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

Sounds fab, Enemy :)

Excellent news in these graphs here.

@MsAwesomeDragon

Dd1 is a prolific reader. Dd2 less so, although she does read every night at bedtime. She's chosen war horse as her bedtime reading at the minute, which I think is a pretty decent standard for a 10yo. She'd never read Terry Pratchett or Anne McCaffrey though, they're not her style at all.

Your kids sound great enemy.

Ds taught himself to read. I had nothing to do with it. He's an August birthday, and in Reception, was coming home with his word tin of short CVC words. Then, literally a week or so later, I overheard him reading to younger dd, "he stirred the special mixture until his arm ached." WTF? This was a new book I'd bought but hadn't read to him yet. He was extremely small for his age, so when he was 6-7, looked around 4. We called in to a supermarket on the way home from school one day and he threw a strop, not wanting to go in. In the end, he agreed, as long as he could bring his book. Okaaaaay. It was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which he wandered around Sainsburys with his nose in. You can imagine the looks he attracted.

Literacy and drama and writing was his "thing" until he switched to all sciences for A level and did Civil Engineering for his degree.

Go figure. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

@TheHoneyBadger I have a passion for KS3 as well. I think that's actually the most important stage - that when you hook them and lay the foundations. I actually think KS3 is more important than KS4 because if you lose them then, then forget good GCSE grades.
I have done absolutely loads of primary liaison and am always telling my colleagues not to baby year 7s.
Also - if you can pack as much of the essentials in before hormones and brain-rewiring goes on, the better

Wow @CallmeAngelina that is an amazing Ds.
My ds is also an August baby and incredibly resistant.to "phonics". Numbers are his thing. He just gets them. I think it's because of numberblocks tbh - he was addicted at one stage and I was desperate for a break so let him watch them on repeat. Whoever created numberblocks is a bloody genius - it is amazing!

[quote EnemyOfEducationNo1]@TheHoneyBadger I have a passion for KS3 as well. I think that's actually the most important stage - that when you hook them and lay the foundations. I actually think KS3 is more important than KS4 because if you lose them then, then forget good GCSE grades.
I have done absolutely loads of primary liaison and am always telling my colleagues not to baby year 7s.
Also - if you can pack as much of the essentials in before hormones and brain-rewiring goes on, the better [/quote]
Absolutely and build relationships and trust with them before the hormones kick in.

That's terrible behaviour from a parent DrMadeline. What did you do?

Those graphs- why the random wobble in Jan for primary kids and 30s/40s. Was that caused by the one day back?

I was all about the art and literature. Then did civil engineering at uni.

@DriveInSaturday

JanFeb hope everything was ok today. You did well getting through your tribute at any speed.

Oh thanks @DriveInSaturday but the funeral isn't til Monday, I was just writing/practising the tribute today.

Do you mean numberjacks? Ds loved that show. Was reading speed signs whilst still in a pushchair. Loved numbers.

Mine too honey. It's Numberjacks (with Scarey Spoon 😱) and Alphablocks, isn't it? Are they both still on?

Oh and the Numbertaker 😱😱

My nephew was a wonderful artist and writer then did all sciences and maths at a level because he wanted to be a doctor. Now considering teaching. Niece also loved art and makes beautiful cards still but did American history and politics as an undergraduate and is now doing her masters in business with some kind of international element.

It's actually nice because they both still have their art as a non career related pleasure.

@JanFebAnyMonth when I did my first funeral thing, the undertaker gave me a really good tip for keeping it together. He said to never look at the front row, they won't notice that you don't. Fix two points just above the head of people either side of the back (less relevant atm), on the wall or something. Whenever you look up from a reading, or are speaking 'to' the audience, look from one to the other of these points. He said that it will feel weird, but the no one will notice. At that first one, he stood at the back for me and pointed at a thing on the wall to look at. He was also someone to do a small smile at, which again just makes things better. I've done 5 funeral bits now, and still feel like I rattling through, but get told it was fine. Then I get asked again, so can't be bad.

Yep. Ds is nearly 14 but his baby/toddler programs are still engraved on my brain. No idea what's on now as I thankfully don't have to watch any of it

Sorry JanFeb I think I remember now that you said it was Monday.

I'm aware I haven't had too much funeral experience yet thankfully. Lost lots of friends from travelling years sadly in all manner of circumstances but generally funerals far away and sometimes overseas and would feel odd to impose on family. People pop up in my Facebook memories or everyone comments on their birthdays still and share photos and memories.

