The Thirtieth Republic ( 30! who would have thought) - Is it too soon to book a staff Xmas party?

[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

I'm setting 3-4 hours a day but they're not doing it. I'm calling but they're not answering. Deep joy.

Got to do some work. DH was asleep before DS tonight and now I am just messing about. Feeling like a sulky teenager. I DON'T WANT TO ADULT. DON'T! DON'T! DON'T!

My marking plans for the evening were scuppered and I've achieved nothing. Sigh.

I think that would just about finish me off.
Me too Appu

So when do we think the DfE will realise that many WFH students don't do work set and there is nothing schools can do about it?

I say, at least two months into the period of all or the majority of schools being closed.

Anyone care to raise me on that?

(Sorry, I can afford to joke as I'm not one of the poor teachers being ordered to set hours and hours of meaningful work which hardly anyone does....)

@Augustbreeze

So when do we think the DfE will realise that many WFH students don't do work set and there is nothing schools can do about it?

I say, at least two months into the period of all or the majority of schools being closed.

Anyone care to raise me on that?

(Sorry, I can afford to joke as I'm not one of the poor teachers being ordered to set hours and hours of meaningful work which hardly anyone does....)

I think the DFE will expect us to start monitoring standards of parenting, then to develop new and dynamic ways of engaging them.

Oh crikey, you're probably right...

(Sorry, I can afford to joke as I'm not one of the poor teachers being ordered to set hours and hours of meaningful work which hardly anyone does....)

Ha ha! Exactly.
It’s always those parents though, who complain their child has not been set any work to do. I caught one out on Facebook back during the first lockdown. There were quite a number of teenagers (usually boys) who played their parents a blinder in the last lockdown! (That same parent’s child is also one who keeps refusing to wear a mask in the corridors, despite not being exempt...)

Chloe

Like the kid we said needed to engage better in September (like, bring his exercise books and then actually write in them) whose mum said the schools lockdown provision (across the school) was woeful. We checked and he'd made a half assed attempted at less than half the work we set, and not responded to any feedback given on it?

Apparently he's fine in all other subjects so it must be our fault he doesn't bring his books or write anything.

What happened Chloe? And how was your teaching in session?

I don’t know for sure as I was teaching that year group today but but it seems some gatecrashed each other’s lessons anonymously and were postering rude chat messages live. Our IT support have no idea how they did it. Kids will always find a way! (Hence safeguarding is always a valid concern in live lessons)

My lessons are going okay thank you but my mouth is getting so dry and it’s been relentless (I don’t have any frees Monday to Wednesday in Week A) and my DD is getting so bored with me unavailable poor little love!
It is funny though when a class walks in to my classroom and I can hear ‘can she see us!?’ ‘Is she real’?! as I wave at them

*wasn’t teaching them, sorry

@Frlrlrubert

Chloe

Like the kid we said needed to engage better in September (like, bring his exercise books and then actually write in them) whose mum said the schools lockdown provision (across the school) was woeful. We checked and he'd made a half assed attempted at less than half the work we set, and not responded to any feedback given on it?

Apparently he's fine in all other subjects so it must be our fault he doesn't bring his books or write anything.

That’s such a tedious line isn’t it!? Always someone else’s fault.

So when do we think the DfE will realise that many WFH students don't do work set and there is nothing schools can do about it

God knows. I’ve had a few conversations with parents about completion of homework.

Conversation is always the same. Kids swears they are doing it (it’s Seneca Sonia on line). I then have to inform the parent their child has actually only spent 72 seconds on their homework that week and obviously didn’t complete it.

I’m dreading chasing kids up who are learning at home. There aren’t enough hours in the day.

Happy birthday @TheHoneyBadger. Did MNHQ delete you for a birthday treat🤣

@mrsawesomedragon I need some of your self control. My hba1c was 85 😱😱😱

Conversation is always the same. Kids swears they are doing it (it’s Seneca Sonia on line). I then have to inform the parent their child has actually only spent 72 seconds on their homework that week and obviously didn’t complete it.

Same here. I embed Microsoft quizzes as assignments on Teams and can see how long it took them (average less than a minute - even for essays) or if just viewed but not even started. The amount just copying and pasting from Wikipedia or similar as well..)
However, most parents recently who I email home about this never bother to reply back to me...

I was invited to a webinar today entitled 'Engaging learners in home learning'. How I did larf.... absolutely nothing I do or say will sway how likely they are to engage once at home, it's all in their own hands or those of their parents.

