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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2011-10-19, Page 9Wednesday, October 1e. 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 9 Grieving kids can't learn, says AMDSB support group Tragic Events Response Team helps in crises and loss Rita Marshall 9111Agency .,tudents grieving have a hard time learning, says the lead prin- cipal of the Tragic Events Response Support Team (TERST) at the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB). At the board's Oct. 11 meeting, TERST district lead principal Betty Beer Vanrooy told trustees that the purpose of the group is to help a school maintain as much normalcy as possible dur- ing a crisis or tragedy. 'Ihe district TERM' is made up of a dozen AMDSB employees whose skills include guidance, grief counseling, suicide inter- vention, first aid, registered nurs- ing, special education, cotnmu- nications and Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) de-escalation/ restraint training. Each AMDSB school is required to have an identified team of school community mem- bers who can provide support during a tragic event or crisis. Vanrooy said that this may include staff members, clergy, social workers, nurses, police officers and parents. "We all know that parent;" said Vanrooy, describing parents whose rec room ends up being the gathering place for students after a traumatic event. "Those are the parents we want in the school" she said. Vanrooy said the district TERST also has several commu- nity partners, including local hospitals, healthcare providers, the OPP, the 1luron Perth Centre for Children and Youth, the Chil- dren's Aid Society, Public l lealth units, Victims Services of Perth and Huron and crisis interven- tion and employee assistance programs. Vanrooy added that not all tragedies or crises occur within the schools. She noted that com- munity tragedies such as the Goderich tornado, the killing of Const. Vu Phan and the deaths of Listowel firefighters Raymond Walter and Kenneth Rea all impact local school populations as well as the community at large. Student trustee and South Huron District High School (SHIM student Mathias Mem- mel told Vanrooy that his school appreciated the TERST's help after the 2009 death of 16 -year- old Cody Johnson in South I luron. Vanrooy said she has had the unfortunate task of visiting every high school hit by loss at one time or another. "It's a particularly difficult time for you growing up to lose a peer," she said. Vanrooy emphasized that TERST helps students in the midst of grief or crisis but also provides long-tertn strategies for students who are rebuilding their sense of normalcy. "The real work of trauma and grief happens at a personal speed and pace with different kinds of support," she said. Vanrooy based her presenta- tion around the work of Juli Alvarado, a counselor and clini- cal consultant with the organiza- tion Coaching for Life, Coaching for Life's website promotes "emo- tional regulatory healing" based on a "scientific brain -based, trauma informed paradigm for healing that gets right to the source." Perth East trustee Julie Moore, who holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree, questioned Alvara- do's claim that brain disorgani- zation leads to emotional disreg- ulation, noting that the concept is "very controversial in a number ofsectors.' "Is that best practice in your sector?" Moore asked Vanrooy, noting that she was "just curious.' Vanrooy said that she only used Alvarado's ideas as a frame- work for her presentation. Not- ing that she has been part of the TERSE for 20 years and leader for 11 years, Vanrooy said the TERST Lakeshore Advance New student council at Mount Carmel There Is a new student council at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Shown here are Prime Minister - Brendan Gordon,Secretary - Tristan Relouw, Tleasurer - Angela Regier, Teacher - Mrs. Coombs, Vice Prime Minister - Taylor McCann, Social Convener - Sara Dietrich, Health and safety - Julia Stewart. continues to use the strategies devel- oped over that time. 1 don't respond any differently after hearing Juii Alvarado's research and her presentation than I did before, but I understand Netter why the team has responded and continues to respond the way they do, she said. Merry Rags FALL MIDNIGHT MADNESS 5OOFF ALL FALL FASHIONS Starts: Saturday October 22 C� 10:00 A.M. and continues until everything is gone!!! 'thank you to all our loyal and faithful' customers. 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