When the substitute teacher with the red sparkly hair appeared in the playground to gather up her charges, the kids in K201 lined up without protest. A few days later, Mr. Weiss, the principal, announced that the teacher with the red sparkly hair was going to replace their teacher, Miss Calpone for the rest of the year.  Hard to say whether or not the new teacher was good or able as her class never did settle down. This is especially true for Alex, who, during the course of the year, amassed a formidable collection of used Styrofoam cups imprinted with her brand of lipstick — coral crush. Each day during “Fun With Numbers” he watched bewitched as she sipped her coffee while encouraging her class to count their noodles, sticks, beans and other objects