The Forty Sixth Republic - online learning has killed the 'snow day'

[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

@noblegiraffe - she’s getting better, thank you for thinking of her. She can manage a five minute walk to the junction and back, so I think it may be a while to properly recover but she is taking it seriously at least and not rushing back to work.

Interesting article posted by Michael Rosen in fb - who’d have thought children are key in spreading the virus?

www.princeton.edu/news/2020/09/30/largest-covid-19-contact-tracing-study-date-finds-children-key-spread-evidence?fbclid=IwAR2M5zPFPns41Sy5mhnXlAsqXz451h-_eigRUxV9kCXs1c1xNf731COPL7Y

‘The researchers found that the chances of a person with coronavirus, regardless of their age, passing it on to a close contact ranged from 2.6% in the community to 9% in the household. The researchers found that children and young adults — who made up one-third of COVID cases — were especially key to transmitting the virus in the studied populations.’

I think MILs point is that we wouldn't know it makes us feel better/good or whatever, without being made to feel that natural isn't good/is not as good and we could look better.

I think.

MIL has a lot of 'points', many of which I choose to ignore completely.

I just had my menopause consultant phone chat - she spent most of it banging on about how the Gov hate the NHS and teachers, and how she can't believe that any key workers aren't next on the list for vaccines.

@CarrieBlue

Interesting article posted by Michael Rosen in fb - who’d have thought children are key in spreading the virus?

www.princeton.edu/news/2020/09/30/largest-covid-19-contact-tracing-study-date-finds-children-key-spread-evidence?fbclid=IwAR2M5zPFPns41Sy5mhnXlAsqXz451h-_eigRUxV9kCXs1c1xNf731COPL7Y

‘The researchers found that the chances of a person with coronavirus, regardless of their age, passing it on to a close contact ranged from 2.6% in the community to 9% in the household. The researchers found that children and young adults — who made up one-third of COVID cases — were especially key to transmitting the virus in the studied populations.’

Yes, I’ve read this paper too, good to share! I had to post it to a thread yesterday morning started by a regular teacher basher that had posted a study from early in the first lockdown as evidence to start a teacher bashing thread that children don’t spread it. Thankfully after reporting, that thread was taken down after less than 2 hours. So dangerous to spread out of date data!

There is also this Icelandic study (this article is from Dec 2020)

www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/12/we-now-know-how-much-children-spread-coronavirus/

And this study from Vienna very recently coupled with young children often being symptomless (this article is dated Jan 2021)

www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-children-can-be-spreaders-but-are-often-symptomless/a-56176606

Useful to know in order to reduce the amount of misinformation being spread on Twitter, FB and MN.

I stopped wearing make up at the start of last lockdown. Found it quite liberating and kept it up when we went back but have started again now thanks to remote teaching because I can’t bear to keep seeing my own face without it! My gay male colleague wears make up too (concealer, does eyebrows a bit etc) for the same reasons though so it’s not just (though I agree mostly) a female thing. And I wear dresses a lot because I find them more comfortable than trousers.

I wear dresses a lot in the summer because they're cooler than trousers and for some reason shorts look awful on me (maybe I've just never found the right style). In the winter I wear trousers, jeans mostly, but not skinny ones as they just aren't as comfortable imo. I don't wear makeup, don't shave my legs, or any body hair actually, have short hair.

@ChloeDecker - it’s a shame the government insists on spreading misinformation too - you’d think they might have read it too

I rarely wear make up or heels. Like wearing dresses though. Currently wearing a dress with jeggings as it's cold - jeggings are basically skinny jeans right?

@dreamingofbrie with regards to races and the sex or gender of the participants, the longer the race the less effect it has. If you want to look up a race that is completely mad look up the spine race, which a couple of years ago was won by a breast-feeding woman who smashed all previous records for completion time.

