(10th Story) August

August first.

July had zipped by in a whirl of lunch dates, patios, shopping, and cottages. Sherry had promised herself that she would start on school work in August. It was August. 

She packed her laptop, curriculum documents, resource books and notepads along with her bathing suit, and sunscreen for her visit to her parents cottage.  She had tried to beg off, but her cousins would be there this weekend and her mother had said it would be rude if she didn't show.

"I'll have to work." Sherry said. "It's two new programs this year."

"They'll understand," her mother replied.

Sherry arrived just before dinner. Sherry greeted her cousins and the new girlfriend.  

"Where's Ian?" her cousin, Matthew, asked.

"He stayed in the city.  He has tickets for a game on Saturday."

"Everything okay with you two?" her cousin Marcia kissed her on both cheeks.   "Will we be getting a wedding invitation soon?"

"Maybe," Sherry smiled. "But not from me."

She shook hands with Rita, Matthew's new girlfriend.

They had dinner outside. Grilled, burgers, and portobello mushrooms with coleslaw and potato salad. The cousins reminisced. Sherry felt bad for Rita who was left out of the conversation. 

"This must be boring for you," Sherry said.

"Oh no," Rita shook her head. "I find it fascinating. Your family is so different from mine. I grew up in a very small town. We had very few choices for entertainment.  We had to make our own games. Sometime we'd get into trouble for them. Like the time my brother decided to have a scavenger hunt.  He hid us little ones around the house. He set my cousins to find us, but they got bored and I was in the blanket chest for four hours before my grandmother found me.  My brother got in big trouble for that one! Our town is so small...."

"How small is it?" Sherry asked. 

Rita raised her eyebrows and frowned.

"Sorry.  Please continue," Sherry said.

"We didn't even have our own high school. We had to be bused to the next town over.  And the teachers all thought we were stupid because we were hicks, you know?"

"How long have you known Matt?" Sherry interrupted.

"I met Matthew on line a year ago.  We've been together for eight months now. Did I hear  you say your boyfriend stayed in the city to go to a ball game?"

Sherry nodded. 

"You poor thing! You must be so upset. I don't know what I'd do if Matthew did that to me."

"I'm not upset," Sherry said.

"Well, you're being very brave. I'm sure you two will work it out. My last boyfriend used to do things like that, but I set him straight. You just got to make the rules clear.."

"I think I should help my mother clean up. Nice talking to you." Sherry got up and walked away.

The next morning, Sherry woke up early and after a quick shower, she poured herself a coffee, and went out to the deck with her books and her notepad and her computer. 

She decided to start by reviewing some reading resources. She had co-created her long range plans with the grade four and the grade five teacher, but she to figure out how to approach those expectations.

She had been reading for fifteen minutes, when she felt someone looking over her shoulder. Sherry turned around."Oh good morning Rita. Did you sleep well?"

“Yes, thanks I always  sleep well with Matthew. It nice having someone to cuddle and a heart beat to listen to."

Sherry smiled, nodded and turned back to her books.

"What are you reading?"

"Books on teaching reading. I'm teaching two new grades this year. I have to get ready." Sherry smiled and turned back to her books.

"I thought I'd like to be a teacher."

Sherry suppressed a sigh. "What do you do now?"

"I'm in the food industry.  But what do you need to be a teacher?"

"A BA and a B. Ed."

"Really?" 

Sherry nodded.

"Even to teach grade one or kindergarten?"

Sherry nodded.

"But grade one would be easy, right? I mean we already know how to read, and count. How hard can it be? Anyone could teach that."

"Grade one is actually one of the most difficult grades. Teaching reading is not easy." Sherry turned back to her books.

"Really? Im surprised. I wouldn't have thought so."

Sherry nodded, smiled and turned back to her books.

" I had a few good teachers," Rita said. "There are some good ones, you know?"

Sherry looked up, smiled, nodded and turned back to her books.

" I guess you want to get some work done?"

Sherry looked up, smiled, nodded and turned back to her books.

"I like to read biographies myself. I don't see any reason to waste time on fiction when there are so  many good real life stories out there to read. What do you read?"

