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.

After a furious 20 mins googling books from my teens I found Pan Horizons. The Eyes of Karen Connors! So many others too.

@JanFebAnyMonth

Sob for Bob maybe? Donn't think Bob is actually invited, is he.....

Bob wouldn't come if he was.... he might turn up if he isn't though. He's that sort...

Sob about Bob - target grade 66. Not going to happen.

Also I can't do Strike but then I never liked Potter either. I do love Kate Atkinson's lovely detective, which I think is a superior version of what Rowling is going for.

Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie is a thing of beauty

@phlebasconsidered

Also I can't do Strike but then I never liked Potter either. I do love Kate Atkinson's lovely detective, which I think is a superior version of what Rowling is going for.

Yep-they are good, too!

Oh yes he is!!!
I think she writes detective fiction beautifully. I remember staying on the bus past my stop to finish "Took my dog". Read every single one a few times and always find something new. The way the series knits together is also beautiful.
I cry quite regularly at her books and I don't cry. Alghough I had a proper weep at the ending of "Hangover Square" in my twenties on a trsin.

Kate Atkinson is a FAR superior writer to JKR!

@RandomGrammarPun

Kate Atkinson is a FAR superior writer to JKR!

Love Kate Atkinson! I saw her speak a few years ago, she was really interesting. Life After Life is one of my favourite books.

I just pressed report on one of the posts in this thread - totally did not mean to, so apologies in advance, it was a slip of the finger and I don’t even know which one it was, so sorry!

If you like crime fiction, I liked some of Christopher Brookmyre's books. The Angelique de Xavier series is very good.

I never read nowadays.... too busy scrolling on Mumsnet . It's become a running joke in my family.

Anyone got any questions for the children’s minister about next week’s return to school?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/4181807-Q-A-with-Vicky-Ford-MP-Childrens-Minister-about-return-to-school-for-all-children

brie Sorry to hear you've not been great. I hope your desmos lesson went well. It's the last AMSP desmos tomorrow and I'm a bit excited to learn CL properly.

The book chat is fascinating. Currently reading a book about Klopp. I love a good biography/autobiography. I read Kate Atkinsons "Big Sky" and it really affected me. I think it was the subject matter, I won't spoiler it for anyone but she's an excellent writer. JKR strike books need to be kindle purchases they are so darn big, that puts me off!

I like reading about places I'm going to, but there's no chance of that at the moment. I was SO excited when I got to visit Atticus' courtroom.

The Desmos lesson was great, thanks Herc. The students are a bit mixed - some of them just want to be told the method and the formula, but some really embrace the "explain why you think this" aspect.

Must admit I got a bit lost in the last ASMP session, but was wrangling two dc and trying to get some work done as well so only half paying attention. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to create my own lessons!

I'm ok, normally very on top of things, but just feeling overwhelmed and guilty about not being a good enough parent or teacher at the moment. Imposter syndrome rearing its ugly head again. I read this at the weekend which describes me pretty accurately!

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/28/mums-women-coronavirus-covid-home-schooling-inequality

I am on the 50 Book Thread so I read a loooot (been slow so far this year). Some people on there read 100s of books a year! (although they count audio books )

My big find from that thread that I would never otherwise have read was This Thing Of Darkness which is amazing.

@DrMadelineMaxwell how about Lifters by Dave Eggers. Kinda fantasy land stuff. Lovely book. Oh.. not a film though. Wish I could read it to a year 6 class.

Dark Towers was probably age 7 or 8 for me. Scary. But I wanted to be the girl in it.

My teenage books were fantasy fiction - Raymond Feist The Magician, and all books around that. Plus a load of soft core porn. Anais Nin etc.

I like the Strike books, I think the earlier ones aren't as good as the later ones, which I've been really into. I'm not really big on detective fiction so I'm not sure why I like these.

Someone mentioned Adichie, omg yes I love her. I highly recommend Jhumpa Lahiri as well.

@DreamingofBrie

If you like crime fiction, I liked some of Christopher Brookmyre's books. The Angelique de Xavier series is very good.

I never read nowadays.... too busy scrolling on Mumsnet . It's become a running joke in my family.

TBF I think MN, twitter etc have ruined my ability to read books. I might need to spend less time online and more time with a book in my hand in order to build it back up.

I love reading - try to make sure I read every night. Crime fiction is my thing -I love a good murder haha I have read a Mo Hayder series -very, very good but not for the faint hearted!

This week is dragging! I have a million and one things to do and one of the TLR holders isn't making it easy

These days I mostly read non fiction. Just done Richard Herring's The Problem with Men, How to Argue with a Racist by Adam Rutherford, Adam Buxton's Ramble Book, Ian Dunt's How to be a Liberal, Difficult Women by Helen Lewis, Tim Harford How to Make the World Add Up, Human Kind by Rutger Bregman, George Monbiot, Ben Goldacre, Noah Yuval Harari. All terribly woke middle class nonsense.

I love a good crime. I've just downloaded a new one but I have to get up at stupid o'clock so I can't stay up reading. I'm sulking now.

I bought This Thing of Darkness about six years ago from a mn book thread. I still haven't read it, but I do intend to!

Love the self-deprecation at the end of your list, Rule (Piggy and I could debate whether this was almost an example of bathos...)

I just had a scroll through my kindle. I had a massive Christopher Brookmyre moment when I was breastfeeding.

Ha yes, but look at that list. Terribly lefty. Just found an unopened book about the Black Death. Perfect timing.

@Piggywaspushed I read tons. I have 5 books on the go now. I can read very quickly due to a childhood in hospital a lot! This week I have The End of Mr Y, Poppy Shakespeare, The Keeper of Lost Things, 20th Century ghost stories,The Whisperers (Non fiction about Stalinist Russia- this will take me a couple of weeks) and Braundel's 2nd volume of the history of France, which will also take a few weeks. I generally do about 3- 5 fiction books a week. I don't sleep well, so lots gets read then but I am very quick. A friend once challenged me to recall the pages which she just thought I had looked at then turned but I can do that- look at a page and sort of read it without following lines. It was super useful at university. I do take it in, it just looks like I am not.

Yes, it does look like the bookshelf equivalent of inserting the phrase "my black, gay disabled friend said the other day..." 😂