Solemn day at Freeport school after girl's death
Camille Scott, the J.W. Dodd Middle School student from Freeport who collapsed and died in class yesterday, December 15, 2011. This picture, along with a memorial, was displayed in the windows at the school Friday, December 16, 2011. Credit: Handout
Students at a Freeport public school said they struggled through Friday's classes as they sought to come to grips with the death of a seventh-grader who collapsed and died the day before.
They were sad, the students said, as they left the building early in the afternoon. Some cried, and some had gone home early.
The classmates of Camille Scott, 12, brought flowers and made posters in her memory, Principal John O'Mard said.
"It was a solemn day, a day of unity," O'Mard said, adding that the school would "do something symbolic" in Camille's memory.
Camille, a cheerleader and a member of the chorus, collapsed at 2:20 p.m. Thursday as she was going into an SAT prep class at John W. Dodd Middle School on Pine Street, police and Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said. She had gone home early Wednesday after reporting she did not feel well, Kuncham said.
A nurse and two teachers -- one of them a lifeguard with some medical training -- tended to her until an ambulance arrived, he said. She was pronounced dead at a hospital at 3:56 p.m., Nassau County police said.
"The cause of her death is not known at this time. This is a terribly tragic event," Kuncham said in a statement posted on the district website Thursday.
"Our Crisis Intervention Team was immediately contacted and support services will be available to both students and staff, as needed . . ." the statement said. "I know you join the Board of Education and the entire Freeport staff in extending our deepest sympathies to Camille's family and friends during this very difficult time."
Kuncham said social workers had been talking to students Friday morning.
"They've been letting them know that all adults absolutely are here to be supportive and to encourage them to express themselves," he said.
He added that students had been talking in small groups and hugging each other.
"Camille, from what I know, was a bright student," he said. "She very much loved music. She was quiet, but a very bright and vivacious student."
With William Murphy
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