'Twelve o'clock, twelve o'clock', rings the dinner-bell,
Twelve o'clock, twelve o'clock is a death-knell!
Children roaring, pouring through the doors,
Bang! go heavy boots down the corridors.
"Keep in line, there, form a straight queue!
Yes, it's you I'm speaking to"
'Please Miss, please Miss, he's pushed in,
Tell him Miss, tell him, or I'll smash his face in!'
"Don't you dare speak to me like that,
And that boy there, remove your hat!
The next six children may now file in,
Just quieten down there, less of that din!"
"Let's show good manners, and then you may talk,
But you may not shout; now use your fork!
If you've had your meal then go out to play,
There's eighty more children waiting with a tray."
'Please Miss, please Miss, you'd better come quick,
There's a scrap in the yard, and I've been sick.'
"Go and sit down by the office door,
I'll sort the fight out, of that you can be sure!"
"Right, break it up now, do you hear?
Don't you dare to fight now that I'm here"
'Please Miss, please Miss, she started it,
She called me names and said I was a Twit!'
"You don't start a fight if someone calls you names,
You come to one of us to see who takes the blame"
'Quick Miss, quick, just look over there,
That boy's got blood all over his hair!'
"Now just calm down while I take a look,
Oh yes, we must report this in the Accident Book,
We'll just get the Head to phone for your Mother,
Then you can stay at home until you recover."
'Please Miss, tell them, they're spoiling our game!
"Right keep away, or I'm taking your name."
'Quick Miss, a girl's got some glass in her hand,
And that boy there keeps throwing sand.'
One-fifteen, and there goes the bell,
Children running to their lines pell-mell,
'There's squash in my hair, and my shirt is all fruity.'
"GO AND TELL YOUR TEACHER, I'M OFF DUTY!!!
by
Shirley Frances Winskill 1986
