Extortionist

Aisling's teachers communicate with us by way of a notebook. We use the notebook to alert the teachers of upcoming appointments. They send us notes whenever there is an "issue" with Aisling. It's never a good thing when we see writing in the agenda.
Today was no exception. This evening, we learned that Aisling had been taking other kids' toys from school and putting them into her backpack to bring home. Without getting the permission of the toy owner, according to the teachers.  Her defence? It was borrowing as the pilfered items never actually remained in her possession for long. Trust me, even with the ridonculous piles of toys we own, I would notice a new toy or two in the mix. She also stated the kids were fully aware and had given their consent.
But it gets worse. In some cases, she was directing other kids to get the toys from the unsuspecting kids and bring them to her. And when they hesitated to do her bidding, she'd tell them she wasn't going to be their friend.
I was shocked and upset and disappointed at this behaviour. And very dismayed - she's got the makings of a mafia boss. I'm raising a brood of criminals!
We explained that her actions were tantamount to bullying and was it any wonder that only a handful of kids had accepted the invitation to her birthday party?
Of course, the fact that this behaviour had been going for some time without any notification to us parents is also upsetting. Why would the teachers wait so long to alert us to this potentially criminal behaviour? Did they actually think they could handle this without the parents' involvement on the home front? Yeah, that's another issue for another day.
In the meantime, time to deal with little Miss. Mafioso.