Zero Get Ups

 You read the headline, “School closes early for Christmas due to COVID”,” and you think something. You might read the whole article or you might stop there because, factually, it’s told you everything you need to know and you can make up the rest. Even if you read all the article it won’t tell you the whole story because it will just be facts and a quote from the headteacher, if they have given one. It won’t tell you how the teachers feel about the situation.

I can’t tell you how all teachers would feel because, guess what? Teachers are individuals with their own thoughts but I will share how I feel.

If I’m honest, my initial emotion was relief. With a couple of positive cases in school there was an atmosphere amongst staff that it was only a matter of time. Whilst I’m not particularly frightened of catching COVID the rules are that if you have symptoms then you have to isolate. Symptoms are those that are very common at this time of year and school was having to run with staffing levels that were about to not meet health and safety, complicated by the fact that staff couldn’t cross bubbles.

After relief, came a feeling of gratitude. I was grateful that my headteacher with public health and the county council had been brave enough to make the right decision and save Christmas. The threat of self isolating over Christmas was weighing heavily on many people’s minds. Even if you were only planning to stay in one family household, a turkey dinner would be a bit pants without the post-dinner walk.

Then I started to feel sad. 

Christmas week is my favourite time in school.  Children are excited. They perform a Christmas show, put glitter everywhere, watch a Christmas film, get to do their Christmas booklets (full of accidental learning: pencil technique, maths and word problems), sing Christmas carols and have a school Christmas dinner (Brussel sprouts for the adults only). There’s nothing like the wonder of Christmas through a child’s eyes to make you feel festive. 

It wasn’t just sadness. It felt like heartbreak. Am I grieving for all the children who won’t get their usual run up to Christmas? Probably.

The seven stages of grief are about to kick in. 

But there isn’t time for that because we have to (and want to) provide online learning. We will be making videos, posting suggestions of Christmas activities that children can do at home, without disturbing their parents work too much. We will be calling children who might struggle. We will deliver free school meal vouchers and festive hampers and we will feel guilty about not being in school, while we are doing all of this.

My colleague counts down the ‘get ups’ in the run up to Christmas. Usually, we are all exhausted ticking them off until we can have a lie in. This year, going from 7 get ups to zero, has made my eyes leak.

But I refuse to be cross or upset for any longer than necessary, so I will be playing the school Christmas Carol CD and putting my tree up today. Later on I will be hosting my orchestra Christmas party/quiz via Zoom and eating enough party food for everyone and look forward to times when life won’t be like this.