Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Experimental Card and a Major Rant!

I'm not too sure how I feel about this card, but it did allow me to play around with some new Distress Inks and Stain, and a fun packing tape/glitter technique I saw here (such a fun video, you really have to check this one out!).  Oh yeah, I also got to use my new Tattered Florals die on some vintage book paper.  (Here's a tip:  if you like the look of vintage book paper, but are cheap like me, check out your local library's annual book sale!  You can get a box of books for $5 and they always have some ancient donations just begging to be cut up or altered!)  I really like how the flower turned out, just not totally sold on the rest of it.  Here's a bit of an angled view so you can see the dimension on the little banners and the flower:
I used this sketch for inspiration, but missed the deadline (really?  Again?!):
I'm going to enter this card over at Bearly-Mine - this week's challenge is "flowers".

Okay, now for my rant!  Ooooh, I hope you're sitting down for this one, it's a doozy!  If you read my post a couple of weeks ago, you might recall that Nolan was attacked coming home from the bus one day.  The hooligans were throwing rocks at him, some of them hitting him in the head!!!  Luckily, he wasn't seriously injured, just scared and angry.  I called the school right away, and the principal said she would deal with the culprits.  I left it at that, trusting that the children involved would learn their lesson and never do anything like that again.  Boy, was I wrong on that account!  Yesterday, Ailis came home bawling her eyes out with her brand new pants covered in chocolate pudding!!!  Can you believe the instigator is a girl in Grade 1, along with her brother?  They are quite the team!   No kid deserves to be attacked like that, but ESPECIALLY not Ailis, she doesn't have a mean bone in her body.  Right away the mama claws came out, and when Nolan suggested we march down to their house and tell their parents, I was just mad enough to do it, although normally I despise confrontation of any kind.  I decided to call the school first, however, and again spoke to the principal.  When I let her know what I was thinking of doing, she said I should not go over there, but to call the bus garage and let them know as well.  The bus garage was no help at all, seeing that nothing occurred on the actual bus.  I'm starting to wonder if the school will be able to do anything, either, seeing nothing occurred on school property.  GGGGGGRRRRRRR!  I'm just so mad, and I'm not confident this will be dealt with to my satisfaction.  To my mind, both kids should not be allowed to be unsupervised.  Obviously they cannot handle themselves on their own.  Maybe I should be going to the bus with my kids, to keep an eye out, but I don't think I should have to do that.  My kids should be able to walk the equivalent of two blocks without being physically attacked.  It's the principle of the thing!  What would you do if it were your kids getting bullied like this?  I'm thinking school district, media, police... but then again, I'm still hopping mad and probably not being reasonable.


Whew, that feels better, just to write it all out!  Feels like a load has been lifted somewhat.  I have a meeting at the school tomorrow to plan Nolan's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for next year, so hopefully I can get some of this other stuff resolved at the same time.  I'll keep you posted!    

9 comments:

  1. Oh, very nice card, I'm going to check out that site :)
    You have cause to rant! That really is upsetting. I wouldn't go over to the house. But you may have to walk with the kids a few days. A meeting should be held at the school with you and the other parents to discuss what's going on and what to do! Hope you get it resolved--not good for your kids.

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  2. I really like your card Roxy! That flower rocks! And as far as those kids go...you totally deserve to rant! That's a bunch of crap! I don't know if this is good advise or not, but it's what I would probably do (because I'd be so rippin mad...which is why it might not be the best idea)...but I would totally go talk to the parents. I might not go to their house, but why not give their parents a call and let them know what's going on? It seems pretty obvious that the school isn't doing anything about it...It might be futile anyway, but you never know...the kid's parents might not have a clue what's going on and they might just want to deal with it promptly...ooooor they have 2 kids that are bullies because they are too...in which case it might not work out so great! I really hope you get some conflict resolution of some sort figured out between the parents and the school...something needs to be done! Grrr...that crap makes me really mad because I was the recipient of it growing up from a kid who walked home with me every day (lived just down the road from me). He used to spit on me...throw stuff at me...then in high school he just used to call me "trash"...funny thing is, now he's all old and fat and gross and he still glares at me...which I think is pretty freakin pathetic...but it cracks me up, because I know that he's still an idiot...and I'm cool! LOL

