A Grand Falls-Windsor mother is raising questions about classroom supervision after her 11-year-old daughter suffered a serious injury while in school last month.

Kamara White, an avid basketball player, won’t be able to play for the rest of the school year after the tips of two of her fingers were severed in an incident at Sprucewood Academy on December 17th.

The child suffered the injury while playing red light-green light in the classroom with other students during their lunch break. A desk toppled over onto Kamara as she fell to the floor, severing the tips of the fingers on her right hand.

Kamara’s mom Annette White told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly that the teacher on duty was responsible for three classrooms at the time and wasn’t in the classroom when the incident occurred.

What was more surprising says White, is that only a handful of teachers on staff had appropriate first aid training.

“There was two teachers in that whole school at the time, of 437 students, plus staff, that have first aid.”

White says the school called her when it happened, but she believes the injury was severe enough that an ambulance should have been called.

Kamara underwent surgery where part of her fingers had to be amputated, with more surgeries possible as she continues to heal. Annette says she’s not sure whether the disfiguring injury will affect her ability to play ball in future or even affect her career choices.

NLTA supports calls for greater supports in schools

The NLTA says it welcomes and supports any additional human resources in schools, including public health nurses, to aid in emergency situations.

The teachers’ union says there has been an increase in demand for regular health care supports for students in recent years.

The NLTA says it is wishing the student involved a “swift and successful recovery” and they reiterate that teachers care deeply about student safety, and “do their best every day to create safe environments” in the province’s schools.