Dear ISB Community,

Tragedy struck our community yesterday with the death of 11th grader Anthony Faseler. I know all of us are thinking of and praying for Anthony’s family.

Today at ISB our focus has been on providing support to the friends and teachers of Anthony and his brother. Our professional learning day was cancelled so that our counselors, teachers and school psychologists could be available on campus to students, faculty and parents. We are grateful to Dr. Vanelli, US Embassy Psychiatrist, for being available today to provide additional support.

Any students or parents who would like to speak to a counselor or write a message in the memory book for Anthony’s family can visit the main library before 3 pm today, or during school hours on Thursday and Friday.

Resources about how to speak to children about death, and tips for young people to take care of themselves and their friends at this difficult time are linked below. Parents who are concerned about their children’s reactions are encouraged to contact their child’s counselor or school psychologist.

Our Crisis Response Team has been meeting frequently and each division is planning for how best to support students in the days and weeks ahead. Our priority at the moment is to help those affected in this most difficult of times.

A thorough investigation into what occurred is underway and we will provide an update when we are able to.

Our deepest sympathies are with the Faseler family at this time. Unimaginable moments like these test our community and our hearts. Community members that need assistance or have questions or concerns may contact Leadership Team members and counselors.

We will be communicating again to the ISB community this evening with an update as well as plans for how we will be providing support in the coming days.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrew Davies
Head of School

Talking to Children about Death April 2016
Supporting yourself and your friends with grief