By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter with photo from Patrick Burles @PatrickBurles

Letter to parents asks children to watch for drug debris on Westminster Elementary School grounds

Oct 26, 2018 | 1:29 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Parents, students and administrators are being asked to watch for drug debris including needles on the grounds of Westminster Elementary School before, during and after school is in session.

Drug debris was found this week in the middle of a large field on school property, where children sometimes play. Members of the Lethbridge Fire Department picked up and safely disposed of the material.

An email, sent to parents by principle Angela Wilde indicates that illicit drug debris was recently found in and around school property and that staff are being “vigilant in their supervision, and have been talking with students about not touching any unknown materials they find on the playground.”

According to the Lethbridge School District, it’s the first time such a letter has been sent to parents directly in response to drug debris found on school property.

The email goes on to indicate that administrators have told children to “refrain from playing in the large field,” asking them to stick solely to paths and playground areas where there is active supervision.

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Lethbridge News NOW contacted both Westminster Elementary School and Lethbridge School District 51.

School District Spokesperson Garrett Simmons has confirmed the email went out to parents Thursday, as part of the District’s continued effort to keep parents up to date and aware of the situation.

“We just wanted to make sure the parents knew exactly what happened, if their kid came home with questions, so they could address it to their kids themselves and keep them in the loop as to what was going on at the school.”

Simmons says that staff are performing sweeps of the school grounds on a regular basis, that staff are supervising playground areas, and that all schools have posters informing students of the proper procedures should they find illicit drug-related material.

“The best approach that we can do is that we’re continually educating the kids on this issue and making sure that… if they do find something to report it right away to an adult. To not touch it, to let an adult know right away.”

But he adds that parents are upset that people are depositing their drug waste on and near school property.

“Parents are very disappointed this is happening. Certainly, this isn’t an issue that’s centralised to our schools, obviously it’s occurring throughout the city, so you know, it’s part of the reality.”

But Simmons emphasizes that students are safe at school.

“We (the School District) take student safety very seriously and do our due diligence to ensure our school grounds are as safe as possible. The school district does have a blanket insurance policy that covers students in the case of a wide range of incidents from a trip on the playground, to an injury in gym class. Parents can find those insurance forms on our website.”

The district is also in contact with various community agencies to ensure the grounds remain as safe as possible.