"Fiction. I don't see any reason to waste time with reality when there's so much good fiction out there."

Rita was quiet for a minute. "I'll write some titles down for you anyhow. My brother was in a really bad place emotionally and I loaned him one of my books and he pulled himself together. And my best friend..."

Sherry suppressed a sigh and glanced longingly at her books as Rita told her all the people she had helped and how grateful people were and how surprised they were that she knew so much.

Sherry smiled, nodded and hoped Matt would get up soon and rescue her from his girlfriend so that she could get back to work.  It was August.

(9th story) Summer

“So, Julie says you’re a teacher.”

“Yes,” Sherry nodded. “You’re her cousin Miles, right?”

“That’s me,” the man gave her a lopsided grin.  “So you have the whole summer off.  Must be nice.”

“It is, especially after spending the last month working on report cards and IEPs on evenings and weekends.”

“Sounds rough,” he laughed.  “What? You work 9:00 to 3:30?”

“No,” Sherry began. Julie appeared at her side.

“Come with me,” Julie grabbed Sherry’s elbow. Sherry followed Julie through the clumps of Julie’s friends and relatives.

“Is something wrong?” She asked.

My sisters,” Julie groaned.  “I need a break, and if Miles was true to form so did you. Lets step outside for a minute.”

Sherry followed Julie through the sliding glass doors onto the back deck. 

“If people think teaching is so easy, why don’t they do it?” Sherry plopped down on a plastic lawn chair.

Julie shrugged.  “It’s my engagement party, so why do my sisters pick tonight to argue with my mom.”

“Because it’s your engagement party.” Sherry leaned her head back and stared up at the sky. “You know they like to be the centre of attention.”

“And you know people always envy what others have.”

“You were right, we both needed a break.”

“Do you think Ian will propose?” Julie leaned forward.

“No, I don’t,” Sherry sat up and looked at her friend.  “Part of me wishes he would.  It would be nice to be asked, but most of me hopes he doesn’t ‘cause I think I’d be miserable married to him.”

“You’re not going to break off with him are you?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe.” Sherry shrugged.

“I don’t suppose it would be fair to ask you to wait until after my wedding? Since you’re the being maid of honour and he is Dave’s best man?”

“You’re not getting married until next spring!”

“So you are thinking about breaking it off?”

“Sometimes,” Sherry leaned forward. “Sometimes he’s fun and sweet, sometimes he is such an utter jerk that I don’t know why I see him at all.”

“No one is perfect. It has been nice, you know like the four of us, but... is there someone else? That teacher at your school?”

“Rick? No, he has a girlfriend.”

“But would you be interested?”

Sherry giggled.  “In the mean time, I am still seeing Ian, and I should get you back into your engagement party.”  Sherry got up and offered julie her hand. Julie took it, pulled herself up and with linked arms they reentered the party.

Dave and Ian greeted them at the kitchen door.  “There you are!” Dave grabbed Julie’s hand and pulled her away from Sherry.  “Your father is going to make a toast.”

Ian pulled Sherry hand through his arm and gave her hand a squeeze, “You look lovely,” he whispered as they followed Julie and Dave into the living room.

Julie’s mother, Mrs. Fine, handed them each a glass of champagne.

Mr. Fine stood with his glass raised, “When children find true love, parents find true joy. Here's to your joy and ours from this day forward. Cheers.”

Sherry raised her glass, joined in the chorus of cheers and sipped the champagne. 

Julie’s aunt Marie appeared at her side. “So, you finished your second year, congratulations Sherry.

       "Thank you, Marie.” 

       “To two months off,” Marie raised her glass.

Sherry smiled and raised her glass.  Marie was a principal at a secondary school.

“Yeah,” Ian raised his glass “To two months free of stories about kids and complaints about admin.”

Sherry pulled her arm free of Ian’s grasp.

“What?” Ian asked.

Sherry shook her head and followed Marie to the other side of the room.

Miles reappeared with a young woman that Sherry didn’t recognize.

“Sherry this is my cousin Nadia.  Nadia this is Sherry, Julie’s friend. She’s a teacher.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sherry extended her hand.  

