The Forty-fifth Republic - Is there anyone there? Surely time for half term

[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

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/mental-health-children-lockdown-covid-b1796281.html?fbclid=IwAR2mEHnBuziEhnvFGIv0NsZrAb-TVCImlMs3pZeRgfbNnpp_zQwKHwfweYs

Pointing out again the links between Covid deniers /rush to reopen schools / poor MH services to begin with.

Wow.

That's actually a really good article, JanuaryChill.

All the media are just banging on about how unfair it is that Scotland and Wales schools are 'opening' before England - despite the fact they are only having certain year groups in. I bet English schools will be all in on March 8th, there's been nothing in the papers to suggest it might be staggered. Will be interesting to see case numbers next week after all the forecasted snow- if people can't get to a test centre then numbers will be much lower

There's a video on-line about some millionaire putting a computer in a wall in a slum somewhere. Apparently, this would end global inequality.

That guy faked his results!! Can't remember his name, massive self-promoter, snake-oil salesman.

That's actually a really good article, JanuaryChill.

Hahah I know why she wrote it....Natasha Devon was massively piled-on on twitter last week by our least favourite grassroots organisation who had the nerve to tell her that she didn't care about children's mental health because she didn't want to rush them back to the classroom.

Scotland opening p1-3 and waiting 3 weeks - to see what the infection rates do I assume - which will bring us past the 8th March anyway. I don't think the secondary opening is as widespread as I feared at first - small numbers coming in for practical work and 2m distancing will apply.
Feeling somewhat pissed off that although I'm on holiday today (and had some very rare for me alcoholic beverages last night) I was still up first sorting the dc out while dh lay in until 15 mins ago (he is not on holiday). Wish I was going away somewhere and leaving his lazy arse behind for a few days.

Yes @Cantaloupeisland , and the fact that Scottish infection rates are half ours atm (although I don't think that holds for Wales?).

At first four seemed to be saying we'd exit lockdown into tiers and reopening would be affected by that.. but now the word seems to be no tiers because ppl cross boundaries deliberately to break rules (eg go to the pub). Although it might depend on what first data on spread of new variants in those areas of concern looks like (and if the govt take it into account!)

Am not sure there's ever been any mention of partial reopening here, except because of the memory of what happened in June, and now the example of Wales and Scotland.

Next week we get the news on exams I think, don't we? That's an important part of the puzzle for secondaries.

@Piggywaspushed

MN have moved on form griping about live lessons now to blaming us about vaccinations.

Shall I go and tell them I'm getting one 😂

Big clap to the teacher who thought it would be a good idea to post the "do you appreciate?" thread.

I'm staying in here today. Any cake left?

Some cake left.... there are definitely some crumbs anyway.
I just taught a whole revision lesson before a child piped up "Miss, I didn't do that book" 🤦🏼‍♀️

I've just taught the lesson I should have planned for class 7a, to class 7b. Same topic, they were just at different points.... Only realised halfway through when they said they hadn't seen a video I kept referring to. No - that would be the one I should have shown in this lesson....

Another issue with live lessons- just been told to avoid raising any "potentially sensitive" topics in live lessons as we don't know who may overhear (e.g. younger siblings). We're also not allowed to deviate from the current order of teaching. I have two year groups who are coming up to topics involving things like contraception/reproduction and I've basically been told we can't cover this in live lessons.

I'm also starting to find my acting HoD very passive aggressive (to be fair, she's been put in an unfair situation herself of being asked to take on the HoD role and not getting the time for it at the moment).

I think it might be time to start job hunting.

I feel so meh today. I have started and then given up with about seven different ideas for setting work next week - I keep second guessing myself and getting nowhere

One student was very hung-ho about how the internet and computers had the potential to transform education.

I worked for an Apple school. In a really deprived area. In the nicest possible way, back in 2008, no one 'not rich' could afford anything Apple, those kids needed to know how to work a PC. Lovely 'rich' experience for them I'm sure, doing all their lessons on an ipad, but they couldn't write.

I left.

I'm on the home learning week but we have a weekly call between the kids at home and the ones in school so they can see each other. I can see two extra kids at least in the class that hadn't been there before. Distancing is a joke/nonexistent in primary anyway but the fewer family's germs breathing on me the better. Ugh. And the ones with secondary siblings I am not very keen on seeing in the classroom because when I walk to the train half the secondary kids in the village are gathered in the square, no distancing etc. None of this is my kids' faults obviously but I know if too many are back in, the spread won't keep going down and we will be stuck in lockdown or tier 4 forever. (Unrelated to the children I am having a hard time with lockdown, which feels selfish to say because it sucks for everyone, but it's been a tough few days mental health wise.)

@Beachhuts90

I've been free since 10 and have loads to do.
I've bought some birthday cards, some soap and some gloves. Meh.

[quote JanuaryChill]@Beachhuts90 [/quote]
Thank you. I know it is hard for everyone. I just want to do the hard lockdown work now and have us be free sooner, you know?

Indeed.

I don't know what they're called but if you want cheering up in an empathetic way, search YouTube for the family that recoded the Les Mis mashup in first lockdown. They've now done one to "Total Eclipse" about third lockdown. Brilliantly done and so true! Will try and find a link.

Here we are, a delight:

Oh not one of those threads. Gashes teeth

Or gnashes even..

? Piggy

Done it ^^

Thanks for that JanuaryChill, made me laugh! (I loved the one "I know them too well" even more )
But it has made me jealous as I have dc who barely speak never mind sing together.

piggy will enjoy the end of that video!

I bet the rest of the parents in their class hate them. “Just going to Google classroom to upload our puppet show.....oh no, they’ve upstaged us again”