In a brief “Statement to Students”, the district announced that a MVHS Junior has passed away recently.
The brief states as follows:
The cause of death is not public, and as a community, we send out condolences to our student’s family and friends. Rumors may begin to circulate, and we ask that you not spread rumors since they may turn out to be inaccurate and can be deeply harmful to everyone. We’ll do our best to give you accurate information as appropriate
The student’s name has not been released.
The district also said the counselors and therapists are available to students in order to process the loss, and to ask teachers for help as needed.
The full email from the district is posted below.
Dear MVLA Families,
Yesterday, we learned the extremely sad news that one of our MVHS 11th grade students has died. The cause of death is not public. As a community, we send our condolences to our student’s family and friends.
We know that this loss will have a tremendous impact on our community, and we will have our MVLA Mental Health Team and CHAC services available on campus and via telehealth to support both students and staff. If a student is on campus and in need of support, we will have mental support in the MVHS Library. For students in distance learning, we have created a Zoom link for drop-in support from 9:15 AM – 3:45 PM: https://zoom.us/j/92927021060?pwd=N3lWSUhIM25Wc3U0VXRaZE5VYWdMQT09
This semester, we have some students on-campus and some students remote. Toward that end, we wanted to communicate with our families first to help support parents and guardians in having conversations in the home and in monitoring student responses and needs. We will be informing our MVHS students during 1st period classes tomorrow. A copy of that statement is included below.
Please remember that the grieving process is different for everyone, and our students will react to this news in differing ways. Feeling sad is a normal response to any loss. Some students may have difficulty concentrating on schoolwork, while others may find that school work and keeping busy are welcomed distractions. Some students may wish to talk and process with others, while other students may wish to process alone. Please see the family resources below or Kara Grief Support for more information.
Developmental Stages and Grief: Children and Teens
10 Basic Principles of a Grieving Child
Community Mental Health Resources
If you have any questions about how we can support your student, please contact your student’s administrator.
Sincerely,
Nellie Meyer, Ed.D.
Superintendent