For the third time since mid-December, students from Centre Wellington District High School stayed home from school on Tuesday because of a threat of violence.
This is also the second time in about six weeks officials at the school have had to deal with such a scare – and officials and parents are getting tired of it.
Principal Karen Welch posted a letter on the school’s web site on Monday that warned April violence. Parents were informed by telephone of the threat, and the school moved its bus pick-up for elementary school student to the community centre for safety.
Welch’s letter stated, “Last Thursday at the end of the school day, a student reported that another threatening message had been written on a stall in the boys’ washroom. The threat is for Tuesday the 15th of April.
“We have been investigating again with the OPP and our administration team. The investigation is ongoing with the interviewing of students, analysis of the handwriting, and the reviewing of video tape.
“Tomorrow we will again have additional community resource police officers in the school. School staff will be monitoring halls. Students will be working in their classrooms and the library during class times.
“We all continue to be challenged by these ongoing threats to the learning atmosphere of our school. Yet again we are being made to feel unsafe in our own building.”
Welch also made a plea for students to help expose whomever is making the threats.
“This individual or individuals need to stop or be stopped. If you have any information that might help us right now, call Crime Stoppers, call the school to speak to an administrator or a staff member,” she wrote in the letter.
“We need to help this individual recognize the distress that this is causing all of us. We need to put an end to this unacceptable, threatening type of behaviour. We need to not let this compromise our learning here at CW.”
At least one parent has complained by letter to Welch and it is reprinted on page 6 in this week’s Newspaper.
Maggie McFadzen, the Upper Grand District School Board’s communications officer, said in an interview the moving of buses came about after evaluation of the last scare, when young students were still boarding buses at the high school.
She said parents were telephoned the day before to let them know about the switch.
As for the seemingly continuous threats, “It’s certainly distressing to the students and compromising learning,” McFadzen said.
She said there were large numbers of students who attended school Tuesday morning, but those numbers began to dwindle as students left at their breaks. McFadzen said when some saw their friends leaving, they left, too.
She said there were three extra police officers at the school on Tuesday, and they were still there in the afternoon.
As for what will happen when the culprit is caught, McFadzen said it was difficult to speculate.
She said school officials would likely wait to see if the police lay charges, but, “I don’t know what the police would do.”
She said the school board has to follow the Safe Schools Act, but discipline would be decided after all the implications are considered.
When told that parents have indicated they are tired of the threats, McFadzen agreed, and said, “The school is very tired of it as well.”
But, despite the disruption, “We can’t not take action. This one was taken seriously – yet again.”