I'm looking up the barrel of nearly 24 years of teaching and STILL manage to feel like I cock up an explanation of something sometimes.

Didn't get chance to catch up on here last night so busy atm.

Not feeling great this morning- wisdom tooth still sore and feeling sickly. Got a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon for it. They couldn't get me in earlier

NQT is coming to see part of one of my lessons today so going to have to ignore wisdom tooth and perform as normal.

I feel it's going to be a long day!

Home learning for isolaters is driving me mad. Two Y11s have done nothing. One of their other teachers said the same thing. We spend time setting it and offer feedback but they are doing nothing. I always copy parents in to emails as well -not one reply.

So frustrating.

DS is coming to the end of his self-isolation today. He’s in year 5 at a nice village school with engaged parents and good kids. They’ve had work set on Teams every day - no live teaching as the local internet isn’t good enough (I suspect this is an excuse but who cares, I don’t think they needed it anyway). Links to Oak lessons and some of their own videos, and the teacher available all day to chat on Teams, ending with a chat circle time.

My work-shirking but bright DS has had enough to do to keep him busy all day. I got out the homeschooling books for him to do if there wasn’t enough but he’s never needed them! However I’ve counted up all the names I saw engaging on Teams and it’s basically half the class - the vocal, middle-class half for the most part with pushy parents like myself. We were surveyed at the start of term about remote access and they also had a paper pack sent home so hopefully the other students have been working though that, but I’m not sure what else school could have done. We also got a phone call from teacher half way though but that was for parents evening.

@ChloeDecker

(Sorry, I can afford to joke as I'm not one of the poor teachers being ordered to set hours and hours of meaningful work which hardly anyone does....)

Ha ha! Exactly.
It’s always those parents though, who complain their child has not been set any work to do. I caught one out on Facebook back during the first lockdown. There were quite a number of teenagers (usually boys) who played their parents a blinder in the last lockdown! (That same parent’s child is also one who keeps refusing to wear a mask in the corridors, despite not being exempt...)

Yep. We caught a few out actually, as their parents complained, and we could show the amount of work they simply hadn't completed.

One parent emailed me directly to ask for more challenging work for her son as he was completing it so quickly. I showed her the work he had submitted, and suggested he actually complete all the tasks, and then I would provide an extension if needed.

This time around it's worse, as the kids know we can't chase.

Only my Y11s are bothering, and sometimes not even them.

Please tell me how is it only Wednesday? Have a staff meeting until 630 and also a PGCE assignment web thing that starts at 6pm

Knackered doesn't even cover it. Due to a class change only last week I'm behind with everything and feel like I'm drowning. Scitt know the situation and it's noted on my file but I am behind with evidence, essays, trackers, the whole shebang. Not to mention ive still not got the hang of planning.

Will it get better do you think?

@namechangedyetagain

Please tell me how is it only Wednesday? Have a staff meeting until 630 and also a PGCE assignment web thing that starts at 6pm

Knackered doesn't even cover it. Due to a class change only last week I'm behind with everything and feel like I'm drowning. Scitt know the situation and it's noted on my file but I am behind with evidence, essays, trackers, the whole shebang. Not to mention ive still not got the hang of planning.

Will it get better do you think?

I think that's kind of just what the PGCE feels like. Just accept you're behind with everything, and do your best to get it done.

The planning will get easier.

It gets easier on your NQT year as there is less paperwork to do.

mrsHP my self control is helped massively by the fact that since I was out onto sitagliptin I become very gassy if I eat many carbs. I am much happier missing out on the carbs but also missing out on the constant burping and farting . That's been more of a motivator than getting healthier tbh.

@namechangedyetagain

Please tell me how is it only Wednesday? Have a staff meeting until 630 and also a PGCE assignment web thing that starts at 6pm

Knackered doesn't even cover it. Due to a class change only last week I'm behind with everything and feel like I'm drowning. Scitt know the situation and it's noted on my file but I am behind with evidence, essays, trackers, the whole shebang. Not to mention ive still not got the hang of planning.

Will it get better do you think?

A staff meeting until 6.30??? Dear God!!!

You can't do it all. Personally, I'd not worry about the evidence because you can collect more of that as you go. You need to do the essays but they're generally not that heavily weighted (and the QTS bit is the important bit, not the PGCE)

It will get better.

LBC about to talk about Covid/state secondary schools and isolating.

Looks like it's been dropped as a topic