Schools and Covid 19 (part 5) **Mod warnings in OP**

Got word this evening that my child's secondary school is only open for 3rd and 6th years tomorrow and Friday due to a staff shortage. Seems like a sensible call to me but I'd love to know what the teachers have been at for the last two weeks. Half of them have already been out with covid during the Autumn term.

Couple of relatives who are teachers giving out stink on whatsapp at the moment. Saying parents treat school as a glorified babbysitting service. Well duh. Its part and parcel of schools. They arent happy at all. Apparently to do with safety. One of them on a foregin holiday with his kids over Christmas. LOL. Chancers.

Ah yeh.

I should have done a Tony Holohan on it and referred to the whatsapps as anecdotal instead. That would make it much more believable.

If your still around by then. What with the schools being such a scene of carnage.

I am entirely for real. What's the problem with my comment? It's unfortunate that so many staff are ill or isolating and I wish them well. The school has made a good call in prioritising the exam years. I am also wondering how so many of the staff came to be in this position at the same time. It seems a normal thing to ponder. My sister-in-law's house came down with it and after the initial concern and well wishes the first thing that was asked was how did they get it? I'm confused by your outrage.

I feel your pain! We were the same before Christmas, one positive and two negative. I was told on the phone the 17 days and couldn't believe it. Was the first time I had heard of it but as a previous poster said a few days ago I was told 17 days because I wasn't isolating my child with covid. Think if we had put him in a room it would have bee the day 1 test and day 10 test.

Might have changed because I also received emails from our school this eve giving the same info you just mentioned. Honestly the 17 days was so hard no way will I do it again.

Just to add I think the hse website has been updated. I definitely read 17 days when we were going through it in early Dec. I couldn't believe the contact tracer and had hoped I'd get different info from the hse.

Pity you missed the calls because they automatically send you your day 1 and 10 test appointments. Hope you are nearing the end of it now!

Oh, my sincerest apologies. I read your post all wrong. I thought you were being really ignorant and doing the usual 'jealous 9-5er who takes their own unhappiness with their work/life balance out on teachers' routine.

I thought you were suggesting that teachers might have been visiting family or doing their shopping or maybe even going to the pub or getting a few Christmas presents and that you disapproved of this, in a way that would mean that you are of unsound or of no mind and all.

But I was wrong. You care. You're a good guy. I'm sure they teachers will be delighted to get those well wishing emails from you in the morning or you might even pop in a card to the school

Fair play to you

You've actually made me wonder and now I too am curious - what it is your sister in law and the whole family were getting up to to end up with it too?

Yea I hear you! My kids are currently fine but have had one off vomiting and tummy issues in the last week. Oldest complaining of head and ear ache today....these are all symptoms! So who knows really! But we shall see what happens with our test results first! Its so hard to keep track of all the information

Best wishes to all teachers , SNAs and kids . Lets hope they can stay in school and manage the disruption as best they can . Its not easy but life is not easy for us all at the minute so we muddle through as best we can . Most adults will be putting kids first throughout all this and know how vital it is to keep them as safe but as stable as we can . Thier well being is vital so we plod along and do out best for them

Thanks - that was 100% my reading of it too. The only issue I had was when does the 10/14 days start. E.g. you get a runny nose on a Tuesday, you do an antigen on the Wednesday - thats positive lets say, you then apply for a test - you dont do the test until Friday or Saturday, results come through on Sunday or Monday, nearly a week after symptoms begin. In the mean time there are close contacts in the house. When does their 10/14 days begin......

It's 5 days for anyone with a booster, 10 days without the booster. Very few (if any?) kids have a booster.

I think its because most kids are not vaccinated. I agree though it is frustrating - my kids have to isolate longer than my husband who was positive which does seem crazy. The kids are perfectly well showing no symptoms but we have to follow the rules.

Kids have had to put up with alot over this pandemic

So, my kids secondary school has handed back contact tracing to the HSE since the beginning of this academic year.

In practice, this means that contact tracing has to happen through the parents of a positive PCR testee.

The question is: even if they have some phone numbers, who in their right mind is going to give out these details to the HSE, knowing the consequence to be that someone's child is going to be asked to miss up to a week and a half of school just because they were in the same class?

If my child tested positive I would let them (the child) contact other kids in their class, and leave it to the other kids+parents to decide how to handle it. I don't even think I have any of the parent's phone numbers, and even if I did I wouldn't be giving them out without consent.