Welcome

August 3, 2010

Dear parents and guardians:

As you may have heard in the media, two sisters and their parents lost their lives in a tragic motor vehicle accident on Sunday near Golden, B.C. Aashar Arshad, the family’s son and younger brother is a former student of ours and is registered to attend Lee Ridge School in September. He was travelling in another vehicle and was not injured. His sisters, Drakhshan (Dolly), attended Avonmore School in the Nellie McClung program and Mahlaka, attended Kate Chegwin School. Mahlaka also attended Lee Ridge School up until the 2008-2009 school year.

As you can imagine, this is a devastating event for this young boy. Our hearts and prayers go out to Aashar and his entire family and friends during this very difficult time.

Should your child hear about these deaths, I would encourage you to speak with them about it. The topic of death can be a difficult one for children, and they may have questions or just want to share their own thoughts and feelings.

In anticipation for the start of school, I have been in contact with the Edmonton Public Schools’ Critical Incident Support Services. They will be available in September to support students and staff should they require assistance.

Nigel Butterfield,

Principal