Death of a Lewis Life Skils Nursing Student

[Tim Lauer, Lewis Elementary]

I am sorry to announce that one of our students, Bill Ritter, passed
away over the weekend. Bill was a medically fragile student in Merry-
Lynn Amsbury's Life Skills Nursing classroom and was also mainstreamed
into our first grade classrooms. This afternoon I, along with our
school psychologist Donna Mills, visited each first grade classroom
and informed the students of Bill's passing. A letter was sent home
today with each first grade student informing their families of Bill's
death.

It is helpful for students to be able to talk about how they feel and
are impacted by this event. The death of a student may 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· Be sad and withdrawn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 encourage you to talk with your child about this events. If they
seem to need information, answer their questions simply and honestly.
School staff will be available in the morning to talk with any
students who may need further support.

Funeral services will be held, Friday, February 1, 2008 at 11:30 am at
St. Ignatius Church.
Our thoughts are with Bill's family at this most difficult time.

Sincerely,
Tim Lauer
Principal