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L.I. 5th Grader Suspended For Bringing Peppermint Oil to School
By
Ben Muessig
Published Dec 23, 2009
Modified Dec 23, 2009
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By
Ben Muessig
Published Dec 23, 2009
Modified Dec 23, 2009
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Administrators at a Long Island school suspended a 10-year-old girl for bringing peppermint oil to class. A teacher's assistant at John Mandracchia-Sawmill Intermediate School in Commack spotted fifth grader Sara Greiner offering friends a few drops of the cooking extract. "I told them it was just peppermint. You could put it in your water," she told ABC. "No one ever told me that peppermint oil was illegal." Greiner was sent to the principal's office and issued a one-day suspension. The school declined to explain why she was punished, but in a letter to Greinier's mother, Corrine Morton-Greiner, the principal wrote "[s]uch inappropriate and unacceptable behavior cannot and will not be tolerated." Greiner's mother is now fighting to remove the suspension from her daughter's permanent record. "If a child offers a quarter of their peanut and jelly sandwich to another student is that student going to be suspended? Where do we draw the line?" the mother asked.
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long island commack
peppermint oil
principal
Punishment
sara greiner
school
suspension
Ben Muessig
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