This weekend, we have been following the tragic reports of terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians which quickly escalated to a war between Israel and Hamas, terribly impacting all people living in the region. While this news affects all of us, it is especially difficult for Jewish, Palestinian and Israeli students, staff, and families. These deadly attacks come at a time of rising hate, specific to these communities, in the forms of antisemitism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia locally and around the world. We recognize, for the Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian communities, the impacts are deeply personal and devastating.
We know that world events can impact our own community and schools. As we reopen schools on Tuesday, we will be vigilant in our commitment to ensuring students and staff feel safe, respected and comfortable in their learning and working environments.
We have been working on resources for schools to support students and families in dealing with impacts from current events and/or periods of rising tension. Last week, we shared resources with educators to support them in their work to uphold human rights and to protect the humanity of every individual. These will will be instrumental in supporting and navigating some of the questions and issues which might arise this week and families might find these resources helpful.
We are also reaching out to community partners to ensure they know we are here to work with them in support of students, staff, and families. We are not aware of any protests or planned events at schools, and are monitoring this issue carefully.
We know that media and social media coverage of traumatic world events can be very distressing, especially for children and teens. We encourage families to monitor media intake. The following resources provide helpful information for helping children/teens cope with the coverage of catastrophic world events
Individuals will be impacted differently based on their lived experiences, and we know that some students and staff may need extra support in the days and weeks ahead. Please review the resource documents shared above; access mental health supports through the community or through the school; use the Employee and Family Assistance program; and reach out if you require additional support.