The Forty Fourth Republic - primaries sort of in, secondaries out, Gormless Gav says two weeks notice

[Staffdontblowitnow]

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

@JanuaryChill

I can't believe that thread on U4T is still growing, noble!

I’m so sorry. If it’s the Shady U4T 80% of it is me blathering on about Japan very un-eloquently I have retired myself from that thread!

Don't worry, Tax, I thought it was interesting! Someone is talking with unwarranted confidence it seems.

I've definitely hit a slump.

Got to do ww2 baking with DS tomorrow. Struggling for enthusiasm and time. Anyone done this before?

@SquashedFlyBiscuits say you couldn't source the ingredients due to the corner shop being a casualty of the luftwaffe and you weren't prepared to buy on the black market?

Have they given you a recipe to follow?

@SquashedFlyBiscuits I second @namechangedyetagain's plan

In school today. Feeling a bit nervous about it as we had a student test positive this week and apparently we are going to have more students in. Last time, my room was full to it's socially distanced capacity.

So we will either have to open another room, which means more time spent with the students, or we will have kids not distancing which seems risky.

On the U4T thread, They do seem to have sent one of their bigger guns over, most of them post two or three times and go away.

My first day of the new school year here in Melbourne, and as always, a pupil-free day for prep and planning, but all hands to the pump tomorrow. Still, am all prepped and good to go as I see all the classes I teach tomorrow. Actually I see tham all every one of the days I'm in.

Weirdly, students have to wear masks indoors, but staff don't unless they want to. This will not be fun to enforce.

Very nice to see colleagues again after the summer break, but the best bit was high-tailing it out of the gate at the end of the day, picking up the dog and taking him to the beach for much stick throwing in the sea.

Squashedfly - I've made wartime carrot cake with mine. Was actually really nice once cooked!

I can't stop watching the Gavin Williams voice dubbed as Frank Spencer. It's so funny. It's the little things.

I can't believe you have masks indoors for students, Echt, with your cases right down to almost non-existent and we still don't (only corridors)

Just been thinking about the NEU and their big announcement. Seems to have gone down like a lead balloon with their members. What is their thinking politically behind this?

We discussed it late last night monkey. (Easier for you to go back and look.)

Rock cakes!

Ah yes seen it now

WW2 baking? God, screw that.

DD (7) is getting set normal work every day (maths, English etc) and then has a grid of activities that she has to pick one of every day covering science/art etc. We call it the Grid of Doom. Every day we look at the activities left and try to pick one that we can manage with the least effort. Research a famous scientist - YES. Make some puppets and do a puppet show - NO

Our list of activities were dwindling as time went on and we got closer and closer to having to do the puppet show. Then they released a new grid and we dodged it! We were so happy.

Noble

Make some puppets and do a puppet show

Even my very keen granddaughters would consider that a waste of time and I think it would result in their poor parents giving up entirely. It looks like the sort of activity dreamed up to fill a space when all other options have been exhausted. Colouring in would be better, many people (not just children) seem to find it relaxing.

Some parents did the puppet show first

Well, I have to start live lessons next week - feedback from parents to SLT demanded it. I'm lucky in that it's only one hour per class, unlucky in that all 5 hours are on the same day! This is going to be fun...

@noblegiraffe

Some parents did the puppet show first

Wow... that's hardcore crafty

@Stepawayfromtheminirolls

Well, I have to start live lessons next week - feedback from parents to SLT demanded it. I'm lucky in that it's only one hour per class, unlucky in that all 5 hours are on the same day! This is going to be fun...

Could you suggest to slt that will be too much screen time and ineffective, plus hard to access for kids who share devices to try and get it split up

Hi everyone,

Our list of activities were dwindling as time went on and we got closer and closer to having to do the puppet show. Then they released a new grid and we dodged it! We were so happy.

I can relate to that. Ds gets set 3-ish tasks a day, all compulsory. We have a fortnightly homework which has come to be known as "the dreaded Art homework", which always, always gets left until the last minute. Last feedback from teacher was that it looked like a rush job (it was). Will have to try harder this week.

I've got literally no idea what my child's other options are apart from maths, phonics and some writing. She's not doing the phonics, the maths is a fight and the writing is mostly her writing love notes to a kid called Toby. She's 6.

Fuck it, seriously. My kid is alright, she'll keep up, I'd rather she had a nice time and didn't remember this as a massive maths fight.

I'm not a good example.

Another bubble closed at our school today. No idea which one though, cos no one tells us anything. Meh.

Guess what?! I'm more blind than I used to be. Optician suggested less screen time.