* frustration, hopelessness, fear, confusion, despair, anger, inability to concentrate* continuous retelling of the incident* a drastic change of personality or temperamentAny of the above may suggest the need for assistance. Please let the high school counselors know as soon as possible if you are observing any of these reactions in your son/daughter at home. If needed, the counselors and school psychologist are available to provide counseling support.Santa Paula High School Crisis Team implemented a plan for responding to this situation and helping our students during this time of grieving. The plan provided counseling to many of our students. The principal distributed a memo to all teachers informing them of what had occurred to a SPHS student, Campus Security was alerted and a full security staff was scheduled to be on campus along with assistance from the Santa Paula Police Department. The entire counseling team and school psychologist were available for students in need of grieve counseling, extra counseling agents were contacted, and the Santa Paula Elementary School District sent a team of counselors and a psychologist to assist our staff. The ASB students organized a fundraiser and donated the funds to the family. This plan evolved from our district’s guidelines for both discussing the incident and understanding reactions to it. Our school’s staff will be available to assist and help the students who need special attention and support, and the school can also obtain outside help or consultation if it is necessary. We will try to maintain as normal a routine as the situation allows, and we encourage you to do the same. If you feel that, your son/daughter or family needs assistance please contact the Guidance Office at 525-4406 ext. 216 and we will do everything we can to provide assistance and support.
SPHS Crisis Team Responds to Loss of Student
October 22, 2003
Santa Paula High School
A Santa Paula High School student, Samuel Reeves was tragically killed last week. The death of Samuel has deeply affected many students on the Santa Paula High School campus.
By Jose Antonio Gaitan, Principal and Sonia Pena, School Psychologist A Santa Paula High School student, Samuel Reeves was tragically killed last week. The death of Samuel has deeply affected many students on the Santa Paula High School campus.Students and staff react in different ways to these types of tragic situations. We should expect, accept, and try to understand a variety of emotions and behaviors. The most important thing we can do is to be supportive and to encourage discussion and sharing feelings about the incident. Also, parents should observe their children for behaviors such as the following:* loss of energy* nightmares* change in eating habits* guilt about surviving
