When someone in the school community passes away suddenly, it can have a devastating effect on students, faculty and staff.
Whether itB次元官网网址檚 the death of a student, a parent of a student or a faculty member, those who knew them will experience a wide range of emotions as they try to cope with the loss. ThatB次元官网网址檚 when the Sooke School DistrictB次元官网网址檚 critical incident response team (CIRT) steps in to help.
The 14-member team consists largely of counsellors throughout the district who are deployed to schools when a person in the school community dies, such as the most recent incident in which a Grade 10 Belmont Secondary student died of a suspected drug overdose, or another traumatic event takes place that could effect the school.
RELATED: Grade 10 Belmont student dies from suspected overdose
B次元官网网址淲hen we lose a member of the school community there is an impact on the school in some ways, but if we donB次元官网网址檛 pay attention to the experience of it, it can build up and come out in ways that are less healthy,B次元官网网址� said Christine McGregor, district principal of student support services, who alongside Janine Brooks, district vice principal of student support services, are the CIRT co-ordinators.
B次元官网网址淥ur role is helping people to process the experience so that they can come back to whatever their role is at the school B次元官网网址� whether itB次元官网网址檚 as a student or a staff member and feel like they can move on in a healthy way B次元官网网址� Processing it in the place where the loss occurred is helpful for people.B次元官网网址�
McGregorB次元官网网址檚 job begins when she receives an email or a phone call from the schoolB次元官网网址檚 principal about an incident. From there, she puts the call out to volunteers of the team, who often drop what theyB次元官网网址檙e doing to provide support. The team takes a collaborative approach, working with the principal, vice principal, school counsellors and others to identify who will be impacted.
Once at the school, the team sets up a safe room such as in a library where people who are looking for support can go to speak to a counsellor or write a card. McGregor often sees a range of emotions from those seeking support.
B次元官网网址淚t can be surprise, guilt, anger and itB次元官网网址檚 all okay,B次元官网网址� she said, adding incidents may remind students of an experience they had in the past. B次元官网网址淚 could be something that they [students] bring up. TheyB次元官网网址檒l say B次元官网网址業 donB次元官网网址檛 know if this is okay, but we had to put our dog down on the weekend, IB次元官网网址檓 feeling sad from that and now IB次元官网网址檓 hearing this [news]B次元官网网址� or it might be someone in their family is ill and they heard something in the announcement and they start to wonder about their own family member.B次元官网网址�
RELATED: Belmont student who died of suspected overdose remembered as reliable and funny
The team, which is deployed roughly two to eight times a year, will assist in other ways as well. Members will help the principal draft a message about the incident to staff, help with the script thatB次元官网网址檚 read aloud to students during school or help with the letter that is distributed to parents. They will also help staff wash dishes or relieve them of recess duty so they can cope. The team provides support for anywhere from two days to a week.
While McGregor admits it can take a toll on her emotionally, she believes the service is making a difference in the lives of students and staff. For example, the team was deployed when Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed at Parliament Hill in 2014, to provide support to students in schools with a large military population.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a presence in the school, that validation that we recognize what youB次元官网网址檙e going through something difficult and weB次元官网网址檙e here for you,B次元官网网址� McGregor said.
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