Festival.

Can't just add PowerPoints, have to import to Google Slides. Usually okay but equally can royally bugger them up, esp if lots of animations involved. So have to check carefully.

What are primary people doing for English? HT has suggested linking to Oak for English. He's not keen on live lessons at all for a whole host of reasons. We're doing White Rose for Maths (easy to sort) but in English we're doing Jane Considine. Any child in SI will miss out on key parts - Oak gives them something but doesn't really fit in with JC.

That's a point. I think I could add a powerpoint to the google drive and put a link to it in the classroom feed though. Unless that's why we still have lessons on the s drive and other stuff on the google drive

for some reason we also have to set on go that we've set work in their google classroom. I wonder where/how we can upload a powerpoint or loom now.

Hello again all!

We’re using TEAMS as well. I’m impressed with the updates they’ve done, especially the muting! We’re doing a weeks trial with exam groups after half term and then dialling in all classes in the first 5 minutes of the lesson the week after.

We could have done with it weeks ago. Although we’re fairly rural we’ve had our first year group sent home (surprise, surprise Yr13) and have about five kids in each class self isolating (although of course never anyone in bottom set Yr 10 😭).

It should mean I don’t get 50 e-mails a day from kids asking for work.

I’ve had to step away from the thread on blended learning because it is mostly inhabited by the kind of parents who complain about their kid’s getting detentions or having to wear a mask. Sheesh.

Hello all,

I've name changed and might stay like this for a while as I was wanting so much to off load and was worried about being spotted.

I've been self isolating for a week (plus almost a week I didn't know I had to!!) post contact with a pupil who then tested positive. I'm part time and ppa so it stretched back to a morning with one class. Sen but actually the child is relatively independent. I had a test a few days ago that was clear.

So I'm finally on holiday. I had to miss the first few days. While I feel tremendously privileged to be able to afford to go away I was so depressed about possibly not being able to for a day when waiting for the test. Horrid.

I've since learnt of several friends now SI all half term with children. All v sad. I wish the October half term was 2 weeks everywhere!

The delay in being told was a bit concerning actually. If I'd been in during that time I could have infected several bubbles. Luckily we are hermits at the mo and it was my last group.

Anyway, will try to catch up on the thread.

What are primary people doing for English? HT has suggested linking to Oak for English. He's not keen on live lessons at all for a whole host of reasons. We're doing White Rose for Maths (easy to sort) but in English we're doing Jane Considine. Any child in SI will miss out on key parts - Oak gives them something but doesn't really fit in with JC

Not primary but for KS3 English when I’ve dialled in due to SI I’ve done reading text then comp questions with self marked answers on a PP. would that work? The reading could be recorded?

Hope everyone is enjoying their half term Haven't managed to catch up with the whole thread yet. I luckily get two weeks so this is my second week. Had a good few days of relaxing, reading my book and probably drinking more red wine than is good for me.

I have to say, as others have, I have never known a half term as draining as the one we've just had! I have never had so many staff cry/rant on me as I had in the final two weeks of term. I think it's the stuff on top of the norm that's doing it and the fact that we aren't all in our faculty area so that opportunity to let off steam with colleagues is missing. We do have a faculty meeting each week but there's always so much to get through

I think one of my missions next half term is to make sure staff get a positive comment/thank you regularly. Might start putting them on the weekly faculty briefing.

I am apprehensive about what the next half term will bring. Excited in lots of ways about various projects we have planned and looking forward to seeing my NQT develop even further but I know it's going to be hard. I think we will have more kids/staff who need to isolate so more setting remote learning/cover plus the fact that it's getting dark/gloomy.

I absolutely love the job but the current situation doesn't half make it hard!

Sobbing this morning : did anyone catch the 80 year old dementia patient who write the beautiful piano piece and then Stephen Sondheim popping up?

Approx ten staff self isolating in my school now. That's a nice start to their half term.

Italy has closed its secondaries, Poland its primaries, Czech Republic going online. I shall remember this next time one of the usual suspects patronises one of us by asking 'what are they doing in the rest of Europe?' (by which they inevitably mean France because they approve of its ostrich stance.)

Someone told me France had 50K new cases yesterday. Is that true?

Apologies. Source tissues first :

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-54653205

What are primary people doing for English?

I've put spelling stuff up on the year group webpage for the whole term, linking Oak.

This last term we put up a read through of the book (not us, one I found on youtube) we were studying, then a screen shot of the questions we discussed in class for each sectino of the book.

For writing we put the knowledge organiser and a read through of the text, plus the tasks.

They are not going to get equivalent teaching to what's going on in school, it's impossible. Also, we are 75% EAL - how the hell is English writing going to be supported at home on that basis? It's the thing that will slide. They will all do an ace job of maths and science though.

Yes to France and the 50,000 cases.

Piggy

Where did you find info on other countries?

Just in the news.

It’s interesting that it’s not headline news isn’t it?

Given how closely we followed Italy’s path, I don’t understand why the media aren’t shouting and hollering “LOOK OVER THERE”.

Yes, I shouted at the radio news this morning which mentioned all the measures in Italy other than the schools. And Italy invested heavily in safety measures. Still driving the infection rates up.