Fire at the school...

Unexpected day with all three kids home today. Charley didn't have school due to a fire that occurred while Charley was at school yesterday.

Charley's school had a fire yesterday. An actual fire. So far we know it was intentional. In the boys bathroom. And that the school had smoke damage.

Today we learned that the significant damage is in two of the learning communities. The school is set up in communities...areas with 4-5 classrooms and a community learning area that they share. Charley's community and one other had the most damage. This consists of at least 9 classrooms.

All of these classrooms will need to have all of their stuff cleaned or replaced. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of Charley's teacher and all her teaching supplies gone. I taught for just about 10 years and accumulated a classroom library out of my own money - hours of garage sale-ing buying and building the classroom library one 50 cent book at a time.

I bought decorations, supplies, teaching tools and books, all out of my own pocket and over many years. The supply budget that a teacher gets does not build a classroom in one year. A new teacher invests lots of time, energy, and money in building the classroom that your children set foot in each day to learn. I am hoping that Charley's teacher can relax and realize that there will be support to get her back on her feet - and a few of us that understand the devastation of losing the things she has collected and built.

Keep the teaching staff in your thoughts these days. I know their lives just got a whole lot more stressful. And teaching kindergartners, or any grade for that matter,  in other learning areas of the building until their classrooms can be reset up and established - will take a boat load or three times more energy than what they normally need to survive on an average day.  Hang in there H.B staff.  Be strong.