Last night I got a call that the rumor around Westwego was that one of our students, one of my beloved First Period kids, had collapsed at the mall and died. This is the class I have the best relationship with. I hoped it was just rumor, and when I got to school, the principal hadn't heard yet, so I assumed it was just that.
Then, when I told the principal what had been said, she called the mother, and confirmed that he had, in fact, died last night. I knew my first period would be distraught, and saw some of them walking around in a daze. I was very upset, and had some counselors come to my room since I knew the first people in here would be his class. We decided to cancel testing for the day, since none of these kids would be capable of taking a Reading Comprehension test today.
It was hard to see some of my most "macho" kids watery eyed and unable to talk. After sitting in silence for about half an hour, I finally put on a movie so we could try to break the tension. They kids are now talking and trying to refocus. I keep hearing them tell stories about "Buck," as they called him. He currently as a 100% average in my class, and I've never once had a behavior problem with him. As a matter of fact, if I had to rank the top five students who give me joy, I definitely would have put him on it. He was truly a joy to teach. I brag about him to other teachers all the time.
It's been a rough day, and I don't quite know how it's going to affect our test scores, but for now, we're coping the best we can. Please be in prayer for our school today.
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