The Twenty-Eight Republic - Lockdown Light

[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 booze is stashed - Thirsty Tuesdays, Fizz Fridays now in operation.

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

Smile I think we’re all knackered and grumpy. People getting narky on this thread of all threads is a sure sign we need a break.

Getting out in the fresh air this weekend is definitely needed, a half term of rain really didn’t help.

Is it very wrong that I've reached a point where two weeks at home sounds lovely Though obviously the fear that I had Covid would not be.

Nope, Mistress not at all. I share that view. I'm done in.

People getting narky on this thread of all threads is a sure sign we need a break

Indeed. Apologies teacher types - I’ll take my nark for a run I think (in the West Country, yes)

@MistressIggi

Is it very wrong that I've reached a point where two weeks at home sounds lovely Though obviously the fear that I had Covid would not be.

That's not wrong. That's how I feel too. Of course, I don't want to have to completely self isolate during that time, or maybe that would actually be nice.

Ha, they can knob off if they think I’m not going to see (shielding) family because I will need to quarantine after. I have time to quarantine before, which I will do, to see them just after Christmas, but nope, not after.

Our school has asked parents to look out for the symptoms children seem to be getting instead of the 3 ‘main’ ones and pointed out the tests based on the ‘unusual’ symptoms in classes came back Positive.

Smile sod the run and have a drip for me! Bloody northerners don't do drippers either 😢

I agree we all need a break. The exhaustion is being felt from top to bottom where I am. (narkily not in PE but I'll save that gripe for another day).

Sheesh. I’m possibly too knackered and grumpy for the internet today

Yeah, me too. I didn’t mean to offend. However there are loads of supply teachers out there doing a really dangerous job in the current climate and I would hate for them to feel unappreciated or undermined by permanent colleagues.

However there are loads of supply teachers out there doing a really dangerous job in the current climate and I would hate for them to feel unappreciated or undermined by permanent colleagues

Please don’t leave the implication hanging that this is how I have behaved. It isn’t.

Christmas is a Friday so there isn't time to quarantine before as it is. I'm already considering sending my family to the ILs so they don't have to spend it alone. I am absolutely fucked if I'm being told by my employer that I can't then see family after I have isolated for a fortnight beforehand to see them the first weekend in January.

Can hold my hand up to tetchier than usual.

Bit of a lol at quarantining after seeing my family who are not a risk to anyone. We're the risky ones, not our elderly parents.

Thought about why I don't mind my recent marking load even though it was heavy and it's mostly because I can see it working. Each piece is an essay type answer of 1 of 4 types, eg. Utility, Interpretations etc that skilled responses and understanding of are essential to success at gcse. They are somewhat formulaic and making that formula explicit and eventually routine is definitely enabling them to succeed.

My load is heavy because it's a new assessment system to me and I'm new to the subject and it's exam syllabus and assessment criteria and I also have a lot of ks3 classes who it's new to as well and so I'm laying the foundation. I can totally see that this will get easier over time for me and them and by ks4 it should be a case of ok so this is a utility question, how do we approach this, what do we need to include etc and they'll be able to say.

I'm not a typical hard worker but I'll willingly work hard at something I can see works and makes connections in kids heads. They interact explicitly with the marking looking at the codes of what they did well, what mark they got and why and then they do the next steps in green pen that would make their' essay' the next grade up.

This is the first system I've seen that genuinely enables students to really get where they're working at and how to improve. And the skills are skills for life eg being able to use evidence and explain your reasoning and being able to consider different viewpoints and make links between evidence or arguments etc. Whether weak or able improving your reasoning skills and critical thinking is valuable.

Boring essay sorry. I hated marking in my last department as it was laborious and pointless and the kids got nothing from it.

Please don’t leave the implication hanging that this is how I have behaved. It isn’t

That is not what I implied at all.

I got up early to do a set of Year 12 marking, and was so happy when I finished it before 10am. Then had a look through the notebooks (all work being submitted online) and one of my students seems to have uploaded a tonne of work over the half term. She is struggling with the course at the moment and had significant absence last term - she has come from another school, which she says did not do much with them over lockdown.

So I'm marking an assessment that was set in early October, and there are so many misunderstandings I've been marking it for the best part of an hour now. How on earth did it get to lunchtime so quickly?!

Thing is, I think that she really does want to do well, which is why I'm spending the time giving detailed feedback. In the past I would have scheduled a fortnightly 121 until they were back on their feet, but that's all fallen by the wayside as we can't use the library except at specific times and no classrooms are available as they are all being used for yeargroup bubbles. And I'm buggered if I'm giving up any more free time during the working day!

Re the quarantine thing.

Yeah, haha hahahaha. No.

I'm already a massive risk to my husband by going in to school every day. I'll go nowhere else and do nothing else and won't see family over Christmas.

But they can fuck off telling school staff who we can and can't see (within the law).

Come on all, let's not squabble.
Look, I have cake!!

I think it sounds like SAGE are just trying to rack their brains for ways to make Christmas, and in fact general human life, happen, in ways that won't lead to 1000s more deaths.

@CallmeAngelina

Come on all, let's not squabble. Look, I have cake!!

And Vodka, tea, hot chocolate and water.

Am I chuff not going to see family over Christmas so I can go back to school early January and hear from my clearly non-quarantining class what fabulous family fun they've all had.

I love my bed. I've only gotten out of it to take the dog out for a wee and to make coffee so far.

Have work to do for school and plenty of neglected housework and laundry. Could someone incentivise me please?

Sorry honey I can't incentive you, as I have done equally little today so far. I have put a load of laundry in the washing machine, but it's been finished for ages and I haven't done anything with it. No housework and no school work has been done today, and I'm thinking maybe it just won't be done today. I've read half a book, and browsed MN, played a stupid game on my phone. My whole family is on screens, so that's apparently what we're doing today 🤷

Mahossive bruises on both legs today , and my knee and my thumb and my shoulder hurts

DS1 at uni has to SI for 9 days.

I can't incentivise anyone. I've cleaned the bathrooms, put some laundry in and glared at the marking pile. It's not shrunk.
I think I may have to adopt my standard exam marking rewards system... but first I need to go out to buy biscuits.

I’m my own worst enemy with workload. Need to sort that.

Got the message this morning that youngest has to isolate for two weeks following positive staff case. The amount of misinformation/basic questions of how it works from parents in group whatsapp is eye-opening. I think I thought more people knew how it should work than do... 😱