The Thirty-Second Republic - Christmas count down - end of term in sight

[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

Cheers staff
Our PE staff are still teaching their full timetable and running inter house comps.
They were doing after school sessions in year groups up until national lockdown so although fixture less they certainly don’t have it as easy as some.
BTW, completely unrelated TES is a brutal anti teacher forum now, just ventured on there following a twitter link and bloody hell.

I don't know why our PE lot have it so easy to be honest. Two of them are HOY and one is AHOY - and they were already excused from fixtures! Maybe time to retrain except the shoes would upset me

TES Facebook comments are something else. Whole lot of crazy on there.

Hello all jumping on.

Thanks for the new thread.

Our PE staff are doing all their normal lessons and clubs. The only thing they aren't doing is the fixtures, and obviously they don't have to set remote learning when kids are isolating, other than the exam classes.

Here, miss

Arrived! Thanks for new thread.

Signing in. Been trying to write my reflection all day. Decided I'm not very reflective and know nothing about Brookfield lenses and all that gubbins. Now can't settle in case I can't crack it tomorrow.
Please tell me that teaching isn't like this. I find writing essays so hard. It's really not my thing.

Teaching is not like that. Reflecting is what you do as one class leaves and the other arrives and you go "shit I forgot to set the homework"

Surprise surprise:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/coronavirus-r-rate-school-closures-lockdown-lancet-study-b1251617.html?utmsource=reddit.com&twitterr_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR1SAck98YpvT8OzZQ4AktY3ZOHRZk4Nx6JmOz0uzWEWsWL7aVAfWgQ2l9o

24% rise in R 28 days after opening schools demonstrated. Was thinking that seemed a bit low but then realised that the majority of countries included in the study will have had mandatory masks and smaller classes.

Is this genuine?

Sounds very sensible. WTF are things so crap in England .

. At the minute I do a lot of well this isn't going well I'll try that. Don't always have time to write every little thing down. So when it comes to these pieces I get rather stuck.

Will just have to muddle through tomorrow I guess.

Evening all. Chip shop tea tonight. Yum!

Evening all.

Where was he?

@Appuskidu

Is this genuine?

Sounds very sensible. WTF are things so crap in England .

Mine isn't but then they've had loads of shit from the likes of me for their inequitable and illogical full closures when unnecessary. They've boxed themselves into a corner because KS4 pupils gave already missed five weeks due to full closures, on top of self-isolation due to positive cases. They've been way too heavy handed and now can't justify earlier closure when it could be of some real benefit.

Checking in. Thanks for the new thread, Staff!

It's been relentless for the past few weeks. Subject reports last weekend and tutor reports this weekend. Grades reporting next weekend. I'm currently sitting in bed with my laptop, having decided it's more comfortable to write a lesson here than downstairs! My marking desk has been shifted to the middle of the room, to accommodate the Christmas tree .

I had a half in class/half on Teams lesson on Friday and stupidly forgot to set the meeting controls. I guess I also trusted my lovely Y7 class not to mess around. However, unless there was a technical glitch, someone kept muting me during the meeting, and this carried on throughout the whole hour. It's upset me irrationally (if it was done purposely), because I feel as if I'm turning myself inside out trying to give everyone an education, whether they are in school or not, and pranks like this make me wonder why I bother! Stupidly also recorded the lesson as one child had said previously that they had sound problems.

Things are ok here, apart from being utterly exhausted. We have been lucky in that we have the funds to clean desks between lessons, and the pupils have been good regarding masks. I also use a mask if I venture from the front of the room. We have also been able to stagger lunchtime and arrival/departure well. So not too many sent home to isolate so far. I feel fortunate, to be honest. Still unappreciated though!

I’m getting edgier and more frustrated by the day. I’m opening windows (at least a little) still wiping stuff, trying to keep the rules. Not using the staff room. I’ve got colleagues shutting the windows, moaning about the cold and leaving stuff unwiped. I know it’s cold- I’m out there for an hour every morning atm on handwashing duty. I’m so done.
(Eats chocolate biscuit and glares)

Thanks for new thread.

I'm at loggerheads with partner tonight. We were due to go skiing with his parents at Xmas. In a hotel, so we had our own space. Obviously that is cancelled. Back in the summer we booked a house in Herefordshire for Xmas week, with the intention that we wouldn't go the whole time, because being with them for a whole week is quite intense. Also it doesn't work for our daughter- she needs kid company.

Now we're in Tier 2, they are in Tier 3. They are both retired, are self sufficient, and spend all their time in the allotment. They are not out and about being high risk. They still want to go away for the 'week'- starting 19th December. I'm nervous- for them, not us - I'm obviously the risk. Partner hasn't seen his parents since September. I'm not bothered about having not seen them.. I like them, but they are still my inlaws. Saw them in July, wouldn't let them stay in our house, and stayed right away from them. MIL kept getting too close.

I want to go up Xmas eve, and leave boxing day. Partner wants to go on the Monday. Neither option is OK really, certainly not legal until 23rd for the inlaws.

Not seeing mine until 2nd Jan, for outdoor action only. So, the arguments begin.

Thanks for the new thread, SAR.

In my Australian school we are on the 2021 timetable for two weeks, which in my case means I teach five lessons a week, as my Years 7s don't arrive until the end of January. I pick up covers, of course.

Reports are completed and are good (no comments, just levels) bad (can't say what the real issues are). If I was a parent, I'd be lepping, and not in a good way. As a teacher I say, why weren't you looking at my feedback all semester.

I'm taking long service leave for the last admin week. Who needs a week of meetings? It turns my five-week summer holiday into six. What's not to like?

Coming out of a ferocious (but entirely reasonable) lockdown, I'm gagging for the wider horizons.

Nothing useful to say, way too knackered. Just checking in.

He was down the back of the sofa with the lost test results and missing occupational data august.

He was mumbling about Britain being the best at everything so he's been put back til about March.

Morning all. Sunday already. thanks for the new thread staff.

I haven't really been cold in class yet. Whether it's my thyroid or I'm perimenstrual or just an anxiety thing I get really hot when rushing and being flustered in recent years. Rushing from lesson to lesson means I've been worried about hot flushes more than cold but the temperature has really dropped now so will remember scarf and an extra layer tomorrow.

Hello, thank you for the new thread
Lazy Sunday of present wrapping, online postage buying etc today.

Morning all.