The Twenty-ninth Republic - lockdown light continues & good news for Welsh students

[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 staffroom password just in case it attracts the wrong sort

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

Don't feel that, saucery. I didn't watch the needles - but the sight of the vial of my blood made my tummy flip very unhappily.
The highlight was the couple sitting in their car in the car park having a picnic. Who doesn't love a day out and a picnic on an industrial estate in Chorley?!

My parents have spotted a few people taking their camper vans to the garden centre and having lunch ‘out’

I went to the Starbucks drive throughs a few times during lockdown and had my own car picnics

I don't like Starbucks... if there was a Dairy Queen, I'd be all over that!! 🤣

I've never been to the US. I'd considered going to NY for being 30 but 2020

Anyone booking a holiday for summer 2021? What do you all think?

There are nicer car parks to sit in around Chorley, that’s true! .

DH and I were discussing just that this morning, DollyMixtureLulus. We’re not bothering to book anything for next summer. I can’t dare to hope everything will be ok by then as far as travel goes. But then we don’t have young dc and are happy with last minute Air BnB cottages if it looks like things have settled a bit. I might go and spend a couple of nights with my parents in my old family home - god knows I’m missing being able to just walk in there and riffle through the craft room and pantry like I used to!

Watching 'Teachers' at the moment- haven't seen it for God 15 or however many years since it ended... Happy days, happy memories and Andrew Lincoln too, what's not to like😊

I'd love to book something and have it to look forward to. Even just to sit beside a pool and read would be bliss.

I was meant to be in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia this summer so I'm tempted to rebook that.
Or somewhere in America. I miss America.

@monkeytennis97

Watching 'Teachers' at the moment- haven't seen it for God 15 or however many years since it ended... Happy days, happy memories and Andrew Lincoln too, what's not to like😊

He’s not quite as much a po-faced misery as he is in The Walking Dead

I loved Teachers! That’s about when I started teaching, and although I can’t say it was massively realistic, there were definitely elements that were like teaching in school was like then, that certainly aren’t allowed now. The messing about and stuff, and the winging it approach...way more accepted then. And I often observed older teachers who would set work and then read at the front or mark.

However all this is still acceptable in my college! It’s fine to be marking while they work and even regarded as highly sensible. You can leave the room and go and get a cup of tea during lesson of everyone’s occupied, or just go for a wander to talk to a colleague. The feedback from learning walks is usually “that was nice, everyone seems fine”. Partly why I enjoy teaching there so much.

Yup I started teaching in 95.... Teachers was close to what it was like in my first school. Happy days :)

I started in 2003 and even though that’s not that long ago, it really was a different time back then-so like Teachers! I don’t miss the smoking staff room where our pigeon holes were though!

@CallmeAngelina I've found myself quoting a couple of you at work recently, and then I have to fudge where I got it from.
I'm saying "I've heard..." a lot for the same reason!

Me too! I say "I read it on the TES forums".....

So sorry, RigaBalsam.

I'm having a slow PJ day, have just done a shed load of planning, now listening to James Bond on radio 4.

oops, bold fail - sorry!

Yeah, I also say TES quite a lot.
Seems to carry more gravitas I think.

Seen this guys?

Austria to shut schools.

Why are other countries actually capable of closing schools or teaching fully online and we’re not?

Are those countries just leaving kids behind or are they all much better equipped and more likely to actually log in than our kids?

Fewer vulnerable kids? No 10 year pillage of the education and early years systems.

I'd be interested to know how well other countries' students engage with online (live) lessons. I've seen some pretty low attendance figures quoted on here.

I’m starting of get really worried about my live lessons from home not working. Do you think I should record some back up video lessons that a cover teacher could just press play on from their email? I could make them last an hour. Would mean a fair bit of work tomorrow but I am just so nervous of it all going wrong next week!

@CallmeAngelina

I'd be interested to know how well other countries' students engage with online (live) lessons. I've seen some pretty low attendance figures quoted on here.

My family in Cyprus said online take up was pretty hit and miss in the last lockdown.

However, when I have had a year group bubble burst in my school recently, usually most-just two or three not ‘attending’ in each class.

@CallmeAngelina

Seen this guys?

Austria to shut schools.

Cyprus is also closing schools from Monday to those in Year 10 upwards for a few weeks.

What subject are you Chloe?