Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Law enforcement officials, Alexandria schools officials held panel discussion on school safety Tuesday night.
Alexandria City Public Schools has made changes in safety precautions following the December school massacre in Newtown, Conn., when 20 children and six staff members were killed. “We have done some site safety assessments on several of our schools,” Wendy Brown, assistant director of facilities, occupation health, safety and risk management for ACPS, said during a Tuesday night school safety panel discussion at T.C. Williams High School. “And we have implemented several changes.” Brown said she was not at liberty to publicly discuss all the changes. Panelist and ACPS Superintendent Morton Sherman added, “What I learned years ago, and what I learned again after Newtown, is the best way to secure a school is to have interaction, make sure …
Friday, December 28, 2012
Staff with the Alexandria Library have compiled a list of resources designed to help children, parents and caregivers cope with tragedy and difficult to explain circumstances.
The Alexandria Library has compiled a list of resources online and in local libraries to help adults discuss and children better cope with violence and tragedy such as recently in Newtown, Conn. Alexandria Library staff have provided the following books and descriptions. When I’m Afraid by Jane Aaron Designed as a conversation starter, this book focuses on how adults can offer reassurance when children are fearful. Includes a parents’ guide. Sometimes Bad Things Happen by Ellen Jackson Explores causes of sadness, including seeing a frightening story on the news, and introduces strategies for dealing with sadness. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort, selected by Georgia Heard Life-affirming poetry and illustrations compiled in the wake of 9…
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
People all over the world want to know how to help Sandy Hook residents following the horrifying mass shooting.
In the wake of the unimaginable tragedy at Sandy Hook School, people from all over the world—in Connecticut, California, Canada and much farther away in Australia and India—sent an outpouring of support and want to know how they can help. Check donations may be mailed to: Sandy Hook School Support Fund c/o Newtown Savings Bank 39 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470 If you have questions on the fund, you may call 800-461-0672. The following information comes from a user-generated Announcement posted on Newtown Patch: Mail snowflakes or donations to: Connecticut PTSA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514. Phone: 203-281-6617 A former Sandy Hook Elementary School student named Ryan Kraft, also a longtime neighbor of the …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Alexandrian Cathy Canfield plans to head to Newtown, Conn., to offer her services as a child behavioral therapist didn't reach fruition, but she will be able to offer more than $1,000 to Sandy Hook Elementary.
Child therapist Cathy Canfield casually mentioned on Facebook Saturday morning that she just wanted to pick up and drive to Newtown, Conn., to put her skill set to good use for the town reeling from a terrible tragedy. A few of her friends encouraged her to go, open an online fundraiser to help her secure funds for the trip and even said they would donate money to her cause. So she set up a page on online fundraising site YouCaring.com and suddenly found that she was about $2,100 richer. Canfield, whose Children’s Counseling of Alexandria practice is based in Old Town, had been calling the Sandy Hook Elementary School Board members, a local Connecticut chapter of the American Red Cross and private-practice therapists to try and establish …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman said security and safety are on the minds every day of school personnel.
Officials at Alexandria City Public Schools are mindful of the importance of security, Superintendent Morton Sherman said Friday in the wake of the horrific deaths of kindergartners and others in Newtown, Conn. "We want to assure our ACPS families that our security systems are mindful of the need to protect each and every child," Sherman wrote in a note to members of the school community. "The sad reality is that we as a national educational community have learned lessons about how to deal with crisis such as [Friday's] mass shooting." Sherman said he encourages parents to talk with their children in a "factual and developmentally appropriate manner." The National Association of School Psychologists' website offers resources for parents, …
Kyrah Drasheff
10:54 am on Thursday, March 21, 2013
There were no inside locks that I could determine in the classroom where I was working. more ›