The start of another COVID new school year

[MollyMalone]

Wishing all teachers, parents, students, and those who love them the very best that is possible during the extraordinarily challenging days ahead!
With deep admiration for your fortitude, creativity, and caring support ~ Molly

 

[VRBeauty]

It’s a challenging time to be sure, especially for teachers and administrators, and the parents of kids who aren’t yet old enough to get jabbed.

Ditto everything MollyMalone said!

 

[Karl_K]

Prayers are outgoing for safety for all teachers, staff , students, and parents.

 

[MollyMalone]

Prayers are outgoing for safety for all teachers, staff , students, and parents.

Thank you, Karl, for including staff (I'm mortified that I neglected to do so)

 

[nala]

Ty! I am a high school teacher in So Cal. We have 2700 students And about 230 staff. So far, so good. Kids are great about keeping their masks on and although they are not socially distanced—I have 40 kids in my classroom—so far we haven’t had any major outbreaks. Praying it stays that way!

 

[Ally T]

I am support staff at a UK Primary School (ages 4 to 11) and we started back last Monday. We no longer have bubbles or social distancing in UK schools going back now, nor do we have to isolate if in close contact to a positive student if we are double jabbed & continue to test negative. No student has to go home if another tests positive unless they themselves test positive either through the weekly testing or because they have become symptomatic . We have had staff meetings where we have sat next to each other, had parents invited back into the school building for morning Assembly & things feel amazing!

Yes, the risk is still there & yes, we are all still having to test ourselves twice a week, but we are learning to roll with this now & live with it.

The UK has decided against vaccinating any children under the age of 16 unless they are high risk, so we are trying to crack on & get back to normal teaching.

The best bit of this past week has been watching the disbelief on the children's faces when I tell them that they can use ANY area of the playground and play with ANY other child they want to. I was asked a few times if I was really, REALLY sure they wouldn't get into trouble for leaving their bubble area. And one little one used to hug me every single day when she first stared Reception Class, which has obviously had to stop prior to now. She is now in Year 2 & this last week she has made sure she has had 10 Mrs T hugs every single day to make up for the last 18 months - it really warms my heart. The very little ones have never known school without bubbles & social distancing, so their faces are lighting up like Christmas Trees

 

[Slickk]

Week one down and so far so good. My middle schoolers are great with masking and our staff is mostly vaccinated. Everyone seems happy to be back!
Hoping we can stay in person this year!
Thank you for the good wishes.

 

[Babyblue033]

My oldest started 1st grade on Thurs. Safety measures changed slightly from last year like masks are mandatory indoors but optional outside, desk partitions removed, kids are back eating in cafeteria, etc. But overall district is still maintaining pretty strict safety requirements with mask mandate & testing, which makes me feel better given the increased infection rate of children with Delta. I'm just holding my breath till the 5-12 age group can finally get vaccinated, then I'll wait for the 2-4 group so I can finally send my younger one to preschool as we had planned.

The very little ones have never known school without bubbles & social distancing, so their faces are lighting up like Christmas Trees

How true, my older one started school with all the pandemic measures, that's literally all he knows. Can't wait till he realizes what else he can do!

 

[diamondringlover]

our schools do not have face mask mandates as of now..hopefully that changes soon, our numbers in our village are climbing. Next door neighbors little girl is 6 years old and in first grade, she has covid, ended up in ICU for 4 days fighting for her life, she came home Friday and per the mom she now has type 1 diabetes as a result of her serious infection...none of the household is sick (at least yet) so she probably got it at school

 

[Arcadian]

My district has been in session since early August and have been fighting with the state over mask mandates. Considering how many kids are ending up in hospitals down here, and the state of ICU's in the county, you'd think these idiots would get their head out of their nether regions and listen.

But no, kids have become the new collateral damage in this new fight about "mah freedoms"

I've got a few neighbors who have retired early, one who is struggling to get through the year because she can't afford to quit right now. Many teachers and staff are getting sick, plenty are dying. I think in Miami-Dade they had 15 in a 10 day period. Thats insane.

Seriously, people should just not come to Florida. Its out of control here.

 

[Austina]

Good luck and stay healthy to all of you who are doing such an amazing job as educators and support staff.

 

[MamaBee]

My district has been in session since early August and have been fighting with the state over mask mandates. Considering how many kids are ending up in hospitals down here, and the state of ICU's in the county, you'd think these idiots would get their head out of their nether regions and listen.

But no, kids have become the new collateral damage in this new fight about "mah freedoms"

I've got a few neighbors who have retired early, one who is struggling to get through the year because she can't afford to quit right now. Many teachers and staff are getting sick, plenty are dying. I think in Miami-Dade they had 15 in a 10 day period. Thats insane.

Seriously, people should just not come to Florida. Its out of control here.

@Arcadian My cousin is in Florida..She called me a few days ago hysterical because she had next door neighbors and one friend in Florida die from Covid. She also had another friend die..but she lived in Pa. Her doctor wrote her a note to get the third shot…She has a lot of health problems but wouldn’t qualify with the criteria now. He told her he had many patients die..He told her to stay home and get food delivered. My cousin said it’s so scary in Florida right now…

 

[Arcadian]

@Arcadian My cousin is in Florida..She called me a few days ago hysterical because she had next door neighbors and one friend in Florida die from Covid. She also had another friend die..but she lived in Pa. Her doctor wrote her a note to get the third shot…She has a lot of health problems but wouldn’t qualify with the criteria now. He told her he had many patients die..He told her to stay home and get food delivered. My cousin said it’s so scary in Florida right now…

this is why

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A Florida county councilman who referred to Dr. Anthony Fauci as "Dr. Falsey" and promoted conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic is hospitalized with COVID-19.

According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Volusia County Councilman Fred Lowry, 67, went to the emergency room on Monday. The newspaper said Lowry, a District 5 representative, received monoclonal antibody therapy last week after being sick for about two weeks.

The registered Republican once said in a sermon this summer that, "We did not have a pandemic, folks. We were lied to," the News-Journal reported.

 

[tyty333]

My neighbour across the street is a teacher. We saw the ambulance come and get him a couple of weeks ago but we weren't
really sure why. He did walk out of the house before getting on the gurney.

So, I ran into him and his wife out walking yesterday. He is using a walker and she was pulling an oxygen tank behind her. He
got covid and spend 10 days in the hospital. They did not have to intubate him. He was moving very slowly and has a long way
to go before he gets back to normal. Doctors told him his lungs are damaged so I guess its the "new" normal. He couldn't say
much before he had to stop and take a breath. His wife was having to do a lot of the talking.

I don't know them well (unfortunately they moved in in the middle of covid before vaccines so I never officially met them until
the other day but my DH had) but I'm so glad that he is back home and on the mend.

Teachers, and everyone else out there, stay safe!

BTW...our schools did not start with a mask mandate in place but it is in place now. I hope it cuts way down on the transmission.
I heard they mainly put it in place because they were having to quartine so many kids because of possible contact. So, kids were
asymptomatic but had to quartine to make sure.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Can I just add that, IMO, teachers are the most valuable, and least appreciated members of our society.....
Thank you all teachers out there- for taking care of, and guiding the most precious among us!

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

We had our first day back in public school in NYC today! We actually had the COVID testers come today, they test 10% bi-weekly of anyone unvaccinated. FX we hear nothing tomorrow!