Day 1 Survived in Just in Case

I survived day 1 of school. Well, technically it was a half day. Long enough for the kiddos to bring in their supplies and us get the basics taken care of. The real deal starts tomorrow. It went well. The kids really seemed happy to see me in the room for another year. Our classes are huge this year, though, 29/30 kids. We’ve added 12 new kids so far, and we always get more after Labor Day, when other schools start. I’m not sure why we’ve gotten so many this year, but 5th grade is definitely the largest at the school.
The one bad thing from today is “JD”. He’s a tiny little peanut of a boy that I taught last year. He struggled in one class, but did well in the other two. He’s a bit rambunctious, but a sweet kid. Last week his grandmother killed herself (shotgun) and he’s struggling. Bitchy J is his neighbor and knows the grandmother. She saw him in the hall today and stopped him to ask him how he was dealing with it all. That set him off and he cried for quite a while. I didn’t realize that was what had set him off and I called his dad to let him know that JD had a bad day. So I’m not sure how he’s going to react when he finds out what set him off. (JD had some trouble with Bitchy J last year and it caused some conflict.) If it gets her in trouble, that’s on her. She never should have said anything. His cousin is new to our school and is in 4th grade. She stopped him in the cafeteria and told him she was friends with his grandmother and asked him how he was doing. She upset him, too. I’m so frustrated. Two kids traumatized over the loss of their grandmother (I’m not sure if they know how she went) and Bitchy J has to pull that move. She just never changes.
(I purchased a small sentimental gift for her, Nice J, and Shay, the teacher who was across the hall from me. I wrote them all 3 very nice notes about how much I would miss them. - I’m truly going to miss working with Nice J and having Shay right across the hall. Nice J called me as soon as she found it. It was late when Shay found it, but she texted me. They both came to me the next day to hug me and thank me in person. Bitchy J didn’t even acknowledge it. I’m not surprised.) It’s true, a leopard doesn’t change it’s spots. She can do what she wants with/to me, but she needs to leave my kids alone.