The young woman took it.  “Wow, so you’re off for the summer. That must be nice.”

“So I’ve heard,”  Sherry agreed. “It is nice.”

“What grade do you teach?”

“I’ve been teaching grade two, but next year I’ll have a grade four and five split.”

“I had a terrible grade five teacher. She told my mom I should learn a trade and that I wasn’t university material.  I’m in my second year at Lakehead. Sometimes I think I should find her and tell her, but I think she died.”

Sherry downed the last of her champagne. ”What are you studying?”

“Business admin. Teaching sounds good though. All those holidays and the short days.”

“You could get your B.ed.”

“I don’t like kids.” Nadia shuddered. “All that nose picking and germs!  But if I did like kids, it would be great.  It must be nice. You’re lucky.”

“If you think it would be great, you could always teach high school.”

“Teenagers are so rude these days, but I’d love to have your hours and holidays,” Nadia insisted.

“Well, the holidays go with the kids and teenagers, you can’t teach without students. Its been nice talking to you.  Enjoy your career choice with its shorter holidays, but clean office spaces, up to date computers, and quiet, child and teenager free days,”

Sherry walked away to get another glass of champagne.

(8th story) Moving

“Do you need any help?” Kay asked.

“No, I’m good. Thanks.” Sherry piled some binders into a green and white carton. “Did you know Bev doesn’t want the kids or parents to know that I am changing grades and classrooms.”

“I didn’t know that, but I’m not surprised.” Kay passed another pile of binders to Sherry.

“All this stuff and I’ve only been teaching for two years!”

Kay nodded. “Every year I tell myself I will not spend my own money on my classroom and every year I do.”

“I know! Has it always been like this?  I don’t know how I’d manage if I just relied on the school board for books and supplies.”

“I have heard that people do it.  But I’ve never met anyone who did.” Kay passed a black permanent marker to Sherry. “Are you moving into Bill’s old room.”

“I think so,” Sherry wrote ‘S. Smythe - binders’ on the box. “Bev won’t confirm it.”

“Where else would you go if not into Bill’s room?”

“She’s rumbling about a complete reorganization.”

Kay rolled her eyes.  “It won’t happen at this point. The caretakers don’t like it if we’re here in July. It messes with their cleaning schedule.  Watch. You’ll be in Bill’s room.  She’s just being Bev.”

Sherry reached back and redid her pony tail. “I heard your last principal was great.”

“Yes, I was lucky.  I started teaching with her.  My experience as a first year teacher was much more supportive than yours has been.  But you’ve done great, despite Bev.”

“Laura has been wonderful.”

“I don’t know how she puts up with Bev.  The rest of us can try to avoid her, but Laura works with her.”

“Hey!”

Sherry and Kay turned to look at the door.  “Hi Mary Beth,” Kay said.

“Hi,” Sherry said.

“So are you almost moved out?” Mary Beth asked.

“I’m still teaching for another week.”

“Yeah but your stuff?”

“No, I don’t know where to move it to and Bev doesn’t want the kids or parents to know, so I’m telling them I’m just packing up for the summer.”

“Well, My mother-in law is watching the kids on the PA day, so I’d like to get a lot done in here on that day.  So, just be out by then.”Mary Beth smiled, waved and walked out.

Kay and Sherry stared at each other.

“Oh,” Mary Beth stuck her head back through the doorway. “Leave the furniture.”

“Are we glad she’s coming back from leave?” Sherry whispered.

Mary Beth stuck her head back through the doorway. “You know you can’t take items that belong to the school, right?”

“I’m not changing schools Mary Beth.  I’m changing grades and classrooms.”

“You don’t need to be snooty about it.  God!”

Kay shook her head. “Wait for it,” she whispered.

Mary Beth stuck her head back through the doorway. “You’re going to leave that alphabet aren’t you?”

“No,” Sherry said.  “Not unless you want to pay me for it.  I bought it.  I probably still have the receipt if you need proof.”

“You’re not going to use that in grade five!”

“No, but I could save it or give it to a friend.” Sherry crossed her arms.

