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The Daily PollPEOPLE TYPICALLY MAKE new year’s resolutions in January, but 2021 – like 2020 – is anything but typical.
At the same time, most of us are trying to find ways to keep busy and entertain ourselves in lockdown.
Maybe you’re going for regular walks or learning a new language, or simply just trying to get by.
As we near the end of January, we want to know:
Did you keep your new year’s resolution?
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There was a teachers thread on twitter earlier with photos taken of CO2 monitors temperature readings in schools this morning. Almost all were sub 10 degrees C. Minimum recommended for classrooms is 17c. My own two kids were shaking with the cold for the last two days in their classroom. This is a national disgrace. Norma Foley probably ascribes to the FF/old catholic Ireland ‘a little suffering is good for the soul’ mantra, but our children and teachers deserve a viable learning environment.
@The Risen: Conditions were no better last year as Norma buried her head in the sand and repeated the mantra she’d been given over and over again. The response from the Dept is not sufficient or acceptable. We need to do better for our kids and Norma, who lacks the experience for a ministerial role, should step aside and let someone with some level of competence take over.
@Declan Doherty: if they don’t get covid they will deffo get hypothermia .Crazy enviroment for kids and teachers.
@The Risen: not good enough, my two children were in a classroom with open windows and doors, masks on and cold all day. Easy way tk get a cold, and if they do then they can’t go to school because they have symptoms of covid. So what needs to happen, the government certainly
don’t have the answer…
10 degrees all day in my class. You close the windows and the Co2 monitor goes red very quickly. Annoying because it is hard strike a balance.
@Nickwhick:
Would a Dyson Hot Cold with HEPA filter be the answer for my local school. I have two in my house and I could lend them…
It is very difficult to learn when your body is trying to stay warm. There has to be a better way.
I taught my classes today wearing a thermal layer, T shirt, light jacket and Fleece, a wool that and a snood. My students were also well wrapped up, though they were distracted looking out the open windows at the snow/hail falling
We need to learn to live with…
…checks notes…
teaching kinds in six-degree classrooms.
So not fair on kids….how can they concentrate on lessons when their so cold…coats on…gloves….its a disgrace…my son was doing much better with the online lessons..
Look Norma and FF don’t give a fiddlers pointless moaning been glued to the stove since I got home, it’s a matter of put up and shut up, if we moan it will be ye olde lazy teachers mantra. The government have made their position clear as I will in the next election.
What sort of a Project Hail Mary are they expecting these HEPA filters to be? What classroom out there is ventilated to a standard as to where they’ll be effective?!
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: I’ve been to countless schools all over the country with my job and I’d safely say that it would be cheaper long term to just knock the majority of them and start again. Most not only have substandard ventilation, but also poor heating systems, fire escapes, space and so on. Can’t see it happening anytime soon though unfortunately.
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: I’d say a very low percentage of classrooms would fit the criteria for then to be effective, many classrooms have barely changed since the 60s. I’m surprised the kids haven’t been asked to bring turf to school to heet it.
HEPA filters will be another waste of money. But it’s OK because they made record tax earnings and that’s only going to increase.
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: They’ll be this decades voting machines if they deside to purchase them in large numbers. Denis O’B is scrounging the globe for the cheapest ones to win the future state tender to supply them.
Unions need to instruct it’s members not to operator if classroom temperatures are below the minimum requirement. It’s time the teacher unions represent its members! It is completely ridiculous to expect staff and children to sit in classrooms for up to 8 hours in freezing conditions….
Turn the dial down to minus in Leinster house to see how it feels, 5 year olds have to deal with it, why not brass necks politicians we have.
Just close the windows. This whole notion of the windows being open is good at keeping covid at bay is a total myth.
@Robert Clifford: So you are the one that closes all the windows clearly marked “keep window open” on the bus?
@Paul Cunningham: I don’t have to. They’re all usually closed when I get on because it’s the middle of winter.
@Robert Clifford: ventilation to mitigate the risk of infection with an airborne virus is a myth? Cool story bro.
Will be delighted to assist any school or business that requires Air Purifiers, we are rolling them out nationwide pro-tect.ie
@Declan Fitzsimons: heard reports that Hepa Filters are impossible to source, so this is good to hear.
