Schools closed until February? (part 3)

SusanC10 wrote: »

Our daughter (5th Class) asked to bring home her books today (on our instructions) and was refused.

We had agreed between ourselves that we would remove our Kids if we got to Level 5. With it being so close to the Midterm, we had decided to review things before the 2nd.
A proper Level 5 with most things closed might have made it safer to remain at school but this to me feels like very little has changed in terms of volume of people moving around etc.

Now the teacher should have just sent them home but probably would have been best to have either sent a written note in(if allowed), an email to the teacher/school with thr same message or a quick call to the school office and that could have been easily avoided.

meeeeh wrote:

I see you are one of those who look into their own hart and know what everyone is thinking.

No, it's just common sense. Something it appears you are lacking, sadly.

Queried wrote: »

Hey CruelSummer,

To be honest, I've found the last couple of months very hard and though today was a great day for all, it was a relief none the less to have made it to midterm. I'm finding working in a school quite stressful at the moment and though our staff are doing the best they can do I do feel that the department of education is downplaying the real situations schools face. I don't want schools to close for my own sense of sanity but I do feel quite unprotected in my classroom environment. Just wanted to make it clear that its not all sunshine and roses here, sometimes I'm up and other times I'm down. Swings and roundabouts :pac: I think most teachers just want transparency from the Dept and for us to be treated like everybody else when it comes to protective measures and being considered a close contact, etc. Still can't believe that these are the times we are living in, kids were joking today that they were wearing a mask today so I wouldnt be left out, made me laugh and then do a double take thinking about how surreal the whole situation is. Anyway, my two cents, sorry for rambling!

I agree with all of what you’ve said here. It isn’t easy & the constant media coverage and focus on schools being open isn’t helping. I have previously suggested half in/out on a rota basis if cases in the community get too high to enable further distancing, etc. But this should only come into play if our hospital system is coming under more pressure in my opinion. At the moment it isn’t, and vulnerable/at risk groups should be protecting themselves while cases are high.
I also think perhaps there should be Covid sick leave for teachers, to encourage them not to go to school if feeling under the weather/needing tests. Many teachers may be reluctant to use up their existing sick leave while waiting on test results. I’m not sure if such leave exits currently or not.

CruelSummer wrote: »

Be careful with your positivity on here, they all want to get schools closed ASAP in the interest of theirs and their pupil's/children's 'safety'. Funny how some posters on this thread claim to be teachers. They've an awful lot of time for boards posts if they are, and not a lot for teaching the students they claim to be so concerned for.

Guess I'm one of the teachers you are referencing in your comment. Not that it's any of your business but I'm out on non-covid related sick leave for the foreseeable.
Maybe just maybe you should wind your neck in and be a little bit more circumspect with what you say.

I see little or no posters on here who I know are teachers looking for schools to be shut.

CruelSummer wrote: »

Be careful with your positivity on here, they all want to get schools closed ASAP in the interest of theirs and their pupil's/children's 'safety'. Funny how some posters on this thread claim to be teachers. They've an awful lot of time for boards posts if they are, and not a lot for teaching the students they claim to be so concerned for.

Good post, a little bit of needle should help keep them honest, cruelsummer

History Queen wrote: »

Where did you hear this, is it in the media? Worrying time for all involved.

Assuming it's on the Facebook group. They had 11 confirmed cases earlier in the week.

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Assuming it's on the Facebook group. They had 11 confirmed cases earlier in the week.

Ah ok. I'm not on Facebook. Was talking to colleagues today, they're drained from the residual stress of the sitiation and the strain of keeping positive in front of the kids. I really hope this 6 week stint at level 5 brings some results.

I am a parent and I personally am very glad that we are at midterm and that the school is closed. From March I could control my teenagers movements and only do what I felt was safe. Since school has reopened I have had to trust that he is in a safe environment when he goes to school. I have no complaint with his school or teachers as they are trying their best to keep working in what I would feel must be a very stressful environment. The teachers are not in control of the getting in and coming home part. On 29th September there was a positive case in his school. The school can't notify even what class was affected. It turns out that it was a boy in my son's class( which of course everyone will find out through the grapevine.) My son wasn't considered a close contact despite spending his days in the same classroom. And I don't particularly want him to have to go for a Covid test unless it is absolutely necessary. He came home from school on Monday complaining of feeling sick. He had a headache and sick stomach. Okay this doesn't sound like Covid, but the worry is there straight away. There was another email sent yesterday of another case in his school, but because he has been home sick we haven't heard from what class. Both cases have been described as community transmission, but how can this virus only be perceived as being transferred in the community and not in school doesn't make sense to me.
Now today there is the talk of the hand sanitiser which can cause the type of symptoms my son is complaining about, so again there is a worry has this affected my son. His school has said they don't use that sanitiser, so more than likely he just has some bug and will be ok in a few days, but prior to Covid, I would have just got on with taking care of him, bringing him meals while he is in bed etc, but now there is always that niggling worry. It's a balance of trying to protect my family and trying to have some bit of normality.

eagle eye wrote: »

What about vulnerable parents?
What about vulnerable grandparents who have given their homes to their kids who now have children in school?

As discussed last night these people aren't considered by the government or the various bodies as being important and thus that leaves the people involved with a decision to make. Send the children to school, keep the child at home(without any support being allowed to be forthcoming from the school by edict of the DoE), formally homeschooling the children and take them off the school register.

wirelessdude01 wrote:

As discussed last night these people aren't considered by the government or the various bodies as being important and thus that leaves the people involved with a decision to make. Send the children to school, keep the child at home(without any support being allowed to be forthcoming from the school by edict of the DoE), formally homeschooling the children and take them off the school register.

And there's where our government, department of education and the HSE show how hopeless they are.

selectamatic wrote: »

Alcohol free sanitisers are widely accepted as being effectively useless in combating covid.

Sanitisers are less significant issue.. They do not prepend inhaling viruses in closed space, nobody claimed irritation from methanol here yet, why the hell we are discussing this minor issue?

Thats me wrote: »

Sanitisers are less significant issue.. They do not prepend inhaling viruses in closed space, nobody claimed irritation from methanol here yet, why the hell we are discussing this minor issue?

Ya it is pretty much a non issue to be honest but if a poster appears to be posting incorrect statements and in doing so is trying to apportion blame to schools for this situation they should be pulled up on it.

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Some schools who do book rental are disinclined to let books “ stay home .” In our school , each teacher has sent a week’s work home over the last few days , as advised by the body that manages primary schools .

Schools are not going to close at all as Tony stated tonight on the The Late Late Show. If there was any inkling of schools closing surely he would have said something at this stage. He is very definite and not much really will change in a week.

Dont know if this is correct thread to ask question but here goes . I have kid in local national school. Got email from school to say child in his class tested positive monday of last week (5 October). There were no instructions as to what to do with child at this stage from school or hse. my kid went in on tuesday and class was sent home tuesday morning by hse. Class was tested on Wednesday and results on Thursday and there was one more positive case. Got an email today from school with copy of letter from hse to say my kid will have to have a second test due to a health risk assessment. If he has test next Tuesday lets say, according to the hse website he has to isolate for 10 days even if nagative. Is that correct? Also it would seem mad to test him next week when it would have been more than 14 days since he was in school and contact with a positive case at school. Also if we don't test him can the school refuse him entry on Monday week after mid term?