Wayland Superintendent Addresses Boston Marathon Bombings

The information below was contained in an email announcement from Superintendent Paul Stein.

To the Wayland Community,

How is it possible that I am writing you again about our safety, our fears, and our wish to shelter our children from a hideous event so close to home? It makes no sense. How do we reconcile the image of a beautiful Boston day with the simultaneous face of carnage and loss? It shakes us to the core. When school resumes after the vacation week, we in the schools will be alert to students who are impacted in ways that call out for our attention and care. We will try to answer questions, and we will offer the routine of a normal school day. Please let school staff know if there is a particular concern regarding your child about which we should be aware. 

I was out of town on Monday, and the urge to return and connect with family was powerful. Similarly, I know staff members will especially look forward to connecting with your children and providing them with the comfort of a familiar schedule. In the meantime, I am providing you with links to three articles. Each discusses how children, depending on their age, may react to news of a violent attack and how you might consider talking to them about such an event. 

In the week before vacation, I spent some extra time walking through each of our buildings. I saw vibrant learning environments at all grade levels. I saw high school students giving back to their community in an extraordinary day of community service, as our younger students do in different ways throughout the year. These are the daily realities that deserve acclaim. As you and your family work through the reactions to all that has taken place, keep these points of pride in mind. They, amidst the caring community that so much characterizes Wayland, are unwavering. 

Here are those articles:

http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2013/04/talk-children-marathon-bombs#more-28917

http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Talking+to+Children+about+Terrorism+and+War§ion=Facts+for+Families

http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/talking_kids_about_terrorism_or_acts_war

Sincerely,

Paul Stein
Superintendent of Schools