Big Scare

Now that Haley is in school, I have a whole new set of worries. It's so hard for me to let go...have faith in her to make the right decisions for herself. And to also have faith in her school to help her along the way.

Haley's bus arrives about 10 minutes before her school starts. The kids are to get off the bus and go straight to their classroom or play on the playground if the weather permits. I got a phone call from Haley's teacher yesterday...Apparently Haley did not come into class until 20 minutes after school had started! Apparently when Haley got off the bus, she went the opposite direction from the school and went to the nearby field to play in the snow and "look for horses" (her words). For about a half hour she was out in this field BY HERSELF wandering around! No one went looking for her, no one saw her and her teacher had already marked her absent! Luckily, she decided to go back to her classroom after she started getting a little cold. What if she didn't go back? What if she had gotten lost? What if she got stuck in the snow? Or worse things?

I am FURIOUS!!!! When I put my child on that bus, it is the school's responsibility to make sure my child is safe!! Where were the monitors making sure the kids get off the bus and go where they need to?! These kids are FIVE years old!! I admit my daughter sometimes gets distracted, and what kid wouldn't want to play in a perfect untouched field of fresh snow? This absolutely terrified me!! TERRIFIED me!! I got on the phone immediately with the principal. I hung up unsatisfied. He told me he was out there that day. She must have started in the right direction and then did a u-turn when he wasn't looking. IT IS NOT MY CHILD'S FAULT!!! Why couldn't he have just said, "We messed up. I'm so sorry. We are going to put some things in place so that won't happen again!". Why? Instead, he just kept saying that he was out there watching...he didn't know how she got past him. Whatever! YOU DROPPED THE BALL MR. PRINCIPAL!! I started getting a little fired up on the phone. I just kept saying that there needs to be more people outside watching and that I expect my child to be safe and protected at school!! And that better not ever happen again!!

I've talked with Haley. I think she realizes that what she did scared us. I'm pretty sure she won't do that again....but that didn't stop me from calling her teacher this morning to make sure she got there safely. She did.

But I'm still shaken up.