Just checking in but think I'm going for a nap shortly. I'm not the only one on my knees am I? I literally feel on the edge of crying all the time. I struggle to plan and then adapt it for online work. I have a reflection to write as well as lesson evaluations and a big assignment to start. Been in with KW children so 10 max but with 'characters'. No TA. I can feel myself getting irritated with low level disruption and tired of using beh system when they just don't care.

Bloody shattered and don't even know how I'll make it to Friday

I'm not the only one on my knees am I?

Nope, struggling and fed up here. DP has pointed out that I’m starting to be somewhat tricky to live with and need a break 😂😂😂

noblegiraffe well hello there tall sister! Were you a LTS shopper before they closed?

namechanged you certainly aren't the only one!

We had no heating in school this morning. A bit of a challenge in these temperatures, as you can imagine.

I am getting increasingly irritated as we get closer to the 8th March. It really does feel like we're all dispensable.

@namechangedyetagain, I'm on my knees today. Currently in bed. I've been really irritable with dc and not taught very well (4 lessons). Kept a positive face on for my classes but only just felt as if I was holding it together. "Running on fumes" is how one student described me before Christmas and I feel as if I'm at that stage again. In fact, sod it. Ordering takeaway tonight.

Must be said that school has a 'feeling' about it. It's been hard at home, but nowhere near as hard as being in with the kids. Even there are only 8 of them in each bubble. Hard for different reasons. Hats off to all who have been going in.

I sent a box of fancy coffee sachets in to my school and in to my child's school. Seemed caffiene and sugar was the right way to go.

I was in today. I didn't need to be, and I've come home feeling grumpy and disorganised.
HT made his usual "so you've bothered to turn up" quip and followed it with the suggestion that he might call us all in the week after half term.
Great.

I am in a grump-inducing amount of pain, my back has seized up and painkillers are only taking the edge off. I will be switching to wine as a painkiller once toddler is in bed.
Random question - did anyone else feel guilty about their classes when planning when to conceive?

I've been putting makeup on as it is something to do at the weekend

Well, that's pissed me off. Email sent out on Monday telling us to enter engagement data by Friday, but not actually sent to everyone, so I only found out this morning.

Usual vague statements where some kids don't fit any of them really, plus one for 'not attended ANY lessons', which I can't check without being in school. If I'd known they were going to ask I'd have kept a record somewhere I can get to it.

Good job I'm in tomorrow and not yesterday or I would be even more annoyed. Once again, not to bad for me as I only have 8 classes, but a right pain (I imagine) for non-core staff who teach everyone once a fortnight.

Yeah, I'm feeling pretty knackered too. Was in school today and whoever said there is a bit of an odd atmosphere is right.

We have more and more kids in, so we are being stretched thinner and thinner in terms of provision- but there's no allowances made on our "in school" days in terms of expectations of work done!

I reckon after half term we could easily be looking at 2 days a week in school- serving about 5-10% of our students, which would have a knock on impact on provision for the rest of them. And most of them could be at home, but just do no work there.

I almost think we'd be better off with a rota and getting all kids in on a weekly or two weekly cycle.

Wow I hadn't seen that Austrian study before. Up to 6 times more children had had Covid than was believed....

Can I join the TALL sub group too please? I 'm not amazingly tall and wasn't sure if I qualified for LTS until I bought a shift dress and it just utterly fitted me in all the right places. Also rarely do makeup....

I've just seen in the local news that there is going to be a debate on schools returning on 25th February. Shouldn't that mean that the earliest that schools will start returning will be 11th March?

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/key-uk-lockdown-end-dates-4980092

stepaway ouch - you poor thing

brie enjoy your takeaway - you deserve it

How tall is tall?

Jan you certainly can. I can still remember the first time I walked into a LTS shop - the joy of not feeling freakishly tall!

@MrsHamlet

How tall is tall?

6 foot and over is definitely tall. I will accept 5 foot 10 and over though, as I'm feeling generous

I don't do metric cos I'm old

I'm not tall then :) I'm definitely taller all but one of the female staff.
We have a lot of teeny tiny men. And teeny tiny women all highly promoted....