TAMPA, FL -- Friday's assignment in Robert Cox's room: coloring.
"Making cards, drawing, coloring - it just doesn't seem to go out of style," 8th grade teacher Cox said. "And there seems to be no better way than to let somebody know 'Hey, we're thinking about you. Hey, feel better' than to have bright blasts of color in pink and yellow and blue."
But the coloring was happening in the journalism class at Stewart Middle School.
And the writing project is for their school resource officer Andrea Law.
She's in critical condition at a Tampa General Hospital after being flown in from Cozumel, Mexico following an accident in a Jeep. Law was thrown from the vehicle. Friday, her doctors said they're optimistic she'll recover.
"She's so nice and I want her to overcome this and I'm praying for her," said 8th grade student Erica Olszewski.
On the card she made, Olszewski wrote "I want to put a smile on your face." Because despite the serious name, she says Officer Law is pretty cool with the kids.
"Like when I see her, like, 'Oh, there's Officer Law.' And I'll kind of like play around with her," said Olszewski.
Principal Baretta Wilson admires how Officer Law - with just two months at Stewart - knows nearly all 900 students' names.
"Can't replace people that go above and beyond," Wilson said. "We will cope but we look forward to having her back real soon."
Maybe the grade school lesson can help them cope with a grown-up situation.