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  3. Wonderful card and I can get mad right along with you about the rant.. I have dealt with parents that don't care what there little darlings have done or are doing.. I think the school should be involved and if you don't get some action from them, I would be talking to the police and see if they have any ideas on how to deal with it.. Also would call the parents they may not know what is going on.. but I would not go to there door.. Your next action after that would depend on how the parents reacted.. Take care let us know how things turn out..

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  4. I love the card! The flower rocks and the affect you did to the base looks great!
    I would be so mad, if that happened to my kids!!! I wouldn't confront the other parents on your own but maybe the school can arrange something. Parents get defensive, I think it's in all our nature. But if the school (suppposedly a neutral party) initiates it I think more may get accomplished. There shouldn't be as much "it's your kids word over mine" sort of thing.

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  5. Well ugh! So sorry you're having to deal with bullying, I can only imaging how insanely frustrating that is for you! I hope you get some resolution before school is out! I think you need some inky therapy and should come visit us this weekend :) Looks like you've got a good head start playing with Distress! Love the mix of colours here!

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  6. Hi Roxy this is so very pretty and colourful I love the colours you have used and that flower is gorgeous, thank you for joining our challenge at Bearly Mine this week.
    Hugs
    Lorraine x

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  7. The card is lovely ... the situation is not. How horrible! I like your idea of rushing off the "talk" to the parents however, Sarah may be right about the parents. While some kids are just bad apples despite the best efforts of their parents, most of the time they are the way they are because of slack parenting. No discipline at home or, as Sarah suggested, bullying role modelling from the parents. Start with the school and then work your way up the chain - school trustee, School Board, Police Liaison, local government official ... etc. Have you contacted the PAC? They might be able to add some muscle behind your concerns with both the school administration and the school board. Good luck! Thank goodness school is almost finished for the year! I hope you get a resolution before everyone scatters for the break though.
    Hugs for all of you!!

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  8. what a gorgeous card you have made. It fits our challenge well and I wish you the best of luck in the draw. Best wishes, Kym (Bearly Mine Challenge Blog Design Team Member) xxx

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  9. Hey Roxy, great stuff!! :)

    About your rant, I would be talking to the parents. Perhaps in a "safe zone" like the school. I have to share an incident that happened to my daughter a few months back, and she's not even in full time school yet, that comes this fall!! Anyway, I was taking my kids to the school 2 days a week for what is called Strong Start, as BC doesn't really do pre-school. Anyway, we were getting ready to leave, and my daughter was standing off in a corner, looking very pissed off, so I asked her what happened, and she said "a boy spat on me". Well, mama bear was out, and then it was mad panic to find the boy, and she pointed to a boy, so we got the pricipal, and this boy and his friend got in trouble. Ok, fine. I finally got it out of my daughter that the boy didn't actually spit at her, he blew a raspberry. Well, then I felt like an ass for making such a big deal out of nothing really. Oh well. A week or so later, back at the school, the principal calls me aside (I will never get over that feeling of doom when the principal calls!!), and she had dug around and found out the whole story. The boy that got in trouble was the younger brother to the boy that my daughter had the altercation with, and it turns out, she blew a raspberry first!! Oy!! The little brother took the heat cause he didn't want the older one to get into trouble! So, after that I had a nice chat with my daughter, and the next time we went to school I made her apologize to both boys. I think she will be quite a handful once in school full time!! Now I'm not saying your kids did anything to deserve any of the bullying, but there is always a bit more to the story! And throwing things like rocks is definitely a no-no!! I hope you get it sorted out!! I think the parents need to know, whether it comes from you, or from the school, they need to know the type of behaviour their kids are involved in!!

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