@Tina Kelly: No problem Tina, we have an established supply chain to ensure we can supply the current and increasing demand from schools, offices, leisure clubs etc
@Tina Kelly: HEPA filters are readily available, problem is most are of sub standard quality and not fit for purpose, sold by companies jumping on the band wagon not knowing the first thing about air quality
@Declan Fitzsimons: What would be the average cost of supplying a system to a classroom or equivalent sized office space, lets say 100 sq meters. How long does the filter last and how much does a replacement filter cost?
@Eddie O’Neill: Hi Eddie, there are a number of other factors such as ceiling height, air changes per hour, occupancy, operating hours etc. Would be delighted to assist if you contact us on pro-tect.ie
@Declan Fitzsimons: Ceiling height is 8 feet, occupancy is 27, operating hours is 9am to 4pm. Air change per hour would be dependent on the specification of the device changing the air. What air change per hour specs do your devices offer?
@Eddie O’Neill: Eddie, thanks for info, can get back to you via pro-tect.ie if you can drop me a note please
@Tina Kelly: n
I’d rather have a HEPA purifier at the front of the class than not have one.
They give some bit of protection I’m sure!
I think having a proper good medical grade mask / viser on is every bit as important as having a HEPA Air Purifier running!
Paul Murphy would sicken ya. Worse than Leo for flip flopping
@Shaun Gallagher: So he is completely wrong then?
Is there any evidence out there that HEPA filters actually work , or is this one of those Facebook stories that has gotten out of control… I don’t have kids and right now i do not envy parents one bit… But surely sending your kids to school is such cold conditions is not good one bit…
@Dave: there is a lot of evidence to show that they work. NPHET’s own expert subgroup on ventilation recommended they be used. For some reason, the government decided not to take their advice.
HEPA filters are on planes how come there is outbreaks in airplanes?
@JohnDoe: Opening windows not a good idea is probably why they have them on the planes
@JohnDoe: Not all the air on a passenger aircraft passes thru HEPA filters. Most of it is generated by the engines and tapped from the pneumatic system, cooled by the aircon packs and is then combined with the recirculated air which is drawn thru the HEPA filter and used to pressurize the aircraft and provide breathable air for the passengers by the distribution system. Most of this air is exhausted throughout the flight through a valve at the back of the aircraft, except for what is drawn back in to the recirculation system. However, the air breathed out at the front may be breathed in by someone else before it gets to that valve at the back. You should see whats on the upstream side of an a/c HEPA filter after recirculating the cabin air of a different few hundred people every few hours
@Joe_X: great point. Surprised nobody referenced this along the way
My daughter got so cold in the classroom yesterday she got pins n needles in her feet.
Close the schools and add the days on in the summer to complete curriculum.
Simples
Been in every classroom in some countries for two years now.
Simples. Close the windows, crank up the heating and tell the teachers to grow a pair.
@Amaree Gaux: so it’s just the teacher needing the window open you think?
@Jacqueline berry: my reply is below…
Nobody needs the window open. The children certainly don’t. They need to focus on their school work in comfort. The teachers need to cop on. You’d swear they wanted to make the children sick.
@Amaree Gaux: so your advice is to completely ignore public health advice and in fact do the exact opposite?! Brilliant!
@Joe Kennedy: for the sake of the children, yes.
@Amaree Gaux: except some of the children are worried about picking it up too and want windows open from what I hear, which is fair enough. Hard to please everyone. Nobody’s fault and nobody to blame….just the way it is.
@Joe Kennedy: they are worried because adults have been shamefully projecting their own fears and irrational neuroticism onto our nations children for nearly two years now. Our children’s education and sense of resilience are far more important than yours or any other adult sense of “safety”. Your very laid back attitude towards education tells me where your priorities are at.
@Amaree Gaux: total nonsense from start to finish I’m afraid!! If only you knew what you were talking about!
@Joe Kennedy: what? You think the education of and sense of resilience in our children is not as important as your sense of “safety”? You don’t think children have been scared sh!tless by neurotic adults? The cognitive dissonance is strong in you. Well done.
The use of combined uv light plus hepa filters, activated charcoal and TiO photo catalyst as supplied by Shiva ventilation will provide continuous clean air devoid of viruses.
Prof Matthew A Harmey
The use of combined uv plus hepa filters, activated charcoal and TiO photo catalyst as supplied by Shiva ventilation will provide continuing clean air devoid of viruses.
Prof Matthew A Harmey
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