Gregory-Portland ISD investigates elementary school student's 'Death Note'

A fourth grade student at T.M. Clark Elementary School in Portland wrote a "death note" during class Monday including the names of 12 students.

The student wrote the names on an index card in reference to a show called "Death Note," Gregory-Portland ISD spokeswoman Crystal Matern said. The Japanese manga, which has been adapted into television shows and a 2017 Netflix film, tells the story of a high school student who finds a supernatural notebook that can kill anyone whose name is written inside.

Two students reported the incident Monday, and the fourth-grader was removed from the classroom. The school investigated, working with the district's school resource officers from the Portland Police Department.

School officials located the "Death Note" and contacted the child's family, as well as the families of the children listed on the index card.

An email was also sent to all T.M. Clark Elementary School families.

Matern said the incident serves as a reminder for families about the importance of monitoring what children are seeing online.

"We want to help families remember to monitor screen time and programming for children," Matern said.

Matern said the district follows up on anonymous reports immediately. Any student, parent or community member can make a report to the district anonymously online at g-pisd.org/resources/anonymous-alerts.

Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Gregory-Portland ISD investigates fourth-grader's 'Death Note'