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

Great to have a system that even kids who have trouble remembering what day it is can see the gaping holes in.

Our whole approach was based on whole bubbles going home. It actually needs redoing if we're sticking with this close contacts shite. Except you couldn't make a system that worked for only sending close contacts home because secondary schools

@motherrunner take care of yourself!

@monkeytennis97 great news!

@TheHoneyBadger glad the trainee has improved! Hope it continues.

Today was a pretty good day. Dual teaching in person/online with Y13 actually worked quite well.

Lovely Y10s and 12s and the Y11s weren't bad either.

Plus a full team of staff in my department today

Yay for a good day pumpkin and yes I'm crossing everything that the trainee keeps improving but I'm way less invested since she's complained about me giving too much feedback.

Sat and finished my reports during her slot today and am letting her have full lessons next week. Key lessons will be done by me though.

Our whole approach was based on whole bubbles going home.

Ours too. I was just talking about that on the ‘case in bubble, only close contacts isolating’ thread.

It occurred to me that the government ‘schools are safe’ campaign made a big deal about bubbles being a key safety feature and they were basically abandoned a couple of weeks in with no one being told. What parents really should have been told is ‘your kid could sit just over 2m away from a positive case for an hour with no masks, no windows open, and this will be considered fine.’

Highlight of my day... reviewing last year's CPD and planning this year's. That took no time at all.
Boss' highlight of the day... she got to witness a child vomit into his mask. It could be worse though... she is often called upon to clear up sick. She's the deputy head 🤷‍♀️

I need to be prevented from posting on the thread about taking a kid out of school before the end of term so they can have Christmas.....

@MrsHamlet

I need to be prevented from posting on the thread about taking a kid out of school before the end of term so they can have Christmas.....

Beggars belief it really does.

We can't win.

I might be forced to post that it's a great idea and that teachers should think about it too

Well it's the DfE/DHSC Guidance that envisages a student using the app for nefarious purposes..... yes you're right though, you would have thought sixth form wouldn't be doing that sort of thing! (Think the guidance might suggest that under16s would download it anyway.)

Not being able to see family at Christmas due to schools being covid plague pits is really going to be a trigger for me.

Those saying ‘I don’t like my family anyway so it’s a great excuse’ had better duck when it happens.

@noblegiraffe

Our whole approach was based on whole bubbles going home.

Ours too. I was just talking about that on the ‘case in bubble, only close contacts isolating’ thread.

It occurred to me that the government ‘schools are safe’ campaign made a big deal about bubbles being a key safety feature and they were basically abandoned a couple of weeks in with no one being told. What parents really should have been told is ‘your kid could sit just over 2m away from a positive case for an hour with no masks, no windows open, and this will be considered fine.’

Indeed. And they may have stood beside them in the dinner queue, have been handed a worksheet by them, hung out all break time together and used the same toilet.

If we only need worry about the people they sit next to in class then why are we running ourselves ragged running between zones and trying to teach science or textiles in non specialist rooms? Once you think about it we may as well scrap zones and staggered lunches by their logic.

But they’re not constantly speaking: the only one who’s speaking is the teacher, he writes
🤣😂🤣

@TheHoneyBadger

If we only need worry about the people they sit next to in class then why are we running ourselves ragged running between zones and trying to teach science or textiles in non specialist rooms? Once you think about it we may as well scrap zones and staggered lunches by their logic.

You're so right honey.

@TheHoneyBadger we got told to turn the tracing bit of the app off on Monday - borough wide apparently. I hadn’t even downloaded it but have now and turned it on. I’m such a teenager at heart 🤣

Good news @monkeytennis97.

There is NO ONE on this earth who will dictate to me what apps I can run on my phone.
Bring. It. On.

@CallmeAngelina

There is NO ONE on this earth who will dictate to me what apps I can run on my phone. Bring. It. On.

Snap.

she's complained about me giving too much feedback

Ridiculous. The whole point of the training period is to get as much feedback as you can, and act on it quickly. If you don't like getting feedback you might be a bit too much of a snowflake for teaching as a career.

2 kids in my class are isolating as a parent has tested positive. I feel ill today, achey all over, headache, sore throat, stomach ache. No official covid symptoms though. Please keep fingers crossed for me 🤞

I heard of someone today (lab-based, not school) whose has symptoms but whose employer won't let him get a test

Ok I've not had a drink (headache) but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here. This is such a great space for us all to let off steam. I feel like I know many of you and have pictured what you look like. You have all been so lovely about my DS. In real life the pandemic/teaching in it has caused ructions between myself and very close relatives which were never there before and has damaged sadly our relationships sadly but to get the support on here has been amazing, thank you

@Bluewavescrashing thinking of you and keeping fingers crossed x

Dh and I come home at night and have a rant at each other for about half an hour each. I'd like to say it's therapeutic but I think it makes us worse! Tonight's was over the Deputy First Minister in Scotland (and education secretary) saying this:
When you look into the particular outbreaks that take place that affect school pupils or staff, we tend to find those are cases where there has been an external community transmission. There is very little evidence of in-school transmissions.
The fundamental point is that our schools are very safe. The mitigation measures that we have insisted upon being in place are being followed, and must be followed in all circumstances, to make sure our schools are safe for staff and pupils.
Yeah.Right.

Oops sorry, is this thread just for secondary? I teach year 1. Or as a poster on a thread for coloured tights said recently, an art teacher at gnome school 😂

@Possums4evr it's all such bollocks isn't it?!