Due to an incident that was occurring in the neighbourhood of BEST this morning, the school was put on hold and secure status just as the children were being released for recess. Because staff was unsure of the exact nature of the situation, we defaulted to lock down status which was shortly changed to hold and secure, which means we are inside the locked school with the blinds down but can use the washrooms and move about. The children were assured we were safe and to lighten the mood we had a picnic snack and watched an episode of Storybots, followed by our regular schedule of activities to keep things as calm and normal as possible. Shortly before lunch outside time the hold and secure status was also lifted. Due to the uncertain nature of the situation Mrs. Farber and I decided to cancel our Fresh Air Friday trip to the river and spend the afternoon on the playground and inside the school yard.
After today's events some of the children might have concerns about how safe they are at school or even living in the neighbourhood. As these sorts of situations can bring up strong emotions, please gently probe your child's reaction to our unexpected change in plans today and help manage their stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty so they are not fretful to return on Monday.
After today's events some of the children might have concerns about how safe they are at school or even living in the neighbourhood. As these sorts of situations can bring up strong emotions, please gently probe your child's reaction to our unexpected change in plans today and help manage their stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty so they are not fretful to return on Monday.
