I was extremely saddened to hear about the school shooting in a Connecticut suburb today.  My heart goes out to the students, staff and community of Sandy Hook Elementary School. As news of this tragedy unfolded this morning, I asked all teachers to keep the students away from the internet today and to not bring this up in their classrooms so that families may choose how and what information they'd like to share at home.  We will have Nicole Scott, our school counselor, available on Monday, or as needed, if students would like extra support.  

Ms. Scott has provided the following ideas for families in addition to the resources mentioned in Dr. Ghysel's communication today.  

Helping Kids During Crisis:
* Try and keep routines as normal as possible. Kids gain security from the predictability of routine, including attending school.

* Limit exposure to television and the news.

* Be honest with kids and share with them as much information as they are developmentally able to handle.

* Listen to kids' fears and concerns.

* Reassure kids that the world is a good place to be, but that there are people who do bad things.

* Parents and adults need to first deal with and assess their own responses to crisis and stress.

* Rebuild and reaffirm attachments and relationships.

Although we can never know what the future holds, please know that Encinal has practiced our lock down procedure and has regular, ongoing communication with the Atherton Police Department.  We want to remind parents that in the event of a lock down, lines of communication must remain clear.  

Please continue to sign in and wear the bright green visitor badges when you are on campus, no exceptions.  If you are on campus during one of our drills, please participate in the drill and be a good role model for our students by following the same procedures. 

What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary today greatly saddens all of us, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families.

Sincerely,
Sharon Burns