The Fifty-first republic - twice weekly tests and wear masks at all time till Easter

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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.

Do not give the staffroom password to others 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. Do not sit on the chairs and wear a mask.

Phleb, I've got hypothyroidism and I'm on HRT. I'm post menopausal and have osteopenia (I'm also on omeprazole) so the hope is it will help with that.

phleb that sounds awful.

Definitely get the heavy bleeding sorted out, oestrogen should help with the sweats and sleeplessness.
GPs are shit at managing menopause. Best of luck.

I just did a blanket “all GPs are shit at menopause”

That’s no true there are a few that are great, but they are definitely in the minority.

Have posted on this thread before but this is a name change as so outing.

Today, dh was given a 'well being' bag at school. All the staff were. It was a child's party bag and contained:
-a bubble tub
-a magic fish (red one normally found in Christmas crackers)
-2 glow sticks
-a mini pack of Harribos
-a fun sized chocolate

WTF!
They were also given a big heap of extra work today before Monday.

@Wellbeingnonsense

Have posted on this thread before but this is a name change as so outing.

Today, dh was given a 'well being' bag at school. All the staff were. It was a child's party bag and contained:
-a bubble tub
-a magic fish (red one normally found in Christmas crackers)
-2 glow sticks
-a mini pack of Harribos
-a fun sized chocolate

WTF!
They were also given a big heap of extra work today before Monday.

Urgh.

So f-ing infantalising.

Ugh Phleb that sounds awful. That fb group are brilliant as they have loads of advice files and guidance on what NICE say. So many women seem to get shit or no treatment so they're really good for giving guidance. Eg some places have a menopause clinic you can go to, which I had no idea about!

Fucking party bags?! Fuck off!

Just caught up and worrying a bit - I have hypothyriodism and peri and have been taking soy flavinoids (and I think they've helped with sweats). Should I not be taking soy?

I've been awake since 3am worrying about school stuff and whether I'm just a very difficult person and the school would be relieved to get rid of me. I think our department is potentially overstaffed and the lady on maternity leave is doing kit days so obviously coming back. Worrying.

Anyway. I'm going to go take the dog out in the dark and make a coffee and try to stop fretting.

@MrsHerculePoirot

We were told today that we were legally bound to tell school our LFT results and actually that was the case as soon as we open the box... is this true?!? How do I find out?

Not sure this has been answered @MrsHerculePoirot but yes. We need to report ‘twice’. To NHS and then schools as schools can not access the NHS database.

Had our ‘return to school’ meeting yesterday. Mind. Blowing.

• LF tests, I didn’t realise we would have to double report. How long will that take each week?
• one year group tested a day, appointment only. Yr 11 and Yr 13 back Thursday, Yr 10 back Frida and so on. It’ll be mania the week after when in effect we have 3 year groups a day being tested for the 2/3 tests and coming in and out of lessons. Found out students can only have the LFs at home if they take the 3 tests in school first, otherwise they can’t access the home tests.

-Training Monday to shadow the small team who have been trained already. Roles have been assigned. I’m a ‘runner’ whatever that means!

• Masks in ALL areas. Including the workspace I share with my colleague.

Think that’s it!

I have hypothyriodism and peri and have been taking soy flavinoids (and I think they've helped with sweats). Should I not be taking soy?

I took Soy Isoflavones to help me get pregnant and in my research they are different to the food stuff soy so you are fine there!

@TheHoneyBadger

Just caught up and worrying a bit - I have hypothyriodism and peri and have been taking soy flavinoids (and I think they've helped with sweats). Should I not be taking soy?

I've been awake since 3am worrying about school stuff and whether I'm just a very difficult person and the school would be relieved to get rid of me. I think our department is potentially overstaffed and the lady on maternity leave is doing kit days so obviously coming back. Worrying.

Anyway. I'm going to go take the dog out in the dark and make a coffee and try to stop fretting.

Hope your dog walk helped. Is there anyone you can talk to to find out the gist of Monday’s meeting, hopefully save you spending the rest of the week worrying (hope I’ve got that right, this thread moves quickly!)

Honey, check the btf website or give them a ring. I imagine if your levels are stable it's ok.

