The Thirty-Third Republic - End of term and DfE threats- cheers all!

[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-

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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

@ChloeDeckTheHalls

Just realised I basically work in the environment of a budget airline. No emergency exits though.

Or drinks cart

No but some are serving meals in there now

namechangedyetagain

Take care of yourself and don’t do too much.

@Piggyinblankets

Gov is going to announce this TOMORROW? When is our time to plan remote lessons??

That's what your two weeks off is for, silly!

@noelgiraffe

First week back in Jan before mocks is way more bloody educationally important than last week before Christmas.

That’s what’s most annoying about the whole situation.

Apart from the fact you aren’t creating a gap between somewhere with high levels of infection and a national free for all, why would you sacrifice the start of a new term for a few days at the end of a long stressful term when everyone is tired?

Is there literally nobody in government with the ability to string a couple of logical thoughts together?

@noelgiraffe

First week back in Jan before mocks is way more bloody educationally important than last week before Christmas.

Obviously. Think DD might have an iMedia module exam assessment that week as well as mocks. Yes maybe GCSE mocks can be put back a week but I guess that will cause problems re A level mocks a couple of weeks later in our place.

It's like with the Christmas rules, the government seem to have suddenly looked at the data / listened to the scientists (novel idea) and gone "Sh**! We need to DO something!"

@Piggyinblankets this thread is relevant to your area then:

Families of secondary school children being offered home testing kits www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4108001-Families-of-secondary-school-children-being-offered-home-testing-kits

Of course they're not that thick. I said that elsewhere. Having a scatty seeming twonk like Boris probably does, in their opinion, create a sort of plausible deniability of oh we were just a tad out of touch but no. There is no way on earth that they are too thick to see what they're doing or don't have advisors at least with two braincells to rub together.

That announcement is ridiculous.

Anyone had an exam contract for July yet? Mines a v short deadline.

I've realised the inside of my lower jaw is swollen from constantly being bitten by me, assuming stress related.

I wonder if that is why they were so desperate to keep schools closed this week-if they knew they were going to close them after Christmas, they’d have too much explaining to do.

All the folks on that thread have had letters and emails. We have had nothing.

Oh herc I've been having huge jaw/ear problems (did you post about this a few months ago, I remember someone did?). Have spent several £100 on osteopathy, really helpful in a pandemic!

@Achristmaspudsskidu

I wonder if that is why they were so desperate to keep schools closed this week-if they knew they were going to close them after Christmas, they’d have too much explaining to do.

Oh yes....

I have BTEC students with exams that week too - Level 2s as well who are terminally confused and will NOT cope well with the idea they have exams if college is closed...honestly they’ve only just managed to grasp that they’ve got exams at all! And yes, mocks in full swing too (a huge undertaking in a sixth form college as you can imagine - basically the exam rooms are in use for the whole of January). And I’m starting a bunch of new stuff that would be super hard to do remotely (whereas this week would be a lot of revision/test practice/“finishing off”)

I did say a while back that I wondered if the 'schools must stay open' business of this term was due to a planned, not a chance in hell it can be business as usual come january, and the season where the nhs nearly falls apart even without a pandemic, so let's look like we've made herculean efforts and an absolute commitment to keeping them open up to that point and then hold up our hands and say 'we did our best'. Perhaps a touch of well it's all your own fault for having an extra uncle to christmas dinner thrown in.

Maybe also why it's imperative to give people a few days of freedom and human contact now before the shit really hits the fan restrictions wise.

I may be incredibly cynical mind.

Apologies for my awful grammar and punctuation. I was born in the mid 70's and schooled by teachers who were busy encouraging us to be confident, creative writers but not so hot on where commas or semi colons should sit in the midst of a too long paragraph/sentence.

It would almost be better if this testing in schools 'plan' was a last bit of gaslighting to pretend the plan is to keep schools fully open rather than genuinely intending to implement it.

Just been reminded by another thread's title of the idea that Christmas mixing will be somewhat counterbalanced by schools and some workplaces being closed - which I heard a scientist saying this morning on the radio.

So, if the govt announces this January closure pre Christmas (which they'd have to for schools' sake?) the danger is that some will think "Oh we don't need to be too careful at Christmas, we'll have January to 'recover' " ....

Herc I've had the one I lead on and a request for info about the other because the paper I actually mark doesn't exist this year.
Easy teaching day today - only y13. But there's a lot of barely suppressed rage and upset about. Friday can't come soon enough.

And if they're saying 1 week now, might it be extended as rates are going to be so awful by Jan 1st??

At which point exams have to be cancelled???

(Sorry, brain not running away with me or anything!)

DreamingofBrie Wed 16-Dec-20 14:29:21
Hercwasonasnowball
I know there are some brilliant maths construction teachers on here.... Any ideas for instructions for one I can do with students? Google is stressing me out!
@hercwasonasnowball, check out this Twitter page.

mathshko.com/2020/01/04/number-dot-to-dot/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

I can’t seem to quote anymore.

I’ve put theses lovely dot to dots in a PowerPoint if anyone want them (with answers) I hope she wouldn’t mind me doing that.

I am worried about Kevin's mum. She will be a tick-tock star without knowing it

@Hercwasonaroll. Yes, exam contract came through today and yes, shorter than usual deadline. I have lost so much tutoring this year that unfortunately I don’t feel I can financially say no.

@DreamingofBrie and @Fossie those look brilliant, definitely going to be using them this week!

So friend just forwarded me a letter form our council about testing. she got it form her union rep . It is addressed Dear Colleague and I reckon schools are probably supposed to circulate. it is dated yesterday.

this is going to be like my school's infamous disappearing Ofsted survey...

Most of our local schools are either shut or down to 2/5 or 2/7 year groups left open due to cases in children or staff shortages.

We didn't even need to fight the govt. Just let Covid spread.