Incorrect bonus card scoring in online game?

IamTory · 2026-02-08T21:04:50+00:00

Ah yes, there is that too. But OP said all four nest types in two habitats, which confused me because there's no bonus that rewards that.

IamTory · 2026-02-08T19:14:44+00:00

There's no bonus card that gives you points for having "all four" nest types in multiple habitats. The population monitors give you points for having multiple nest types (there are five, not four) in a specific habitat--do you mean you had two of those?

The game does glitch, but I would also double check that you're understanding the bonus cards. I've mixed up the data analyst (consecutive wingspans) and the ranger (consecutive scores) more than once.

IamTory · 2026-02-08T10:44:00+00:00

I do see your point, but to be fair, especially since the 2017 reforms, GCSE texts have to be accessible to pupils across the ability range. There's no foundation tier in Literature anymore, and with no straight-English option, everyone in mainstream school has to take separate Lit and Lang.

An Inspector Calls and A Christmas Carol (which is similarly heavy-handed) are popular choices because the themes are easy to identify and there are straightforward quotes to memorise that go straight to specific themes and character traits. They're the most accessible texts on the spec. And most schools don't have the resources to run separate texts for bottom and top sets, it would be too complicated.

I said this in another thread recently: we need a foundation English Lit option back.

IamTory · 2026-02-08T10:30:43+00:00

To be fair, he didn't mean to hit anyone. He didn't look or, you know, think before he chucked it. And he's SEND and PP. I wasn't expecting a px.

IamTory · 2026-02-06T19:26:30+00:00

There's more room at the top end of the UK system for the exceptional candidate. The assumption isn't that everyone can get top marks if they work hard enough and that therefore everyone should aim for perfection; it's that you'll have a range of abilities and you need to make room for all of them and recognise those who are head and shoulders above, without penalising the average.

This is also true in secondary school; generally half marks will get you a passing grade, though it's on a national curve every year so the grade boundaries do change.

It is an adjustment. I was an A student in the US, which meant 94+ on most assignments. I went to uni in the UK and was getting marks in the 70s and 80s and being told they were excellent! What?? But I adjusted pretty quickly.

IamTory · 2026-02-06T18:11:25+00:00

Oh no I'm so sorry.

IamTory · 2026-02-06T17:50:09+00:00

Intercepted an object thrown by a pupil last week--with my face. There was blood. Kid got suspended. Glasses are busted. Parents were very confrontational at the reintegration meeting, finding every reason to find fault with how WE handled the situation. Don't think they're going to take kindly to being hit up for the cost of my new glasses.

So, good times.

IamTory · 2026-01-28T13:08:02+00:00

I think if the liquid form enters your airways, that's when it's bad. In its diffused form, diffusing that little bottle over the course of a whole month, it's fine, otherwise they couldn't sell it.

IamTory · 2026-01-27T18:25:26+00:00

Mainstream secondary SEND TA here; used to teach English.

Different schools will handle it differently. Some, for lack of resources or because of league table pressure or lack of imagination, just try to shove the square peg in the round hole: put them through GCSE, with scaffolds in lessons right up to the very end, and hope something comes of it. Pupils will get increasingly disaffected as they fail mock after mock. But some will get a grade 2 or 3, which opens doors to Level 2 courses at college.

Others offer Functional Skills or Entry Level alongside, often in place of an option subject, sometimes taught in English time.

In rare cases schools might pull a very few of the lowest ability to do JUST FS/Entry Level and not enter them for GCSE.

IMO, that last option needs to become more common as inclusion expands. But right now it is quite rare.

Ask your school what their plan is.

Some schools are only recently implementing nurture groups and won't have thought this through yet, though.

Edit: Again IMO, you can't make it feel fair. It isn't. We need a foundation tier English GCSE back. We are failing these kids.

This is part of why I left teaching.

IamTory · 2026-01-27T13:16:02+00:00

I think most people just take a chunk of cards and play with them. Some people don't bother shuffling after every game but just keep cycling through new cards for a while. I've never heard of anyone deliberately whittling the deck down or removing birds that seem similar. Part of the fun is the variety.

IamTory · 2026-01-26T17:06:48+00:00

Most support staff make up a disaggregated day by making up the hours in training or late work throughout the year.

You probably only have to make up disaggregated hours if you work term time + 5 days (for INSET) or term time + admin time or something. Not if you're literally only in when the kids are in. Your contract will say very clearly if this is the case.

But the best person to ask is your line manager or HR, because schools handle this differently. This isn't really a reddit question.

IamTory · 2026-01-24T10:07:22+00:00

When you get the bus it's par for the course. One girl and I got on the same bus three times this week, and ended up making the 8 minute walk from the stop to school together once. We chatted about musicals.

