Apple muncher's number crunching

apple_muncher

Dd has had a tooth extracted and is coping really well. Although the near-constant 'slurping' of saliva isn't always easy to think of as white noise... She needs the same tooth on the other side removing too, and that is booked in for 2 days before school starts back. And then the tooth that grew through the roof of her mouth will have space to push its way in to, on one side, and the other side will not be overcrowded. Which means that she can have train tracks fitted - she is soooo looking forward to that! Strange child!

But it means that I have done nowt except my workout, one load of laundry and browsing utube - dd wants me to be near her, ie next to her!

apple_muncher

I was at the gym by 6.25am, ready and raring to get in when they unlocked at 6.30 and there was a definite chill in the air. Anyhow, did my workout , ran for 10 mins on the treadmill and was home for 7.25, to find dd up and dressed and downstairs!

I did some sch stuff today: printing my planning + the necessary worksheets; collating the responses to the questionnaire I sent at the end of last term (need it for my appraisal).

Dd and I watched 6 episodes of Sapphire + Steel, cos it was so darned scary that we needed to get to the 'happy ending' part of it. We also needed to take breaks in between episodes, so it took us about 5 hours!!

I've cleaned the inside and outside of the paddling pool with zoflora, so can roll it up tomorrow. Dh called it the 'pond' which would have been apt if it had been left outside for the past few days...

apple_muncher

Phew. The pupils I teach have been given the grade I gave them, and 2 have been increased. Sooo relieved! And sooo pleased for them!

apple_muncher

4 library books went into the book bins at the library.

2 pairs of manky footwear were deposited in the variety club bag/bin thingy.

500 pieces of jigsaw have been assembled.

1 paddling pond has been deflated (I wrote 'de-aired' at first...) and rolled up and sealed in a bag.

1 load of laundry has dried on the climbing frame. And been folded.

1 bodyweight workout has been done.

1 food shop was achieved, and 2 buses were used in the completion of the task.

0 episodes of Sapphire + Steel were watched!!

3 of my pupils had their grade revised upwards.

apple_muncher

Pupils shouldn't use public transport to get to and from school unless they have to, says govt guidance. There is no other way for a large proportion of secondary pupils to get to school. And I don't think that cycling is a truly alternative way to get there, as there will be a hugely increased number of cars on the roads, making it more dangerous for the cyclists.

However, children + teenagers can share a car to school with someone outside of their support bubble or household, so long as they share with the same people each time, keep the windows open for ventilation and wear a face covering if they're older than 11. This makes a mockery of schools having put systems in place to keep pupils in bubbles in school.

Schools and colleges may need to stagger or adjust start and finish times to keep groups apart - but this should not affect how long children spend in lessons. Schools have 10 days to set up a brand new, staggered system??? How staggered? Because staggering and ensuring time in lessons won't work in a secondary school, where teachers teach a different class every lesson, where breaks and lunchtimes have to be at the same times.

Sigh.

greent

Staggered times also dont work for those arriving by bus etc. 

Having said that, DS3's school are staggering end times - each year group (bubbled together) will be finishing 5 mins apart and have to leave the site promptly unless they are travelling by a school bus. This means y7 have 20 mins less class time per day than y11s.

At DS2's school staff have to keep 2m away from students and all other staff members- subject offices are usually teeny weeny areas no more than glorified cupboards. And the staff room is only about twice the size of my kitchen for well over 100 members of staff (hence why many use subject offices)  

apple_muncher

We're having a slight stagger in the morning and at the end - but we are small, so it can be done. No school buses - we are ideally placed for trains and buses froma wide area! Otherwise, pupils generally stay in their room and teachers are the ones to move around (this is what I usually do, anyway, being a part-timer). And staff must keep 2m away from everybody - which I probably usually do anyway! Therefore, if a class/year group have to isolate, the teacher still goes to the room and does an online session with them all at home. If a teacher needs to isolate, it should be only the one person, due to distancing. And I'm guessing that the teacher then somehow does the lesson from their home with the class at school? (Assuming teacher isn't poorly with covid) Though the class would still need a grown-up body in with them in real life...

However, it does seem that govt won't be announcing that we can all cram on to public transport because magically the science says we can... I think that that sort of science cohabits with Puff the Magic Dragon...

Karmacat

I was thinking of you while I was offline, apple, because of you sharing the details of the frustrations of planning the return.  Much appreciated by someone like me - one of my great-nephews is starting senior school this term, its a brand new situation ...

apple_muncher

The leap from y6 to y7 is a big one, karma. Things like carrying all your books, moving classrooms, writing down (and doing!) hwk, lockers, travelling to and from school. I am sure that one of the reasons the lockdown was 'ok' for many secondary pupils was that we were halfway through the year, so we knew our pupils and they knew us and our way of working. To have to learn from home at/near the start of y7 would be much harder for the pupils. Anyhow,  I hope he enjoys moving up!

I went to the gym yesterday, did my workout, and then tried something new... Can you see where this is going...? The 'new' thing was to use 2 heavy kettlebells (12kg each) for farmers walks and walking lunges, and 2 light kettlebells (6kg each) for double snatches, and clean + press. Suffice to say that I have 2 swollen up, stiff and sore knees today. D'oh... So I have un-booked tomrrow's gym session, and will do something gentler at home. I did yoga with Adrien today, which is always good.

I have googled how heavy 24 kg is in imperial. It is 3 1/2 stone. Yikes. No wonder it was tough. Also, 3 1/2 stone is the weight I would like to lose....

teapot2

Schools are back already up here and there are definite issues for secondary school pupils who use public transport to get to schools ie pupils not able to get on a bus as there are fewer seats in use.  Parents having to come and 'rescue' pupils who can't get on a bus to come home again - sometimes its an hours wait for the next one.  There are also rumblings about secondary pupils maybe having to wear face coverings when moving around the school as its proving very crowded in corridors and communal spaces.