Notice of the Death of a Lewis parent...
timlauer
Lewis students...
November 8, 2007
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I am writing to inform you of a tragedy that has affected the family
of two of our students. The father of Meagan and Donovon Stewart was
shot and killed on Wednesday morning. We are deeply saddened by this
and extend our deepest condolences and sympathy to the Stewart family.
Today at school, we shared this information with our staff who in turn
shared it with the classmates of Donovon and Meagan. Counselors,
teachers and District support personnel have been and will continue to
be available to students, teachers and parents on an ongoing basis.
When circumstances of this magnitude occur, people have many kinds of
reactions: shock, sadness, fear, anger or no feelings at all. These
reactions can come and go in an hour or a day or for days to come.
All of these feelings are normal responses to the death of someone we
know or who was a part of our school community.
It is helpful for students to be able to talk about how they feel and
are impacted by this event. Learning of the death of a classmate's
parent can affect a young person in a variety of ways, depending on
their age, how well the student knew the individuals who died, and the
student's prior experience with grief, death, and loss.
When reacting to a death a student may:
Appear not to be affected
Ask a lot of questions
Be agitated and angry
Try extra hard to be good
Be thinking about it privately
Be frightened
Be sad and withdrawn
We suggest that you encourage your student to talk about the events of
the day. If they seem to need information, answer their questions
simply and honestly. We encourage you to call the school at
503-916-6360 should you need any assistance.
A fund for the Stewart Family has been established at Washington
Mutual and contributions can be made at any Washington Mutual branch
in the name of the Stewart Family Fund.
Sincerely,
Tim Lauer