jnemartin

Cases I previously would have sworn were just allergies are now regularly testing positive with complaints of sneezing, sore throat, no fever. Eek....

OMG thank god it was just one person. nothing much to see, but I DID NOT zoom in LOL

I asked this parent to send me her kid's vax record and she sent me a link to the kid's patient portal, which of course I couldn't open. So I'm already thinking she's kinda ditzy. So I ask her to screenshot it, and she makes a joke at her own expense about how "of course you couldn't see it, I'm so silly" etc. So she replies with a screenshot of the vax I needed to verify... and at the bottom of the screenshot, where you can see your 5 or so last photos, there is a NUDE PHOTO of someone in the shower - OMG LOL. It is a back-view, so nothing too embarrassing, but still... hilarious.

I work in a MS/HS and graduation and all the end-of-year ceremonies are coming up. Honestly, I don't know how all of them work, but I know that usually students invite identify a special teacher/staff member to be like their honorary guest for MS and HS graduation. (we are in-person and there are some in-person graduation events, but limited people obviously). So today, the admin lady hands me this fancy envelope addressed to me, from a senior girl who I know, although not *that* well. She has some conditions so she comes to see me occasionally (not a frequent flyer, but way more often than most kids), we bond over being Puerto Rican (LOL), and we have a very good relationship and know each other a bit, but I was way closer with her sister who graduated 2 years ago, but I thought... could it be?! Am I her special staff member?! So I open the envelope, and.... It's her COVID vaccination record. LOL. I am still happy. Although I was excited to think that after 4 years I was finally someone's special guest LOL.

for staff or students? my staff is vaxxed. they want this for the students

What my administration is discussing is applying to be a vaccination site. So the state/county would give us an allotment of vaccine (and possibly syringes?) and we figure out the rest. Well.... I figure out the rest. The state and county in my area have multiple 24/7 free vax sites available. Teachers were in priority group 1B, immediately after healthcare workers and my staff is fully vaxxed except for 5 who need second dose and two who refused. They want me to do this vax site for the STUDENTS (and maybe parents?). LOL. What I should have mentioned - a critical piece of info - is that they want me to vax students. We don't even have an approved vaccine/dosing for children.

My admin is throwing this around - trying to become a vax site for our school community. Ultimately, I know it will never happen because things are too disorganized, but my initial response was like... WOW!. Could they add one more thing to my COVID plate LOL. Also, I get about 2-4 offers a week to admin COVID vax at pharmacies for $50-$75/hour... so no. I will not do it for free.

that's crazy. that was my question, too. We only had 178 technically "academic" days this year, so I understand making sure we achieve the 180 days... but they added 10 days onto the calendar. Plus didn't tell anyone. The dates teachers are expected to be on campus are in their contracts, but I guess no one figured it out (except me, but that's because my dates were so wildly different than usual).

According to the superintendent of schools, they were not consulted or notified of this prior to the announcement. There is not (nor ever has been) any official plan or guidelines on how to open schools, so I guess schools have 10 days to figure it out. https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2021/03/governor-ducey-issues-executive-order-requiring-schools-offer-person-learning I feel a conversation with the on-the-ground school staff would have been wise before this order, so that at least they could have planned to open a bit past Spring break, when people tend to travel. Better would have been a more comprehensive and tiered re-opening plan, like: in the month of march, cleaning and safety protocols must be developed and published, and a steering committee established. April 1-15, schools open at 50% capacity, and April 15-29 schools open at 100% capacity (or whatever). I work at a private school with a student body of only about 300, and we've been open all year in person, with a distance option but not very widely utilized. So I know opening schools safely can be done, but also my school's situation is much different than the average school. Low census, affluent parents who are able to get kids tested frequently to comply with our policies, a budget for enhanced cleaning and HVAC, etc.

Update: I negotiated a 3% raise and a $2k COVID bonus (I asked for $6k, since this is what teachers get for taking on a new class - so $2k was rather disappointing). I did sign the contract, but I have until end of March to back out. I feel a bit stuck because I am pregnant (they do not know this), so if I leave to another job I will not have the one year required to qualify for FMLA. I feel better about the outcome, but next year will be my last year. Edit: Oh, and regarding the extra weeks - apparently they extended the school year by a week and didn't tell anyone. Like, no teachers knew or anything until I challenged the dates in my contract. They just slipped that in. So I will work that extra school week and then I can "work from home" for my standard week before kids and week after kids.

I just received my contract for next year. No raise. And they want me to come in a week earlier and stay a week later, and want me to stay an extra half hour each day. I am going to lose my mind. Btw, we have been fully in person all year. Like full school , every day.

yeah, this is more what I was hoping for. I feel like $50 "bonus" is literally the least they could do for me, considering how much more and higher-profile work I've taken on (we're fully in person this entire SY). Not to sound snarky - a gift is a gift - but of course there can be bad gifts LOL

that's awesome! I have found in my 3 years of SNing, that I usually get one or two gifts, and always from families whose kids I NEVER see. I think the parents (well, let's be real - the moms) take the faculty list and buy the same thing for everyone, and I love it! Starbucks gift cards - yes, please!

I mean, when I worked in the hospital I never got anything, so.... LOL.

I felt a bit like Clark Griswold when I opened my holiday gift from my administration... it was a gift card to Amazon (OK, better than nothing, although I did tell my husband if it was anything less than $50, I'd have to quit. It was $50 - luck for them LOL) and a card that was e-signed by the leadership team. As in, they had the cards mass printed for the entire faculty (there are only like 40 of us...) with their signatures printed in the cards. That stung a bit. Anyway, every year at the holidays, us school nurses chuckle and commiserate as our teacher friends carry full arms of holiday gifts out to their car each afternoon, while we might get one or two cards or appreciation gifts. I felt like this was especially bad. What were your best and worst holiday gifts over the years?