For C.

Today has been a very sad day. An incredibly talented and special person died suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday. She was a friend and a colleague; we have all been in a state of shock at school today. It seems almost wrong to write about her in my blog, but I need somehow to express my grief and pay tribute to her in some way.

Sometimes it feels as though there is no sense in life. It seems so unfair that a husband has lost his wife, children have lost their mother, a family have lost their daughter, sister, aunt. Such a loss for them and for the pupils who lose an outstanding teacher, the teachers who lose a supportive, caring, talented colleague.

The atmosphere at school was incredible. After the series of assemblies to inform the pupils, a quietness fell over the whole school. Pupils normally leave assembly noisily, but today, without being asked, they remained silent. It was the pupils who asked staff if they were ok, showing a level of respect to everyone, because of the nature of the person who had died. That was a fitting tribute.

Today, some of the most unlikely people, staff and pupils, came and gave me a hug. There was a tremendous sense of support and compassion for one another. Part of the tragedy is that she couldn't see the massive level of love and affection that was shown for her today.

We discovered a new meaning for the phrase "Are you ok?". Today it meant "I know you're not ok, but I need to tell you I care and I don't have the words to express that properly." Today it was a verbal hug. There was no need to shout, "N0, of course I'm not ok!" because we all understood the inadequacy of words.

So now I pray for A. We can't ask him if he is ok. We cannot possibly find words which will take the pain away. But we can show him how much we care that this has happened. If only that were sufficient.