“Just be out by the PA day or I’ll complain to Bev.” Mary Beth walked out of the classroom.

“Mary Beth!” Kay called.

“What?” Mary Beth stuck her head back through the doorway. 

“Teaching profession  Act. 18 1B.  If you make a negative comment about another teacher you have to let them know, in writing, within 72 hours.”

“Ill be sure to do that.” Mary Beth walked out of the classroom.

“Me too!” Sherry called after her. She lifted a second box onto the counter. “Kay, I’ll do one more box for today, then want to go out for a coffee or a drink?”

“Yes to the drink.” Kay reached for the pile of books on the round table. “Are you packing these now?”

(7th story) Criteria for Success

“It’s a quarter to six. I’ve got to go,” Colette rubbed her lower back.

“We’re done, right?” Nadia asked.

“We have learning goals, success criteria for reading, writing, music, art, science and gym. I think we’re done.” Rick stretched his arms overhead.

“Don’t forget your level four samples,” Sherry pointed to a table in the far corner of Colette’s classroom.

“Yay team,” Nadia sighed.

“Ill see you tomorrow.” Collette emptied the dregs of her tea into the sink and ran the water to wash them down.

“She may not even show up,” Nadia capped a red marker. “Superintendent’s get busy.”

“We’ll be ready whenever she does show up.” Sherry gathered her charts.

“Until we change units anyhow.” Rick picked up his charts.

“But we’ve done it once, so it will be easier next time,” Collette zipped up her coat. “I’ll see you tomorrow guys.”

“Have a good night,” Sherry stepped aside to let Collette pass.

“You too,” Collette swung her purse over her shoulder and walked out of the room.

“I’m heading out,” Rick picked up his coffee mug. ”I’ll come back for the rest.” He pointed his chin to the back of Colette’s grade two classroom.

Sherry followed him out the door. “Me too,” she said.

“We still have to put these things up!” Nadia called after them.

“We can do that tomorrow, after we’ve reviewed them with the kids.” Sherry called back. 

“The super isn’t coming until Wednesday,” Rick added.

“Right,” Nadia sighed. “Good.”

****************

“Just like you write good copies of your stories, this is a good copy of the chart we made yesterday.” Sherry explained to her grade two class on Tuesday morning. “Who remembers what this chart is for?” Sherry set her pointer on the ledge of the chalkboard. “Yes, Cally?”

“It reminds us what we need to do to read well.” Cally said.

“Good answer,” Sherry removed the post-it notes she had used to cover the title of the chart. “Does anybody want to add to Cally’s answer? 

“It’s so we don’t need you all the time.” Jonathan called.

“Please remember to raise your hand,” Sherry said.

Jonathan raised his hand.

“Yes, Jonathan?”

“Won’t you get bored if we go to the chart for help instead of you?”

“Thank you for your concern Jonathan, but no, I’m not really worried about that.”

*******************

Sherry surveyed her work.  The charts were straight.  It was too bad that some had to be so high up, but there was no where else to put them, and Bev Grey insisted that they all had to be posted for the Superintendent’s visit.  Collette had suggested placing them on a flip chart and then flipping to the one you want the kids to refer to. Bev Grey had said they could do that after the Super’s visit, but she wanted them all posted for the visit.  Complete waste of time.  None of the kids would look up there. It would be visual background noise. 

The bell rang and Sherry went to to the door to greet her students.

“Khadija is back!” Cally announced.  

“I see.” Sherry smiled.  “Hello Khadija.  Its nice to have you back. How was your trip?”

“Good.” 

“Khadija’s back!”  Kyle yelled.  “How long were you gone?”

“Three months.”  Khadija said.

“We still have your desk,” Kyle told her.

“Is the principal’s principal coming today?” Zack asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Khullar, the superintendent, is coming to visit today.”

“And we answer her questions even though she’s a stranger?”

“She’ll be with Mrs. Grey and Mrs Grey is not a stranger.”

The PA crackled.

“Announcements!” Noah announced.

“Thank you, Noah.” Sherry signaled for he children to rise.

