We are sure that you all share our disbelief at the tragic events that unfolded in Christchurch on Friday and we are sure that you all join us in solidarity in supporting our many Muslim members of our school community. This morning we held a special assembly to hold a minute’s silence in their honour. We are proud of our school community’s commitment in celebrating difference, diversity and success and Friday’s event is completely foreign to who we are as a school, a community and a country.
We realise that such an event, so foreign to our country, will be distressing for our pupils. The primary place for discussion about what has happened is with whanau. We encourage you, as parents, to visit some of these sites, and to discuss what has happened, particularly if they have been exposed to the multiple media reports about the tragic events. Here are some online resources that may be of assistance:
The children’s commissioner facebook page – here.
Information to support parents with such conversations are found on the Parenting Place – here.
Information about how to talk to children about terrorism can be found – here.
Ministry of Health information on helping children can be found – here.
Save the children have a site to support children coping with disaster – here.