This week was a weird week as we headed back to school. Monday was a bank holiday so Pierre only had to go in on Tuesday, as he goes for the start of the week. I went in for meetings on Tuesday then lessons on Thursday and Friday - back to life, back to reality ! (Are you even old enough to remember that song ?!) Next week, the other years will be restarting too, so things are going to get even stranger. Ah well, only a month to go until the holidays. Just as well as Pierre is now left to do his schoolwork on his own on Thursday and Friday (with a little help from Juliette !).
Sunday 31st May - Almost into June, which is synonymous with summer. So how come today was a day of rain and storms ? At least it'll do the gardens good !
Monday - Last day of staying at home all day. No idea how things will work at school but there won't be a canteen tomorrow, as the kids are only there in the afternoon for an hour, so I made some tuna filo pastries to take in for lunch.
Tuesday - Back to work. It was nice to catch up with my colleagues. We were all spaced out in the hall which seemed weird. We were all given our own wireless keyboard and mouse that we will use in each classroom, as it's the teachers who have to change classes rather than the kids. I ended up heading to the beach for lunch with a work colleague (it's only a few minutes from school) and it was full of people in bikinis sunbathing ! Luckily, it's a huge beach so they were all spaced out. We were only there for half an hour and I still ended up with a patch of sunburn on my arm ! On the bus on the way home, there were about six people with no mask on, even though it's obligatory. I was sitting on a seat with an empty seat next to me, with strips of tape on it and a "leave this seat free" sign on it, but a woman without a mask still sat on it. I gave her a filthy look but didn't say anything to her - with hindsight, I should have done though ! From now on, I sit on the outer seat (with the tape on it) so that at least nobody can get to the empty seat.
Wednesday - My day off so I had a chance to work out what to do in my lessons tomorrow. No idea how many kids will be there so it's all a bit unknown at the moment. I went shopping and grabbed a pack of toilet rolls. I glanced at the receipt after putting it all away and realised we got charged twice for the toilet roll. I don't usually bother complaining but this was the most expensive item on the receipt so I decided to go back - it's only 5 minutes away after all. The checkout girl had just closed her till so I said I'd take a second pack, rather than getting my money back. We'll have enough toilet roll for a while now !
Thursday - The first day of lessons ... and disinfecting ! At the start and end of each lesson, we have to spray and wipe down the tables, the board wiper, the chair, the keyboard, the mouse, ... basically everything that we'll be touching during the lesson, then disinfect our hands with the hand gel. Each class is split in two so there are a maximum of about 12-14 pupils per class. In reality, I had between two and five though. Which is just as well as my mouse and keyboard wouldn't work - aaaggghh ! Time to make up a lesson on the spot that doesn't need the computer !
Friday - After yesterday's IT problems, I was told to take the keyboard and mouse from the staff room. They have cables but at least they work ! The pupils have lessons on Monday/Wednesday/Friday one week, then Tuesday/Thursday the next week so we end up doing the same lesson twice with each half group ... or four times if we have two classes in the same year group ! There's plenty of space between desks and everyone has a mask. There are still only a handful of pupils per class so it's nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.
Saturday - After the usual weekend jobs (laundry and grocery shopping), I made a batch of choc chip and cranberry cookies. They are delicious but ended up gigantic ! The kids aren't complaining though !
Oh yes to soul to soul, I was 18 that year, lots of fond memories flooding back now lol. School set up sounds like it's working and similar to how my friend describes teaching in Germany. You'll be sorted now for loo roll when the second wave hits. I'm grateful June's weather has been wet and cooler, hopefully keep the idiots at home. Sorry to hear about your experience on the bus, I would've moved but I've given up saying anything to stupid people, some just can't be educated
ReplyDeleteI was going to move places on the bus but I only had two stops to go so it didn't seem worth a fight because I'd have had to ask her to move. I just literally couldn't believe it - she wasn't even old or frail so it's not like she actually needed to sit. * sigh *
DeleteYes I know that song too. Quite apt for the situation. School doesn't sound too bad, once you get over the teething problems and get things working well.
ReplyDeleteSo far so good. Now we just have to see how it goes when the other pupils start back tomorrow !
