“A true community is not just about being geographically close to someone or part of the same social web network. It's about feeling connected and responsible for what happens. Humanity is our ultimate community, and everyone plays a crucial role.”- Yehuda Berg
In the wake of yet another school shooting we are once again faced with the struggle to find peace of mind, a reassurance of personal and collective safety, and anything approaching a reasonable explanation of “why?”. We are reaching out to you today to reaffirm to you that regardless of the date or time of year, the first goal of every school day is to create and maintain a safe and supportive environment at East Greenwich High School. The ultimate achievement of this goal, however, relies on the collective efforts of our entire school community. It is through you--our students, faculty, staff, parents, guardians, grandparents, siblings, coaches, anyone and everyone in our school community--that we will find our greatest asset to provide strength, comfort, and protection for all of us at East Greenwich High School. We ask that all members of the EGHS community take time to reflect and reaffirm our commitment to take all actions necessary to keep everyone at EGHS both safe and supported.
Students:
Are you worried about a friend or someone you know? Tell a teacher, counselor, police officer, principal, or any adult in the building. We want your job to be that of a student, and every adult’s job at EGHS is to help those in need (and we love our jobs), so please let us know if you or anyone you know might be in need of some support.
- Don’t open doors to the outside of the building to let someone in. Anyone who has a valid reason to gain entry to EGHS has a key or can gain entrance through the monitored main entryway.
- If you see or hear something that doesn’t look or sound right- alert someone.
- If you see or hear a threat to someone or something on social media- don’t dismiss it as joke. Alert an adult in the building. If it is outside of the school day- alert your parents, guardians, or the East Greenwich Police Department.
Parents, Guardians, Community:
- If you have any information about a child who is being abused or neglected, please call 1-800-RI-CHILD
- If you are concerned about the well-being or behavior of your child, please notify the EGHS guidance office so we can work together and address both the behavior and the cause.
- If you are concerned about the well-being or behavior of one of your child’s friends or someone else’s child, please consider reaching out to the parents and guardians of that child to let them know what you are seeing and why you are concerned.
- If you have any information you believe suggests a threat to any individual or group at EGHS, please contact the East Greenwich Police Department immediately.
We know that taking some of the actions listed above might be uncomfortable. However, we believe that the feelings of being uncomfortable pale in comparison to the weight of emotion one would feel if tragedy strikes and one could have taken action, yet didn’t.
On behalf of everyone at East Greenwich High School, we thank you in advance for your recommitment to do all that is necessary to achieve a safe and supportive environment at EGHS so that we can focus on the achievement of our mission--to empower all members to achieve their full potential as learners, thinkers, and responsible global citizens.
Sincerely,
Michael Podraza- Principal, Jeffrey Heath- Assistant Principal, Officer Stephen Branch- School Resource Officer/EGPD, Lyn Hostetler- Director of Guidance, Rebecca Braman- School Psychologist, and Robert Houghtaling- Director of East Greenwich Drug Program
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