Sad moment

Before 3rd period started, I noticed that one of my students was looking...sad...about to cry actually. I asked her if everything was okay and when she sat down in her chair, she started crying. I knelt beside her and asked if she wanted to talk about it. Originally she said no, but I offered to talk to her during journal time, and she agreed.

Once I got everyone started on their journal entry, I walked this student to a nearby bench outside my classroom and the poor girl broke down and said that her hamster died last night. (I really hope you didn't just laugh, because that would be mean!)

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Here's the thing about this girl - I don't know all of her background story, but I get the feeling that it isn't perfect. (No one's is, but hers seems particularly difficult.) She is from Mexico and I think she came up here with her siblings to live with her aunt/uncle? Her parents may have joined her...I'm not sure on the details.

She's actually quite the bully though and can be rude to other kids. (When a student is a bully, you know there is something more going on than what you see at school.) BUT, she has a love for animals, particularly her hamster. She always talks about her pet hamster and even printed out a picture of a hamster on a get well card she made for someone who works at our school. Ironically, we are writing persuasive papers in my class and her topic is: convincing parents to buy a wonderful pet. EEK. 

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Back to the present situation though...

She was really distressed, so I told her that she could take it easy today and we wouldn't work on her paper. Fortunately by the end of class she seemed okay, and I saw her laughing in the halls later that day. 

I hope she can get a new hamster! I remember pets dying when I was younger. It can be rough!

-Ms. Damron-