The Estevan elementary school system, and the Westview School community in particular, were left reeling this week when the news hit them that a pre-teen student had died, apparently by her own hand, on Sunday.
The response from the staff and administration at the school was swift and significant with five counsellors deployed to the school Monday morning to assist students and staff members who were dealing with the implications of the incident and the grief that surrounded it.
Out of respect to the immediate family and close friends, South East Cornerstone School Division education director Marc Casavant said he would not comment on any factors that may have led to the tragedy including the name of the victim or her family. He did say though, that Cornerstone administration met with Westview School staff and administration Sunday evening to review the situation and their response.
"We have a tragic event guide that is used for a variety of incidents and this was certainly one of them. The five counsellors were assigned to the school for the entire day on Monday along with a superintendent and student services personnel in the event they were needed," he said.
Casavant said the school administration contacted the girl's family to offer immediate and follow-up assistance if requested or required.
"The counsellors were there on Monday to meet any students who may have wanted to talk with them and they will continue to be available for as long as they are needed," Casavant added.
The director said no record is kept regarding the number of students who may have made use of the service, due to confidentiality concerns, but he said the report he received was that given the situation, the responses and counselling sessions went smoothly, taking into consideration the sadness of the situation.
Casavant said he also could not speculate on what may have precipitated the event out of respect to the family.
Estevan Police Service Constable Lana Grop who serves as the police liaison officer for the schools said their community was also grief stricken by the event.
"I went to the school, spoke to the principal, offered support and offered to speak to or address the students about issues that may have led to this," Grop said.
"We will be there to see if there are questions coming from the students. We are also visiting all the other schools, I've visited three of the six so far," she said late Monday afternoon.
Grop said she had addressed issues such as bullying awareness within the schools this past winter and early spring and she is now talking to students about illegal drugs and their harmful effects. She said there are many social issues that need to be discussed with young people, especially on the awareness side.
"I have always told the students I'm available to talk with them one-on-one or in groups if they need to talk about anything like bullying or cyber bullying. If I can help them in any form, as a friend or police officer or both. I even tell them to text or phone if they feel they want to talk," Grop said, agreeing that the weekend event was resonating throughout the school community.
Casavant said that this was not the first incident of this type to strike the school division, but it was the first one this year.
