After-school activities Wednesday at Badger Ridge Middle School in Verona included an unscheduled lesson in wildlife ecology when an eight-point buck crashed through a classroom window.

A teacher directed the injured deer into a mop closet — an effective detention that might seem old-school to some — until the forces of law were summoned to assert control over the force of nature.

Verona Police Lt. David Dresser said the deer was "secured" in the closet when he got there shortly before 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

He found blood smeared on the hallway floor and a broken window in a northwest corner classroom of the school, located at 40 North Main St.

Teacher John Campbell, who is also a high school football coach, was "able to give the deer, which was thrashing around on a waxed linoleum floor, a swift kick and direct it into the closet," said principal David Jennings.

"We are glad he did, because there were plenty of folks still on campus, there were people in the gym playing basketball, a dance or exercise class, and teachers around," Dresser said.