I have come to the conclusion that I don't believe the rampant rumors about excessive fights at RHS

Duh, how could I forget - the breeding ground for spreading rumors is the MALL!

The piece I posted for Anonymous on March 11th and the information I am posting below, confirms for me that Richwoods High School is not under siege by wild girls pulling out each others hair. When I inquired directly with an adult who would know, this is what I was told:

"The rumors are really swelling. A little over a week ago, there was an actual fight with punch throwing between some boys. I think it was the day that Shaun Grant got there. Anyway, these other fights are just between girls. They're not physical, only verbal. Our Asst Principal likened it to the movie "mean girls".

When the girls were pressed for the premise of the fights, none of them even knew! Mr. Poehls had the girls all together in a room with our campus police chief, among other authorities there in the school, as well as parents. It was handled very well.

Another problem we've had is that kids within the school are spreading rumors of these fights with a severely embellished twist. Technology today can really cause a lot of grief! Rumors have the ability to spread twice as fast!"

Talk about how fast rumors spread - imagine how many times the young lady in the Mall told her story. I was minding my own business when she came up and shared it with me. I bet she had a good time retelling it to every single teenage girl that walked into the most popular, teenage girly store in the Mall.

I have been told fights at RHS are directly attributable to the change in Principal

I took Little One to dinner and a movie this evening (Red Riding Hood). We stopped by the Mall before heading home (we had to make a Icing run).

I was standing there talking with Little One about Hello Kitty jewelry and the clerk comes over out of the blue and begins to talk about she didn't know that there were black people in Panama. I asked her what made her say that. She told me that the two black ladies that were just in the store were talking in a different language and she asked them where they were from and they said Panama.

I informed her that yes, people from Panama come in all colors, just like Americans. She said that they don't teach you that stuff in District 150 and she's a senior at Richwoods. I told her that as a black girl, there are some things about people of color that she will need to find out on her own.

She changed the subject and started to tell me that she was kicked out of school and that they had 14 (fourteen) fights at Richwoods last week. My ears pricked up and I said, "14 (fourteen) fights - 14 fights"? Are you sure about that number, she said yes, because her fight was number 14 (fourteen).

I asked her what was the deal with all the fighting - she said:

"When Mr. Ptacek was Principal the rule was 10 (ten) days suspension for fighting but since Mr. Grant came, girls are willing to fight because the suspension is now only 5 (five) days and they are willing to take the 5 (five) day suspension to get at who they want."

She went on to tell me that both people are kicked out - it does not matter who started the fight. She laughed and said, "I'm suspended right now for fighting back, she tried to pull my hair, but I still got all my hair", she said, holding out a long strand of hair.

The young lady was full of conversation, she went on to tell me that she was concerned that she was going to have to go to court. I asked her why, she said she just turned eighteen and the other girl was seventeen. She told me the girl fighting her knew she would be charged if she fought her.

There have been so many conflicting reports on fights at Richwoods. This student clearly told me fourteen fights, with her's being the fourteenth. What to believe?

Sometimes parents are the problem

A Florida mother who stood on the sidelines cheering on her daughter during a planned high school fight between the teen and another girl was arrested today for child abuse.

According to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office affidavit, April Newcomb, 39, can be seen on multiple YouTube videos “encouraging” her daughter “to physically fight” with the other girl. The videos, one of which can be viewed below, were filmed by attendees of the fight, which occurred in a vacant field near Palmetto High School.

As seen in this still, it appears most teens present came prepared to record the fisticuffs.

When questioned by a cop, Newcomb, pictured in the mug shot at right, claimed that she only attended the bout between the two 16-year-old combatants in order “to make sure nothing got out of hand.” She also wanted to look out for her daughter’s health since the teen had “sustained a skull fracture from a previous incident approximately two years ago.”

"Of course we were both wrong and I understand that," Newcomb said, adding, "I understand where ya’ll are coming from.”

As her daughter is being throttled by a larger girl, Newcomb can be heard at one point yelling to her child, “Don’t f**ing stop.” Later in the video, apparently serving as her offspring’s corner man, Newcomb advises, “Punch her in the f***ing body.”

Newcomb can also be seen at the clip’s outset, arriving with her daughter’s entourage as the teen's opponent bounced about in preparation for the fight.