The Thirty-First Republic - oh the joy of on-line parents evenings

[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

Yup we only have one bathroom too!

@Augustbreeze

Can I have opinions please, if you have a term asked to isolate as a contact, would you get them to stay completely apart from the family (presuming no one's vulnerable)?

The NHS advice for close contacts says
try to avoid contact with anyone you live with as much as possible

and I know someone who literally confined her Y10 to his room for 14 days.

My feeling is not to do this. DD tends to stay pretty apart from us anyway and is definitely not a hugger! It would be whether we eat meals (off plates that I will then be washing up etc) together, heather she and her brother sit close if they game together (as he's off too), etc.

Also with all 3 of us being at school together we're all swimming in the same filthy pool anyway.

Suppose I might ask on the Data thread but it's safest and most teen-aware here I think!

Our teen mostly stayed in her room and I left food outside her door. Then I got my positive test result too so we were able to be together and just try to keep away from the rest of the household. It was quite nice in some ways except when no one was prepared to cook and then I had to put on a mask, wash my hands and still cook dinner for everyone.

Gosh, we wouldn't be able to be that isolated. We only have one bathroom - we have a downstairs toilet, but there is no hot water in there for even the sink. It would just be confined the spare room I think, although maybe the office would be better.

I don't feel well today, but can't quite put my finger on why. I had a couple of dizzy spells in the week, but I have really low blood pressure, so that's not unusual. Child didn't go to sleep last night until 2am, so I haven't had much sleep. Headache and generally feeling meh. I might just be tired, but who knows.

Normally I wouldn't even be thinking about it as a 'thing', but now I'm not sure.

I have no intention of keeping my distance from my DCs if they have to isolate (they're both under 11 though). Even if I wanted to, we haven't the space.

I was trying to describe to dh this morning how "meh" I feel. Can't put my finger on any specific "meh-ness," just feel..... blurgh.
Forced myself out for another long walk with the dog, and could barely move for aching joints by the end of it, so dh ran me a bath and made me a bacon sandwich, which has helped a bit.
Just wondering if I can face sweeping any leaves up this afternoon - last green bin collection this week.

I appreciate the meh. Had a phonecall with my mother earlier and her big question and problem was how can we have Christmas at church without singing carols. I was like yeah we're definitely living on different planets at the minute.

She was surprisingly willing to concede that people able to stay home and safe have time to worry about relatively trivial shit compared to those of us in the thick of how the hell do we make it to Christmas.

I have to repress my irritation when people are contacting me saying eg we must know what ds wants for Christmas by tomorrow.

It is just being in completely different realities.

Oh her other concern was people not moving to one side on the path through a lovely park they've been walking in and how all the people who didn't move were speaking foreign languages Way too much time on their hands.

Take care rule

Oh I realise we’re lucky to have space and extra facilities! It would be a different story if we were having to share a bathroom, and if DS was younger (DD had a request to SI when one of her rugby team was awaiting results and apart from separate bathroom and eating on her own in front of the computer 🙄 it wasn’t sustainable to keep away from her - she was 10 at the time, and that was only a weekend, 14 days wouldn’t be possible).

@TheHoneyBadger

Oh her other concern was people not moving to one side on the path through a lovely park they've been walking in and how all the people who didn't move were speaking foreign languages Way too much time on their hands.

Odd that because my experience when out running is groups of up to six older people walking about together taking up the whole path and no effort to move aside into single file while passing me (and no attempt to sd within their group)

Just because it annoys the lurkers when I post links to my threads on here, here's my latest www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4093083-Government-denial-over-schools-issues-will-cause-deaths-this-Christmas

Another good thread.

I've sent the link to my Tory MP.

Ooh Rule I wonder if he's been forwarding them to the DfE which is how they ended up posting.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55105275

Is the tide turning slowly?

That article is so carefully written that they are definitely under instruction.

"Relatively few pupils have tested positive, but hundreds of thousands have had to learn from home after being required to self-isolate."

We all know why relatively few pupils have tested positive, but that's in there to suggest that schools are safe per government messaging.

Relatively few pupils are testing positive because:

• you have to lie to get your child tested since they rarely meet the (adult) symptom criteria
• parents can't or won't test their children for all sorts of reasons, mostly because they have to do the two week self-isolation regardless so why bother testing them? If they test positive the whole household has to isolate. What's in it for them to test their kids?

And because kids with covid often don’t show symptoms so everyone is totally oblivious!

On the subject of mildly annoying relatives, my DMIL wants us all to drive 2 hours to meet in the middle to have a socially distanced outside coffee so she can see DCs and presumably hand over some tat (and, yes, we'll get the tell us what they want line, too). I know this is ungrateful but it seems such a waste of time and so unfestive (they stopped coming to stay years ago, tbh, but we usually go for a pub meal). I am not even sure where it is possible to do that other than some garden centre.

DH finds her annoying because she makes clucking noises when he talks about schools , and then tells him 'we feel the same'. At least she isn't full on denying or anything but it bugs him!

I should add I feel it is a bit of a risk to take when her DH has leukaemia.

Lummy, noble, there are 9 pages already!!

Well, you can add rashes to a list of Covid symptoms. I got test results back earlier and I’m positive for Covid and all I have as a symptom is a rash.

My DD (self isolating as a pupil in her class tested positive) developed a rash on the back of her knees last Wednesday and I on Friday developed a rash on my wrists (like hives but so so itchy) and yesterday morning my face started to feel like it is sunburnt - like it’s on fire.

I googled and found articles like the one below and freaked out.
I went for a test yesterday (said rash but also said I had a fever, sorry I lied!) and came back positive a little while ago.

I am so so angry that rashes are not highlighted more often. I suffer from psoriasis and could easily have just attributed it all to that. Going to get my DD tested tomorrow but at least she has been home from school. (Was due to go back tomorrow)
Could only have got this from either my school or my DD from her school.
Schools are Covid safe my arse

covid.joinzoe.com/us-post/skin-rash-covid

So sorry to hear that @ChloeDecker. Hope you are ok x

@Hercwasonaroll

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55105275

Is the tide turning slowly?

Journalists starting to cotton on at last maybe?

Sorry to hear that Chloe. Rashes have been on other countries' symptom lists for 6 months or so, just not the UK's ......