***************

It was during the literacy block that Mrs. Grey and Mrs. Khullar came into the room.  Sherry was working with a guided reading group. Another group was reading along silently at the listening centre, and a second group was making a word wall word chain on strips of coloured paper, and another group was writing a list poem on chart paper The last group was placing coloured dots in a text beside text features and recording how the features help readers on chart paper.

Sherry looked up from the clipboard she was using for anecdotal notes.

“Good morning grade twos! Please keep working.” Mrs Grey announced.  “This is Mrs. Khullar.  We just want to see what you are doing.”

Sherry went back to listening to Zack read.

She glanced up to see Bev Grey walk straight to Khadija.  She knows Khadija just got back today, Sherry thought. She must be welcoming her.  She isn’t going to question her.  That wouldn’t make any sense.

“Good morning, Khadija,” Bev Gray said.  “Can you tell me what you are working on.”

“I’m writing a poem with Cally. Noah and Mohammed are writing one too.” Khadija said.

“And what do you expect to learn from this activity?”

“To write a poem.”

“What level do you think your work is at?”

Khadija shrugged.

Cally pointed to the wall.  “The...” she began to say.

“I’m speaking to Khadija.  Cally do not interrupt. Why are you doing this, Khadija?”

“Ms. Smythe said I should.  We’ll go to that centre next.” Khadija pointed to the round table.

  Bev Grey looked at her watch. “Thank you Khadija, Thank you grade twos. Thank you Ms. Smythe.  We’ll talk later.”

Breathe Sherry told herself.  Breathe.

**************

  In the staffroom at lunch time Bev Grey thanked  the teachers for their hard work and said that on the whole, the superintendent had been impressed. “Sherry, please come see me when you have finished your lunch.” she said as she left.

“What happened?” Collette asked.

“She went straight to Khadija who just got back after a three month absence. She’d know that right?”

“Oh, she’d definately know that,” Collette said.

“This is revenge for the Mrs. Blue incident last spring,” Nadia said.

“All that work,” Sherry shook her head. “And she goes for the one student who would not know what is going on.”

“You did review the criteria before the lesson, right?” Nadia asked.

“Yes, but Khadija is completely overwhelmed.  Success criteria takes practice for a seven year old to say, let alone understand. And she just got back.”

“Don’t worry. The walk through is supposed to be non-evaluative.” Kay said.

‘But all that work!” Sherry exclaimed.

“Here have some chocolate,” Nadia passed her a mini Aero bar.

****************

Sherry packed up her lunch containers and  left the staffroom.

Bev Gay’s door was ajar.

Sherry knocked.

“Come in, Sherry. Have a seat.”

Sherry sat on the coach diagonally across from the desk.

“Your classroom looks great.  You obviously put in a lot of work into the anchor charts.” Bev Grey crossed her legs and folded her hands over her knee.

“Thank you.”

“Obviously Priya and I were disappointed in the student responses.  Your  students should know what they are doing, why they are doing it and how they can be successful.”

“You know Khadija returned only today...”

“I’m sure you don’t accept excuses from your students and I don’t accept them from my staff. The walk throughs are to help me guide you into becoming a more effective practitioner. Please take this constructive criticism to heart and make sure that your students are more aware next time.” Bev Grey smiled.

Sherry straightened her back and lowered her shoulders.  She held Bev’s gaze. 

“Now, this is not evaluative, I’m sure Kay explained that to you.”

“Yes,” Sherry breathed slowly.

“Actually, the real reason I wanted to see you is to give you your class assignment for next year.” 

Sherry exhaled. 

Bev Grey recrossed her legs. “You know Mary Beth is returning from parental leave?”

Sherry inhaled. 

Bev Grey adjusted her glasses. “So this will be a perfect opportunity for you to extend your teaching experiences.  I am giving you the four/five split.”

Sherry exhaled. “I listed the primary grades on my preferences page.”

“I considered your preferences, your accreditation, which is primary/junior, and your limited experiences. Ultimately, I must consider what is best for the children.  Mary Beth is an excellent primary teacher who will help our grade twos get ready for grade three and the EQAO. The decision is mine to make as your principal.  However, it is within your rights to go to your union and file a grievance if you wish.  Thank you. You may go.” Bev Grey spun her chair back to her desk.

