From charles.johns at d214.org Fri Feb 15 08:46:32 2008 From: charles.johns at d214.org (Charles Johns) Date: Fri Feb 15 09:40:50 2008 Subject: [RMHS] Mustang Update - Response to NIU Tragedy Message-ID: Dear RMHS Community: I'm sure all of you are aware of the tragic news coming from Northern Illinois University. Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and the entire NIU community. Sadly, this event has touched our school community in a number of ways. One of our graduates, Jimmy (J.D.) Donohue was one of the victims who was injured. Nancy Karras, school counselor, has received information about J.D. through contact with J.D. and his family. He was apparently grazed by two bullets, but has been treated and released. We know that there was at least one other RMHS graduate in the NIU classroom and it has been reported that she/they were not injured. We have many graduates attending NIU and many of our students and staff have family members attending there, as well. This incident will obviously be on the minds of our students and staff. We know that students and staff may be struggling with the events that took place at NIU yesterday. The RMHS Crisis Team met early this morning and established a response plan. I made an announcement regarding the tragedy this morning on our televised announcement system. The RMHS Student Services Department has established a support room in the Deans' Conference Room to help students in need. Signs are being posted throughout the building reminding students of the location of the support room. Additionally, teachers have been requested to read a statement at the beginning of each block to remind students of the services being offered and how to access them. We are collecting get well cards for J.D. and sympathy cards for the NIU community in the Main Office. The administration and the school security staff will be actively looking for students who may be in need of support. Already, many of our graduates have reached out to the RMHS staff. While we are grateful that a supportive network exists, we are currently focusing our priorities on our current students. Graduates who come to the building are being requested to go to the Attendance Office so that we can manage the flow of people in our building. If there are any critical changes, I'll keep you updated. Thank you for reading. Charles Johns _______________________________________________ Charles Johns, Ph.D. Principal Rolling Meadows High School 847.718.5600 Please note that my new email address is: charles.johns@d214.org All e-mail correspondence to and from this address is subject to the Acceptable Use Policies of District 214, which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. Any views or opinions presented in this e-mail are solely those of the author and might not represent those of Township High School District 214.