Students and teachers at a St. Michael school are grieving as they start to learn about the loss of one of their own.
The Big Woods Elementary staff, student body and parents were alerted to the death of a fellow student late Thursday, Nov. 13, after an e-mail was sent out by Principal Lee Brown.
According to the letter, a third-grader (whose name will not be released by North Wright County Today until funeral arrangements are made public) died unexpectedly earlier this week.
Brown stated that staff was informed of the “sad news” on Thursday, and students will be told on Friday morning of their classmate’s passing.
“If students need support,” Brown wrote, “we will have comfort rooms staffed with district social workers and counselors. Please contact your child’s teacher, Cathy Thomas (social worker), or me with questions and concerns. Mrs. Thomas has a link on her Web page that addresses grief.”
Funeral arrangements will be posted on the Big Woods Elementary site, as well as North Wright County Today, when they are made available.
“Please keep the family in your thoughts in the days ahead,” Brown’s letter concluded.
The incident happens a little more than a year after Fieldstone Elementary in St. Michael lost a member of the fourth grade student body there in late October 2013. Derek Rowe, son of Rob and Tracy, died unexpectedly due to complications with asthma. A memorial tree, along with a stone bearing Derek’s picture, now rests out in front of Fieldstone.