Sherry rose.  “Thank you Bev. I understand your role as my supervisor so much more clearly now.” She left the office.

(6th story) Tell Me What Happened

The first bell rang.  Clumps of students surged through the halls.  Their excited voices filled the building.

A good beginning makes a good ending, Lora Thornton, vice principal of Westwood Elementary School, thought as she half closed her office door. 

  “Do not climb the walls inside the school!” a teacher yelled.

Mrs. Thornton wished she could close the office door the whole way, but the school board, principal’s association and teachers’ union all agreed. The door must be kept open.  

“Okay, Kyle,” she said. “Mrs. Lang told me what she saw.  Let’s hear your side of the story.”   

“Zack wouldn’t let me play,” the boy said.  He sat on one of the adult sized stacking chairs that stood in a row against the wall. His feet didn’t reach the floor. 

         “Did you ask Zack if you could play?” Mrs. Thornton walked to the office chair by her desk, sat down and turned to face the seven year old boy.

“Yes.  I even said please.  And when he said no, I reminded him that Ms. Smythe says we are supposed to include, not exclude classmates.  Exclusion is a type of bullying.” The boy nodded his head.

Mrs. Thornton looked down at her lap, then coughed slightly behind her hand. “At what point in that conversation did you roof his ball?”

“I was just trying to show how good I throw so they would let me play,” His hands curled around the edge of the chair’s black plastic arm rests. 

“The basketball nets are not near the roof, Kyle.  Don’t you think it would have been more impressive if you had thrown the ball into the net?” The vice principal sat back and placed her hands in her lap.

“I see that now.” Kyle said.  His blue eyes were wide and earnest.

The vice-principal coughed again.

The boy slid forward on his chair.  “Zack said his mom said he couldn’t play with me because I’m a cheater and a bully!  Ms. Smythe says those are putdowns!”

The vice principal raised her eyebrows. “You have roofed Zack’s ball before.”

“I throw good.”

“Aim is part of throwing well, Kyle. Were you aiming for the roof?”

“I guess I need to work on that part.”  The boy slid back and swung his feet.  “Is Zack going to get in trouble for excluding me and using put downs?”

“I’ll talk to Zack.” Mrs. Thornton rose from her chair. “You are in trouble for roofing his ball.  You’ll miss first recess and write a letter of apology to Zack and to Mr. White since he will have to go on the roof to get the ball.” 

“But what about Zack? He’s a bully!  He used put downs and he wouldn’t let me play and he wouldn’t let Sam and Marc let me play either.”

“I will talk to the other boys, but roofing the ball was not the right decision. What should you have done when Zack said you couldn’t play?”

The vice principal was standing now.  Kyle looked up at her face.  He scowled.  “I should have gone to get a yard duty teacher or asked to join someone else’s game.”  He swung his feet faster.  “None of this would have happened if my mom hadn’t taken my basketball away.  This is her fault.” 

Mrs. Thornton sighed as she reached into a black mesh cup on her desk.  She chose a thick, blue primary pencil and picked up a sheet of ruled paper from the pile on the filing cabinet.  “The first step in learning from your mistakes is admitting to them.  You chose to roof the ball, Kyle.  Your mother did not make that choice for you.  Go sit down and start writing those letters of apology.”

***********************

“My mom is going to be so mad. That was a new ball!”  Zackery sat on the edge of the black plastic stacking chair so that his feet were firmly on the floor.  

“Mr. White will get your ball down from the roof.  I’ve already told you that, Zackery. Can you sit properly, please?” Mrs Thornton sat back in her office chair. 

The boy shrugged, then slid forward. Mrs. Thonton pressed her lips together. It seemed they had different ideas of what sitting properly meant. “What did you say to Kyle?” she asked.

“I said he couldn’t play because we had already started the game, but maybe he could play next time if he promised not to cheat or roof my ball.” 

“Did you call him a cheater and a bully?”

. “No!” Zackery exclaimed. “I reminded him that he was a cheater last time.” The back legs of his chair lifted a millimetre off the floor.

