22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

Hey Wildesavings! Nice to know I am not rambling to myself- one does wonder sometimes......

Cleaning the house today as Mr Smallest off school sick and I have to pretend that I do all this stuff all day long and don't sit reading a book and drinking tea some days. Also can't go to the gym so feeling antsy. Well, no excuse for not doing the washing up today! and no excuse for the house not being tidy.

Payday on Friday, and even with all the birthday stuff, I am still £300 in credit so cant complain. Also submitted Gas and Electric meter readings, and seem to be £200 in credit.

Also, the bedroom has shot up from 18 degrees at bedtime, which it has steadily been for months, to 22 degrees since the double glazing went in. Wondering if the neighbours have turned their heating on this week - we are a middle terrace. Looking good for money saving.

f0xh0les

Greenbee, what does one say to a newly laid greenhouse base?
Congratulations? Mazel tov? whatever it is , I send it to you.

For some utterly incomprehensible reason my tomatoes are only just fruiting. And they are going for it! All summer long they did nothing, just grew and grew and grew and flowered and flowered. Since the kids went back to school they are covered in green tomatoes. No chance of them reddening, will have to make something.

Spent an hour last night at DS1 school about how to prepare him for his GCSEs. I have never heard anyone talk down kids like that. The only thing I took away from the event was that the school was incapable of teaching the kids to achieve their potential.

The list of things parents were expected to do was extensive. Not just what you would expect, as a normal parent. I am hoping that they just completely misjudged the tone. But to be telling the parents the kids cannot get a c grade pass just with what is taught in class, is utterly wrong, it is their job. why would I be supposed to be finding past papers for the kids to do? - surely this is the job of the teacher? Anyway.
Brought the handouts back for DH to have a look at and he went ballistic. The phrase 'How bl00dy dare they!' may have been uttered rather a lot. :rotfl: I hope they liked their evaluation sheet:p Always silly to ask for feedback if the event is not up to scratch. Left DS1s name off the form though. Damage limitation, although all comments were valid.

wishingthemortgaheaway

What????????
How utterly utterly ridiculous.

What is their ofsod rating?
Get on the parent view website and fill in the questionnaire.

f0xh0les

Two schools merged and they have not yet had an offstud rating. But both schools previously had 'good' ratings. That was why I was so surprised.

I think they just got the tone totally wrong, of how to support your child through their GCSEs, they seemed to be expecting you to do their homework with them.

Now, I only have a degree, a masters and an initial certificate in teacher training which would allow me to teach Adult Basic Skills (Literacy and Numeracy). So I suppose I will be ok. But still, the whole thing was just off. And the sales pitches to buy study cds and calculators and revision books through the school was awful.

DS2 delighted with his haul of loot. Maybe he will start to act a bit older now. I won't hold out much hope though.

PurpleFairy26

I've only just picked most of our tomatoes foxglove must be an East Midlands things, late developers maybe :rotfl: I put them in a flat dish on the windowsill and they have all turned red, worth a go.

f0xh0les

oooh eck, I'm not Foxglove though, I'm the other one.

I will get done for identity theft, or impersonating a native woodland plant:rotfl:

PurpleFairy26

f0xh0les wrote: »

oooh eck, I'm not Foxglove though, I'm the other one.

I will get done for identity theft, or impersonating a native woodland plant:rotfl:

Ooops, carried away, we're all in the east midlands

f0xh0les

Made an absolutely storming supper tonight. Red lentil and chickpea curry and rice - chana dahl? with 7p chinese szechuan curry spice mix, a ys tin of coconut milk, a ys tin of tomatoes and 2 wonky onions. If that is not MSE then nothing is. Fed 4 of us tonight ( 3 of them had 3 helpings though) with at least another meal left over. So I cooked once and it would have easily fed a family of 4 three times over.

Just lost my post:mad::mad::mad:

This laptop sucks

Right. Only Connect and tea. Also, bought a Euromillions ticket on a spend day this week. Crumpets on me if we win.

wildesavings

Re the gcse thing! I think school are scared! I sat them last year 'mature student' and our tutors were clueless! They had no idea what was going to be in them , what to teach or how to teach it. A total shambles!

Then once the exams landed every was stunned at how hard they were. So I think panic mode has kicked in. Just keep swimming and hopefully it'll all sit right in the end.

f0xh0les

The school are definitely scared. Mind you the govt keeps tinkering with the courses. Physics is now 60% maths based. Chemistry is 20% maths. Good job DS1 is good at maths. He is doing advanced maths and triple science. English is now 100% exam and closed book. So they will have to remember the texts taught from the first semester first year.
There is going to be a lot of revision and repetition and that is going to lead to boredom and bad behaviour.
Still, it is a good excuse to get tickets to A Christmas Carol the musical. Silver linings.