The Deep End

The school librarian gave me a call Saturday at noon, informing me that my mentor teacher's daughter, Rose, passed away in her sleep Friday night. She was 5 years old and was in kindergarten at our school. She was in a special needs class and often had seizures.

Rose was always in our classroom before school, watching Elmo and trying to climb onto the computer desk to get closer to her dancing red friend. Students in my classroom would watch Rose every morning, and she made everyone smile. Rose was in our classroom Friday, smiling and trying to sneak up onto the computer desk like every other morning. I couldn't believe it when the librarian gave me the bad news.

I have no idea what to expect this week. I doubt my mentor teacher will be at school this week, and I have not talked directly with him since Rose's passing. Will there be grief counselors? Will we stick to the WASL schedule later in the week? I hope that we can spend some time creating cards and well wishes for the family.