Dear Members of the Somerville Public School Community,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you. Our thoughts and prayers are with the
Newtown, Connecticut community. No words
can express the amount of suffering and grief that we feel, especially for
those parents that lost children.
In school, we are not drawing attention to this incident and
are continuing to provide a sense of normalcy. This morning principals met with
staff members in an effort to prepare to meet the emotional needs of our students. You may have noticed that district
administrators, including myself, and members of the Somerville Police
Department assisted in providing an increased presence at each of the
buildings. School counselors and mental
health professionals are available for our students and staff. You can expect to see this support
implemented for the remainder of the week.
Resources for talking to your child are posted on the district
homepage.
The district’s Emergency
Management Plan is updated annually with assistance from local law
enforcement and emergency management personnel. Each month, our schools conduct drills for
various types of safety and security procedures. We continue to revisit and update the
district’s Emergency Management Plan
as the times around us change. In the
upcoming months, the district will investigate hiring new security
personnel. In order for all of us to
ensure the safest environment for our children, we urge you to contact a school
administrator if you see or hear something of concern. Notifying us in a prompt and timely manner is
of the utmost importance when handling potential incidents of this nature. In addition, we recommend that you monitor your
child’s social media accounts.
This holiday season, I will hug my children a little tighter. I hope you find some time to do the
same. I thank you again for your
understanding and continued support. As
always, please do not hesitate to contact me through my blog, email, twitter or
phone.
Warmest Regards,
Timothy Purnell, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent of Schools
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