École Meridian Heights School Mourns the loss of Tia Bissoondatt

February 26, 2024

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of a former student. Tia Bissoondatt previously attended École Meridian Heights School from Kindergarten to Grade 9. Tia will be dearly missed by teachers, friends, and the community.

Condolences on behalf of Parkland School Division have been sent to the family. They have been assured that our thoughts are with them now and in the coming days and weeks.

PSD`s Trauma Response Team members will be available to support students at École Meridian Heights, to assist students’ and staff members’ emotional health and well-being.

We are aware that students process loss in different ways, and we would encourage you to talk and listen to your children to assist them in understanding this loss. Many factors influence our reaction to death: who passed away, how or why it happened, the support system available, age, personality, and especially previous loss experience. For your information, we are providing the following suggestions for helping children grieve.

Parents/Guardians, you can provide valuable assistance to your children during this time. Here are some ideas to consider when talking about this sensitive topic:

• Be attentive to your children when he/she has questions and wants to talk.
• Listen to your child’s feelings and accept them, even if they are different from yours.
• Give honest, simple, brief answers.
• Make sure that your child understands your answers and the meaning that you intend.
• Create opportunities for your children to talk about what happened and how they are feeling.
• Encourage positive self-care activities specific to your child’s preferences. Examples could be physical activity, journaling, artwork, or positive and supportive time with people they care about.
• Be especially loving and supporting; more than anyone else, your child needs you at this time.

Above all, listen to your children and let them know that their feelings are normal and acceptable.

If you have any concerns regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Sincerely,

Amy Strachan, Principal
École Meridian Heights School