DeleteI remember that song, wasn't it released in the late 1980s? I must have been at the University then. School doesn't sound too bad so far, with a few pupils. The loo rolls should last a bit. The woman on the bus sounds deranged, some people just don't get it. Large cookies? Would be no complaints from my guys either. :)
ReplyDeleteAaah I'm glad everyone knows the song, I don't feel so old now ! lol. Every day there are a few people on the bus without masks - I'm just waiting for a police check then i hope they get fines ! Definitely no complaints about the mega cookies ! lol
DeleteThe school set up sounds like it's working. Sorry to hear about your experience on the bus. That is shocking. I do remember that song x
ReplyDeleteSchool is ok, just lots of running around trying to be in two places at once for the teachers !
DeleteLoving the facemask! It looks like school seems to be working but hard work all the cleaning! Some people are just stupid! The woman on the bus should have known better. Its hard to speak out.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I've been slightly shocked by the large numbers of people ignoring the rules and getting on the bus with no mask. Or a mask pulled down so it doesn't cover the nose. Why can't they just follow the rules? :-/
Deletemoving the teachers sounds sensible until you get further up the school when children need to be in different subjects. Are the classes so small because parents are not sending their children?
ReplyDeleteI think I would sit on the outside next time as well. Though then you not 6ft away if the person across the aisle does the same.
Laugh at people that wear masks but pull them down to smoke.
All subjects take place in the same room - the science/music teachers have been asked to use videos rather than do experiments that need specific equipment etc. Our textbook is online so can be used in any room with a computer luckily. We have about 25 pupils per class normally - each class is split into two groups so max 12, but the biggest class I currently have is 7 ... although that will change next week as we're back to the whole class in one for the final weeks.
DeleteI don't know the song :/ OooO cool pastries! They look like our local samosas. You should've said something; its basic decency and concern she should've had. That's alot of work to do before teaching your class. The cookies do look huge. It's good that the school is taking every measure to ensure everyone's safety.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, they do look like samosas. I could try them next ! :)
DeleteI wouldn't complain about gigantic cookies either! Chocolate and cranberry sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteSo glad that your return to school seems to have gone well (despite the IT problems!) Between 2 and 5 pupils makes it seem do-able for sure!
So sorry you had to deal with an utter muppet on the bus though... sounds awful but if you had coughed, she probably would have moved quickly! ;) Why are people just assuming that's it, get back to normal? We take masks everywhere with us and use them, though there are a lot that don't... nor adhere to 2 metres... I'm the one that does say something though and stare. My stare isn't pretty! ;)
Hope you are all well and having a lovely week! Sim x
LOL I love the idea of coughing - I will DEFINITELY do that if it happens again ! ;-)
DeleteDrives me insane that people cannot follow the simplest of rules, especially when it is right in front of their nose. We have to wear masks on public transport from Monday too
ReplyDeleteI have to wear them at school too so it gets a bit hot and sweaty ! lol
DeleteI remember that song – was singing it in my head, while reading the words! Having someone sit in the empty seat without a mask would have made me cross too and I suspect I would have done the same as you. Good idea to sit in the outer seat to prevent it happening again. The new set-up at school must feel so strange with all the social distancing and extra cleaning. How frustrating that the mouse and keyboard wouldn’t work. The chocolate chip and cranberry cookies look yummy. #project366
ReplyDeleteHopefully all the problems will be behind us now ! :)
DeleteHa ha I remember that song... taken me back a few years! Sounds like school is going well glad its not as bad as you thought. I would not be happy about the lady on the bus why are people so arrogant? x
ReplyDeleteI couldn't work out if she was being arrogant, provocative or just plain stupid ! lol
DeleteOoooh tuna filo pastries sound interesting, never heard of anything like that before. Bless you sounds like you have a lot to sort out each day, my youngest might have school in a week, but it will only be a four days over four weeks.
ReplyDeleteFour days over four weeks sounds doable ... maybe not very useful but doable ! lol
DeleteWhat a strange retunr to school. The problem with easing lockdown is we need to rely on the common sense of others but we can't! #project366
ReplyDeleteThe president announced last night that school becomes obligatory for all as from next week ... that will make it all more complicated again. Grrr !
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