My Week: From the Principal to the Potty

Let me just start by saying that this has been a crazy week.  It should have been an awesome week.  We didn't have school on Election Day because so many of the buildings are used as voting sites.  Four day week....YES! 

Oh did it go down hill.

I have one little guy in my class who is always bringing something from home.  Like cell phones.  Video game cartridges.  Toys.  Sigh.  On Wednesday after school, the Reading Specialist told me how he had a little book that goes with some kind of video game.  To which I replied yes, he always brings something from home.  I didn't think twice about it.  Until the next day.

The bell had sounded and the children were busy with their Morning Work, when I noticed this little guy was buried in his hoodie, tears dripping down his face as he stared at the paper on his desk.  When I asked him what was wrong, all I got between the sobs were "my book" and "John" (name changed to protect those involved). 

Turning to "John" I asked him where was little guy's book?  He looked very nervous, shuffled his feet a bit and said, "I threw it in the toilet."  Huh?!

You could hear a pin drop in my normally talkative classroom.  As I stood there processing book + toilet, mouth hanging open in astonishment, I finally asked, "WHY?!"

To which "John" replied, "It was mine and he was crying, so I threw it in the toilet."

Well, on our march to the principal's office, "John" insisted that the book was his. 

Entering our principal's office, I told her that "John" had something that he wanted to share.  I have to say the look on her face was priceless (probably a mirror image of my own.)  It turns out, after quite a bit of investigating and talking with both boys, that the book wasn't "John's" as I suspected, and so a punishment was handed out.

I thought that the drama was over.  Nothing else could possibly top this right?  WRONG!

Yesterday morning, my principal came asking for "Jane" (again name change!).  I said that she was in the bathroom.  (Our school was built during the open concept boom.  Our first grade pod has four rooms now, but they are all open to each other.  We have a boy's and girl's bathroom in the pod.  I am including a picture to enhance this story.



The two dark doorways are the bathrooms.  The one that is the closest to my classroom is the girl's restroom.)

Ms. Principal waited a few minutes for Jane and then stuck her head in and called, "Jane?"  To which "Jane yelled back.  From the potty..."Yeah?" 

"I need to speak with you,"  replied Ms. Principal.

"Why?" yelled "Jane."

I was mortified.  Here she is. Sitting on the potty yelling at the principal.  For EVERYONE to hear!  Needless to say, my teaching friends got a HUGE kick out of it.  In "Jane's" defense, she probably thought it was me, since I have to yell at encourage her to come out of the bathroom all day long.

Good grief.  My principal says that I should write a book of all the crazy things that have happened this year so far.  I might consider it....

Hoping for an upcoming stress free week!

Happy Saturday!