October 26th, 2017

I am writing to you about the recent incidents of violence in the nearby community, which have both directly and indirectly impacted some of our students.

I, along with all of my staff, are saddened by these acts of recent violence in the Forest Heights vicinity. While these acts did not happen within our school, they did happen within our community and involved some of our students. Violence of any type is not something we condone at Forest Heights, and we do not believe these acts of violence are reflective of our school or our students.

We are taking these situations seriously, and are continuing to work with community partners and appropriate agencies to ensure that school is a safe space for all our students. We are cooperating with police in their ongoing investigations, and we will take any and all disciplinary actions required.

More than that, however, we are working with all of our students to stress the importance of being model community citizens. We believe that we all have a role in maintaining a safe school community, and will continue working with our students to foster this ideal. In the coming weeks, I, along with both our Vice Principals, Paula Bender and Jim Shantz, will be going into classrooms to speak with students to reinforce our expectations for positive behaviour, and review strategies to resolve conflict.

We also understand that hearing about these kinds of events can be unsettling for many students: we have staff available to provide support. Should you wish to access these supports, please contact the school at 519-744-6567 and ask to speak to a guidance counsellor or administrator.

As we head into the weekend, it is my hope that we take this opportunity to reflect as a community on how we can continue to work together to ensure that Forest Heights continues to be safe and welcoming for all.

Sincerely,

Tina Rowe
Principal