We've been testing for a while (primary) and the reporting twice is really quick. The NHS website was slow at first but they've improved it so you can have a login and don't need to put school etc in every time, just test results. Then for school we just have a very quick Microsoft form to do. That part is easy.

Remembering to do it and not to eat for half an hour before is the tricky part!

This is my local MP (but not my MP because I have to tolerate Nadine Dorries)

www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/headteachers-concerns-over-covid-vaccines-for-teachers-dismissed-by-matt-hancock/?fbclid=IwAR3UGRdFLod_6L4Up_G-1qxfEb1qRJnccyj4_YRujtfMAFRw43F_CbXt8Wk

On his Facebook page there were 46 comments, not one slagging off teachers.

Interesting Piggy!
I think Headteachers and SLT have born the brunt of a huge amount in this pandemic and have been about as ‘frontline’ as you can get (more so than Serco!) but without the acknowledgment and often with out and out abuse instead.

The BTF are fuckers. They are total traditionalists and have a strong tendency to minimise in my experience.

My consultant at Addenbrookes told me to avoid soy. It can interfere with absorption and trigger thyroid / antibody response. She also told me to take my t4 and t3 a full hour before eating or drinking anything other than water and the opposite end of the day to any vitamins or supplements. And definitely not with caffeine!

I do have problems with absorbing it though. I have to have Mercury Pharma as the other brands just don't work because of their fillers. Actavis was the worst. I am on a massive dose of 300mg t4 and 50 mg t3 3 times a day.

I know what you mean about the being fuckers. They do only work within published proven guidance.

At the same time they work under the official endo association. Not enough members / people were complaining to them properly. They told me they need to have people moaning at them to feed back up the chain so to speak.

They are now campaigning for t3; at a meeting I went to years ago the woman running it was on t3.

The last magazine they sent had some some stuff on new combo research and also a while ago a slow release t3, which seems to have been shelved. As well as new research happening on selenium and reducing antibodies.

They've really been trying to get care for pregnancy better, which has been shocking and influenced the nice guidance as well as patient leaflets to hand to gps. My two kids probably wouldn't be here without the btf. I had to fight hard both times to get all the gps to look at the guidance and listen to me. Several friends had the same experience.

You are on a massive dose though Phleb and I can completely understand why you dislike them as your body must find it really hard to take and use the t4 and t3.

Our head of testing has said students can have the home tests if they don't have the three tests in school.... at least she did for one particular student.

This is all ridiculous, isn't it? Most of our schools haven't even started yet, what's next week going to be like?

wellbeing that would have given me such rage that I would have binned it there and then. What is wrong with people???

I was in the Oklahoma or Alabama state capitol building on a day when they were talking about passing legislation to let teachers carry concealed weapons in classrooms and got chatting to a state employee. When he found out I was a teacher, he thanked me for my service. Such a different mindset.

Oh , I don't know, teachers are treated like shit in America too : and more liable to be shot ...

Tbh the Biden thing is soundbites, Many US teachers have been vaccinated anyway as many states and regions sorted that early on. This is a move to get schools fully reopened in more cautious (generally Democrat) states.

Soy Isoflavones supplements don’t contain the same isoflavone profile as that obtained from the consumption of soy foods, which are primarily from the whole or the dehulled soybean.
So when people say to avoid soy, they usually mean the foodstuff such as soy milk etc, rather than the SI supplement. Always best to check though.
SI supplements did wonders for my very very long cycles (was not producing enough oestrogen at the start of each cycle) and reduced my hormonal spots and monthly pain. I don’t use them now because my cycles are so much better.

Ah yes Piggy but at least in Alabama or Oklahoma, I could whip the pistol from my knickers....
And the back to school section in Walmart makes me happy. Not so much if I was funding the whole damned lot though, like my Californian teacher friend.

My lovely Trump supporting BIL is in Alabama. His views are - errrmmm - interesting. But I have never heard him slag teachers off to be fair. Just any Democrat.

I keep touting the documentary American factory on MN : but there is a fascinating section on teachers and their unions in the film.

I liked Alabama a lot.
I'll have to check that out. August looks to have some free time in it.