The Day Two 7th Graders Went to Fisticuffs

Apparently, I spoke too soon. Friday brought about a day full of reviewing expectations for all 6 periods. By the end of the day, I felt like a crazy person, thinking, "Wait, did I tell you guys this already?" I have a feeling I'll be saying that a lot. Not only that, but throughout the day, as I went through my powerpoint presentation, I couldn't help but think of Mr. Anderson, my dear high school health teacher. How many times did we mock him for literally saying the exact same thing class period after class period? You could walk into first period at 23 after, and walk into fourth period at the same time marker, and he would be saying the exact same sentence. The man was gifted. I don't think my talk was quite that repetitive but some of those poor kids had to sit through it three times on Friday. Youch. We ended the day with an all-school assembly where yours truly was selected to participate in a "What Not To Wear" skit. Luckily, I got to play Stacey from What Not To Wear and I didn't have to model any trashy outfits. Bullet dodged. In the assembly, our student body sits according to homeroom. If you've been keeping up on the blog, you know that my homeroom needs to be constantly monitored. I watched them from afar, for awhile, but then after the hat swapping and disruption, realized I needed to be much closer, and moved to sit on the bottom bleacher of my group. My high fliers were sitting in the very farthest row away from me and I was skeptical of having my back turned to them. As the assembly was winding down, the principal decided our student body needed to practice the quiet signal a few times before they were to be dismissed. It was approximately 2:13 when I watched the principal turn speechless in front of me, her eyes grew large, and were focused on the precise location of where my high-fliers were sitting. I jumped up so fast, and turned around to face them. As I turned, I heard one of my students yell, "Hey! There's a fight up here!" At those words, I busted between students telling them to move out of the way, so I could get to the top bleachers. Yeah, because we all know if there is someone that should respond to a crisis, it's me. I am not even sure where the reaction came from. I think it has to do with all my days in day treatment, that my reaction was almost automatic. When I got to the top, I was conflicted with feelings. At once, I saw blood spatter all over the back bleacher, which made me feel a bit worried. But, then, it dawned on me, not a single one of my high fliers was involved in this! I was dealing with two seventh graders, and one of my students was actually trying to help hold back one of the students. Whew! I grabbed the culprit by the arm, and could feel him violently shaking underneath my arm. I applied pressure with my arm, in hopes that this would calm him. His breath was rapid, and he was so flustered, he couldn't even utter an intelligible comment. We made our way to the bottom of the bleachers, and he was promptly handed off to the assistant principal. Meanwhile, another teacher was with the student with the bloody nose. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but the witnesses I spoke with, said that the kid who got punched was poking and provoking the boy that eventually hit him. They were all sort of goofing around at the beginning of the assembly, so somewhere along the line, somebody crossed the line. I didn't end up learning what administrative consequences both, or either, of the boys were dealt. I finished up my work and headed to the Hop Valley tasting room. It seemed like the only reasonable way to end the day. Looking forward to the excitement of next week, already!