The Twenty-Sixth Republic -Half Term Horror?

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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.

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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

Morning HoneyBadger, I'm up, always wake early on the first day of hols!
Your DS sounds lovely. My DC struggled this term too, much preferred home learning, not having to negotiate the school bus, other children, carry the pointlessly heavy backpack all day, etc etc.

The tree hiding teacher sounds like a right wally.

TheHoneyBadger
I think when you have situations like that

(and I sympathise with the lots of new teachers part as I too, have soooo many new teachers due to people leaving last term, like we predicted, and there is just no time/space to talk to them and support them etc)

then it’s best to get all the resources you can, like a good Key Stage 3
CGP book etc. and just make sure academically, your DS has what he needs. Sometimes, people just don’t gel and it’s better on both sides to try not to force that. Keep reminding your DS what his end goal is and to focus on that, rather than his perceived injustices that get him removed (if I have read that right?!)
Definitely both enjoy your week off!

Can you tell I have that typical “wake up early on first morning still in work mode” thing going on (posting at 6:08am-good grief)!?

I actually slept smug. Though it took a call to the doctors and revolting meds to achieve it.

Still struggling with everything school / student wise, still finding planning hard, still not finished my assignment. Still eating my comfortable body weight in chocolate through stress. Sigh.

Still it's half term

@hedgehogger1

Bubble burst at my kids school. Teacher of the bubble was meant to be getting married at half term. It's all so shit

How crap is that?! Hope she gets her wedding day soon.

Are you kids having to isolate?

Morning all and thanks for the thread staff.

I am still angry about the FSM. My local MP has not impressed a lot of people apart from the hardcore bots.

I hope this isn't too outing but we have a case in an older year group. Transpires the child is part of the ONS study no symptoms came back positive 10 days later. Child having attended school for 10 days. He tests again still positive then another student tests positive too( the second having symptoms)

The whole bubble pops. The year are informed and lots are crying as its their third time isolating. Felt so bad for one girl she said I can't do it again.

Anyway I have to figure out teams again to do live lessons but at least not for a week yet.

I am nervous as I teach this year a lot. I wish the whole year could be tested.

Happy half term

Happy half term everyone. Mainly a lurker here but your posts keep me going in the absence of a real staff room. Buying you all cheesy chips 🍟 at the pub xx

Oh, that's rubbish, Riga. Sounds like they could do with testing the whole year.

A friend's child in another school has had one block of SI because of a whole yr group sent home, a second block through contact with a positive case and then a third block when when parent developed it within the SI period. Year 11. Had two weeks in school this half term.

We're still tier 1. We don't have a single secondary in our entire area without multiple cases.

@CallmeAngelina seriously thought about caving yesterday. DM has cancer and I just thought fuck it I’m not, not seeing her because I work in a school. However there is a chance it’s small, easy to remove with one small op so decided to wait until they do a scan and we know more. Also thought I’d probably just ask for unpaid time off instead. Just have to wait and see how ‘good’ or bad it actually js I guess.

So needed half term, have some stuff to do and going to try and do it earlier in the week if I can. Have loose plans for outside days (tier 2 here) so looking forward to that too.

Locked down in Wales. So house cleaning and painting (If we have the supplies). Also baking and living room yoga.

Happy half term to everyone

I have a question about the Teacher Tapp app.
It's notified me of an impending upgrade, but the screen has now frozen on an info page on User Migration and won't shift. Can't do anything with it at all.
Anyone else?

Child wide awake at 7am... even though her plan was to stay in bed all day. And I was awake at 6.10 as usual. How unfair! Partner and child now in bed with devices, I'm downstairs watching the first series of Taskmaster again.

Do you think it would be mental to join a gym right now? I need a focus that isn't school - partner pointed out that I'm quite difficult to live with at the moment due to general fury. Exercise always helps.

@ohthegoats think that would be a fab idea tbh if you’ll use it.

@CallmeAngelina no sorry mine is fine.

Talking about teacher Tapp I got a response to my feedback about the question to do with schools/bubbles closing and they apologies for not covering the scenario I mentioned and said they’d do a similar question including that.

It's completely jammed - may uninstall and re-load then. It's been like this for the last 24 hours so it doesn't look as if it's going to fix itself.

Enjoy your half term mornings! Very jealous- does also mean you miss out on Halloween in school? Lucky

@eitak22 no it's not their bubble luckily

@CallmeAngelina

I have a question about the Teacher Tapp app. It's notified me of an impending upgrade, but the screen has now frozen on an info page on User Migration and won't shift. Can't do anything with it at all. Anyone else?

They mentioned on Twitter that there may be problems with the roll out of the new app. If you are on Twitter I would tweet them as they seem responsive. For example someone complained they had lost their streak and there was a promise of that being restored.

Seen this?

twitter.com/branwenjeffreys/status/1319746716061622272

That's horrendous and not at all surprising.

Unfortunately ds is at the stage of saying he'd rather get removed than be in that class. I've reflected on it and in general he seems to do better with female teachers (though he loves his very positive and smiley male maths teacher he has this year). He has completely gone off science.

He's also been put in a low set despite good marks through the whole of ks3. I swing between worrying and thinking I should do something and letting it go. It's the only lesson he's having consistent behaviour problems in luckily so hasn't tipped him over into being on report or anything.

Sorry very off topic but don't feel I can discuss it elsewhere.

I have luxuriously little work to do but my house is a pigsty. Something has to give in term time and it tends to be housework!

The laptops thing is appalling let's hope the press actually pick up on it.....

On 'why don't they test the whole year group'... I wonder if that's still IN the updated guidance or whether they've quietly removed it? Will try and check.

[quote Piggywaspushed]Seen this?

twitter.com/branwenjeffreys/status/1319746716061622272[/quote]
Not surprised but still shocked

It does still say "mobile testing units may be dispatched" once in a millennium

Re laptops: must feel like such a kick in the teeth for heads (and families) in deprived areas. No wonder the government won't commit to FSM in holidays.

It's Neil Ferguson so the usual deniers will not agree.

Minister may be forced to close schools in England to older children if coronavirus cases continue to increase at the current rate, a scientist has said.
Prof Neil Ferguson, whose modelling led to the original lockdown in March, said the NHS would soon be unable to cope unless the spread of the disease was stemmed.
He said there were 8,000 people in hospital with coronavirus - around a third of the peak earlier this year - and that numbers were continuing to rise. “It is a worrying situation,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“If the rate of growth continues as it is, it means that in a month’s time we will above that peak level in March and that is probably unsustainable.
“We are in a critical time right now. The health system will not be able to cope with this rate of growth for much longer.”
His warning came as South Yorkshire became the latest region to enter the tightest Tier 3 restrictions in England following Liverpool city region, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
Ferguson said it would be another week or two before it became clear whether the stricter measures would have an impact on case numbers. He said the restrictions on households mixing should have a significant effect, but that further action may also be needed.
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