I was the youngest child of two youngest children so many significant family were dead before I even arrived or died when I was very young. I was traumatised by my one grandads death and funeral but others I've attended have been people I wasn't that close to. I'm also a lot younger than all the cousins so no real bonds there. It will be my parents for me. I'd like to think a long way off. They're in their mid 70s.

TMI probably

I love KS3 as well. When they decided to put permanent year 7 form tutors in a few years ago (we used to carry them up the years, and still do with years 8-11) I immediately asked to be permanent year 7. I can do the mumsy taking care of them thing when they first arrive (they have started putting the ones they think will cry in with me because I am apparently good at dealing with them), but train them very quickly in the ways of secondary school. It annoys me so much when other teachers baby the year 7s, they are capable of so much!!!

In our department we keep our classes all the way through as well. So after our "great jumble" where we put them into sets at the end of year 7, whatever class you are given in year 8 are yours til they finish GCSEs (apart from the few who nice sets obviously). It really helps build relationships. My current year 11 group are brilliant, and they love me because they were mine from year 7. Of course, if you get some characters, it really focusses your mind on winning them over, because there's no escaping them at the end of the year. I've taught some of my year 13 for 8 years, as they were in the last year of the primary outreach program I was allowed to do when they were in year 6. Back when we were specialist schools we were a maths specialist, and I had 3 hours a week to go out to the primaries and work with the "gifted" mathematicians.

Oh I didn't know that a thing, departments keeping same teachers with a class /set all the way through. Interesting.

Has PUAUS suddenly changed to Parents United? Hadn't seen any announcement. There's an interesting and informed discussion on one of their posts today (must have been at lunchtime, from one Lee Baker) about if s44 letters will still apply when we return.

You're all bloody weirdos. Ks3 give me the heebie jeebies.
Give me aloof disdain, outright arseness and possible teen pregnancy and I'm fine. Miss my cat died.... I've got nothing.

"It annoys me so much when other teachers baby the year 7s, they are capable of so much!!!"

See, this is funny, because we are SO tough on our Year 6s and expect them to be mature and grown up, and then some kind of regression takes place a term later when they move up to Yr 7, even allowing for adapting to a new way of functioning.

@CallmeAngelina

"It annoys me so much when other teachers baby the year 7s, they are capable of so much!!!"

See, this is funny, because we are SO tough on our Year 6s and expect them to be mature and grown up, and then some kind of regression takes place a term later when they move up to Yr 7, even allowing for adapting to a new way of functioning.

You'd despair of my dept with year 7. We do autobiography with them as if it's the first time 🤦🏼‍♀️

I know callme. They do need to learn the ropes of secondary school, but by October they should mostly be sorted with that and high expectations should rule. But I have colleagues who still say at Easter "aw, they're only year 7, don't be so hard on them". I'm not being hard on them to expect them to work hard in lessons and remember their homework, that's basic stuff.

Oh and thanks for the tips rule. Do you think doing something like that is very different from speaking to a class?

I wasn't worried as am relatively used to speaking in services and stuff, although obviously that will be more emotionally loaded. Now am wondering if I should be!

The vicar, who's also an old friend, will have a copy and take over from me if I can't do it at the time, anyway. I just hope I can forget that it's being live streamed....

I have a bit of funeral experience: in the last decade have organised my mum's, and read at my darling friend's, who took her own life. (Rafals there's a chance you might have known (of) her, was from your neck of the woods)

Have also attended one for my friend's eight week old baby. That was a hard one.

Sorry, bit sad for a Friday night!

A lot of our year 7 curriculum is repeating things they've met in primary school. I hate that we don't really teach them anything new and exciting until year 8. They could cope with things like area of a circle or something, so it seems different to primary. Yes they do need to get faster at stuff, and more fluent with number, but seeing what dd's doing in maths during lockdown, we could definitely make year 7 harder and they would cope. Maybe the lower groups need the repetition, but the top sets are often bloody bored!!

I spent yesterday afternoon on the phone with DS's diabetes team, who were very helpful, and a new GP who was also helpful once she understood what I meant. I now have a flow chart of Sick Day Rules and, after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, we also have a ketone meter (you really don't want ketones) and the testing strips that go with it. So I'm more confident about monitoring DS now.

A very kind neighbour picked the meter up from the GP. He had to ring us to get DS's date of birth before they would hand it over, as if random people pop round to the surgery on the off-chance of getting a free ketone meter.