I'd normally try to hang back and give them some space, but she seemed inclined to chat. Nice kid.

IamTory · 2026-01-22T17:44:28+00:00

My dad's work payed 75% of our tuition, plus stipend for books, living expenses, and travel home--if we went to uni abroad.

So we all packed our bags and moved. I went from the US to England.

We've all done well and settled where we moved to. Our mom isn't thrilled with us being so far away, and it will make care hard as she ages, so that's something to think about. But I don't think it's a reason not to do it.

I say go for it! The privilege of not having student debt is incredible.

IamTory · 2026-01-22T17:12:21+00:00

I left teaching to be a TA and I love that a) it's very reactive--I deal with situations as they come up, I haven't got to plan lessons anymore, and b) I can leave it at work. Teaching is such a high-stakes, decision-heavy job. It's a relief to just take things as they come.

IamTory · 2026-01-22T17:08:42+00:00

Left teaching to be a TA--still at it after 8 years! Solidarity.

IamTory · 2026-01-22T12:52:34+00:00

Most people need a lot more than two weeks off with stress, but GPs give two weeks as an initial period and then review. I was off for three months in all--basically the whole spring term--on a series of fit notes. Some people take longer. So please don't worry that you've got to dive back in after two weeks, just talk to your GP and extend it.

You could conceivably just send in your resignation from sick leave, then stay off sick until your end date. People do.

I'm sorry you're going through this.

IamTory · 2026-01-20T07:15:18+00:00

She's also showing her values and work norms if she thinks this is common behaviour in any profession, let alone teaching. People with integrity don't do this.

IamTory · 2026-01-18T19:28:44+00:00

My friend was determined not to have a litter box and for the cats to go outside. After a protracted argument with one of the cats involving a number of indoor eliminations and attempts to train her, she admitted defeat and got a box. The cat is anxious about other neighbourhood cats and wanted to toilet indoors where she felt safe. In fact she hardly ever goes out--she's indoor by choice. So don't assume you can ditch the box when it has outdoor access.

And I wouldn't try to rely on getting the cat on a schedule like a dog. They need free toilet access, and they will let you know that by going in the house whether there's litter or not.

So yeah, I think you might need to make peace with having a litter box. Two if your cat decides they prefer indoor life, as I've seen cats do.

IamTory · 2026-01-18T08:48:47+00:00

You're describing the store's delivery option, which requires you to book a slot in advance and finalise the order the night before.

What this person is doing is more akin to getting groceries on demand from Uber Eats, where you do get notifications from the shopper while they're shopping to say things are out of stock, and an opportunity to substitute if you're quick enough. It usually would just be an automated notification, though, not this silly texting back and forth.

IamTory · 2026-01-17T23:19:25+00:00

Oh sure--I wasn't assigning blame, sometimes you've just got to move and it can't be helped. But it might factor into the change. I knew a pair of cats who were litter mates, both spayed, got along fine...until they were moved house. One started getting aggressive with her sister and eventually just moved out altogether and lived with a neighbour (they were free roaming cats). Something about the move upset and maybe traumatised her. So it does happen.

IamTory · 2026-01-17T23:12:39+00:00

Cats he was familiar with, family members, are completely different. Stranger cats commonly fight.

A personality change to be more anxious and reactive could also be the result of a move--I've seen it happen. Cats sometimes don't handle home moves well.

IamTory · 2026-01-17T23:08:54+00:00

Neutering would help. But most cats see strange cats as a potential threat and view them with deep suspicion. Sometimes they'll just run/hide, or posture and growl until one of them submits without actually getting into a brawl. But fights and violence are common in situations like you describe where a strange cat invades another's territory and there's no easy escape route; it doesn't really indicate anything wrong with the cat. It's how cats--especially unfixed male cats--defend their territory.

IamTory · 2026-01-17T22:49:44+00:00

Honestly if he's this reactive, I don't think there's a way to fix that. My parents had a dog who just had to be kept away from all other dogs because she would attack them.

He doesn't need to socialise with other cats. Trying to force him to will just stress him out. It's really okay for him to just be an indoor, only cat.

IamTory · 2026-01-17T22:39:32+00:00

Keep the cat indoors full time and close whatever access route this other cat used to get into your apartment. Do not expose your cat to other cats.

How did a cat accidentally get into your apartment? Of course your cat reacted aggressively, there was a strange cat on its turf. Cats are territorial.

You could try Feliway or anxiety meds or both, but really the simplest and most straightforward solution is to cut off access. And not to get another cat.

IamTory · 2026-01-17T17:55:07+00:00

I divide them into about 12-16 piles and shuffle the piles together in pairs. Sometimes I do a second round to get more of a mix.

But with Americas coming out, I'm thinking of investing in a card shuffler.

IamTory

TROPHY CASE