The Sixty-Fifth Republic - The Covid School Phoney War under way so who will the gold medal and who will get the wooden spoon?

[Staffholidayclubrep]

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 for school staff to let off steam.

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 non-staff as it attracts the wrong sort of crowd.

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.

You can sit on chairs but keep the windows open. You don’t have to upload LFT results during the holidays. You do not have to wear mask - free choice

I am exhausted. The children were all exhausted, and that made them whinge and tell tales all day long. Crawling to the finish line...

We haven't done any contact tracing on cases today.

And, I’ve got a venue alert from the app. Apparently I need a test, but don’t need to self isolate as far as I can tell.

Somebody with Covid was in the same venue as you on the day you were there is quite useless as an alert really.

@noblegiraffe

Ange you were asking about covid absence data....the DfE aren't collecting it for the end of term.

www.tes.com/news/schools-not-asked-weeks-covid-attendance-data

Why would they not want a complete data set? Because they know it's going to be horrendous.

What slimy toads.

I. Am. Done

Don't work Tuesdays and we finish tomorrow so that's the school year finished for me.

Melted in school today. It was just ridiculously hot in my room. And apparently 31 outside which felt positively breezy and cool when I stepped into it!!! Ugh. Shower #2 shortly

🎉 🎉 🎉

Have the results of the testing pilot been released yet?? A couple of posters on another thread have alluded to their DCs doing it and loads still testing positive...

Scorching in my classroom today. I decamped to the air conditioned computer room next door as it was free in the afternoon. Bliss!

FFS, school is mad. I sent my Bob to the Head's office for the afternoon so we could all have a break. Had a nice afternoon that reminded me of why I'm a teacher. Conversations off at a tangent, year 6 coming in to explain maths.. like it all used to be B.C.

Two days left. Transition and final day, that's it.

I may have mentioned before that a hybrid Maths/ICT role gave me a computer room as a teaching room, and though it had some disadvantages for teaching Maths, a huge advantage was that it allowed me to use the threat of turning off the aircon in the case of bad behaviour in hot weather (in fact it largely forestalled the bad behaviour, such was the relief of getting into a cool room).

It's too hot! Children at school struggling due to heat and transition at end of the week. Wish we had air con anywhere in our school building.

@ChloeDecker absolutely! I had 3 team members out last week due to isolating. Absolutely not their fault but difficult to manage none the less.

Pet Show and Tell has actually begun….despite me making it up for clicks.

Surely total madness that today we erected the stage on our playground, added 100 chairs, and allowed our year 6 to perform their play with parents and siblings watching?

We’re not allowed our sitcom on in the library. We’re usually one of the coolest places in school )in more ways than one!)

Any regulars who’ve just joined this thread, and are interested in meeting up in the second half of August, find near the beginning where I posted instructions for joining our chat on Skype (messaging not video calling!).

PM me or noble if you can’t find the post!

Hmm aircon not sitcom, interesting autocorrect!

That’s disappointing Jan. I was trying to work out if you were putting them on yourselves or just watching my them on TV.

I went to Aldi today to buy ice lollies. Woman in queue losing her shit at her probably year 7 child "when the fuck do you go back to school?"

How I laughed.

Just read an account by someone on Parents United of T&T ringing her when her son tested positive on Saturday (don’t know why it wasn’t school but their term has finished?) Sounded like he was maybe Y9. It sounded every bit as ridiculous as predicted - he didn’t know people’s surnames, couldn’t remember who he sat next to, they asked mum if she had contact details for parents and of course she hadn’t..... she virtually ended up suggesting they try finding his mates on discord (a gaming platform - for those who don’t have the joy of a gamer in the house:-) )

I mean it was always ridiculous. Why would parents have contact details for other parents? They are going to be phoning schools in the end...

Remote learning today as a positive case took out the catering staff. I must say that’s been a life-line today. No duties, no agro and no after school meeting. Back tomorrow with our own pack lunches. It’s a long time till Friday.

I'm being a bit tinfoilhatty, but I think it's intentionally ridiculous.
They want to mass infect youngsters before winter.
They still have to be seen to be contact tracing.
The schools have done too good a job.
Take it back from schools but build in uselessness, add in no bubbles, and bingo! Will be completed by half term.

Today I taught 3 completely remote lessons, 2 blended lessons (less than half of pupils in) and had emails about more pupils having to self isolate from ever year group.
Insanity

I've just had a thought about officially not having been jabbed... when the rules say "you must be double jabbed for crowded places", can I dodge break duty? Please...