Mrs. Thornton rose and strode towards the boy, whose brown eyes grew wider as she approached. “Sit back Zackery. You’re going to fall.” She set her hand on the back of his chair.   “You should not have called him a cheater. You’re going to have to apologize to Kyle.”

The boy wiggled back. “He called us sissies and he roofed the ball!”

“How did he get the ball?” Mrs. Thornton returned to her chair.

Zackery slid forward on his seat. “He caught it when Sam was throwing it to me. When will I get my ball back?” 

The chair tipped forward and Zackery fell to the floor.

****************

“Okay Sam.  Tell me what happened outside this morning.” Mrs. Thornton said.

Sam sat back on the chair and swung his legs back and forth.  “Me and Zack and Marc were playing basketball.  Kyle asked if he could play.  I threw the ball to him.  He’s a good basketball player. Then Zack said it was his ball and Kyle couldn’t play because he cheats.  He does cheat sometimes.  He needs to work on his good sportsmanship. Ms. Smythe says that’s important. Then Kyle said he wouldn’t cheat.  Then Zack said his mom said he wasn’t supposed to play with Kyle ‘cause Kyle was a cheater and a bully.  Then Kyle said that was silly and he threw the ball really hard and it landed on the roof.  Then Mrs. Lang came over.and she told Kyle to go to the office and then I don’t know what happened because I was still outside, but we couldn’t play basketball no more ‘cause we didn’t have no ball.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Mrs Thornton rubbed her forehead. “You may go back to class.”

********************

“Okay Marc.  Tell me what happened outside this morning.” Mrs. Thornton sat back in her chair.

Marc sat on his hands and rocked back and forth. “I didn’t even see Amanda. It was an accident.  I didn’t fall on her on purpose.”

The vice principal sighed.  She spun her chair and scrawled a note on a pad of yellow paper.

“I didn’t fall hard,” Marc said.

Mrs. Thornton turned her chair back around. “Okay, Marc.  I’ll check with Amanda to make sure she’s okay. Be more careful.”

Marc nodded.

“What happened between Kyle and Zackery this morning?” Mrs. Thornton crossed her ankles.

“Kyle took Zack’s ball from Sam and roofed it.” Marc threw a pretend ball into the air.

“Was there any name calling?” Mrs. Thornton asked.

“Kyle called us bullies and sissies. I think Kyle’s the bully.”

“Did Zack say anything to Kyle?”

“He asked for his ball. I went for help. I got Mrs. Lang. Ms. Smythe says we should get help from an adult.  I did that.”

“Good work, Marc. You may go back to class.” Mrs. Thornton rose from her chair.

**************

The final bell had rung.  The children had gone home.  Lora Thornton stepped out into the hall to enjoy the quiet that had returned to the old brick building and to reflect.  Had her day begun well?  She tried to remember.

Then the copier beeped and a young woman walked out into the hall with a pile of papers in her hand.

“Sherry, may I speak with you for a moment?” Mrs. Thornton called to the young woman.

“Sure. Is this about the Kyle and Zack issue?” Sherry Smythe, one of the grade two teachers, stopped and turned to face the vice principal. 

“Yes, You’ve done a good job teaching them what they should do.  They quote you often.” Mrs. Thornton leaned back against the wall and slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket. 

“Thank you,” Sherry smiled. “Kyle wanted a class vote on who was the bully.”

“They need to learn to differentiate between bullying and conflict,” Mrs. Thornton shook her head. “How was the rest of their day?”

“Not great.  Zackery was passing Kyle’s letter of apology around.  I took it away, but Kyle was in tears.”

“I expect I’ll get a call from both their parents. Accusations, like history, repeat themselves. I did consider phoning, but Zack got his ball back and the incident didn’t seem like that big a deal. But,” Mrs. Thornton sighed.  “Maybe I should have phoned.”

“Lora!” Bev Grey, principal of Westwood School, called.

“Yes.” Lora Thornton turned to face the principal.

“We need to talk.  I just got a call from from Mrs. Winston.  She says you bullied her son into an unnecessary and insincere apology. She is very upset.”