Dear Parents/Guardians,
I am writing to inform you of a tragedy that has affected the family
of one of our students. The father of Ihsan Gün, a Lewis 5th grade
student, died Wednesday as a result from injuries received in a
traffic accident. We are deeply saddened by this and extend our
deepest condolences and sympathy to the Gün family.
Today at school, we shared this information with our staff, and
Ihsan’s classmates in 4th and 5th grade. Counselors, teachers and
District support personnel have been and will continue to be available
to students, teachers and parents on an ongoing basis.
When circumstances of this magnitude occur, people have many kinds of
reactions: shock, sadness, fear, anger or no feelings at all. These
reactions can come and go in an hour or a day or for days to come.
All of these feelings are normal responses to the death of someone we
know or who was a part of our school community.
It is helpful for students to be able to talk about how they feel and
are impacted by this event. Learning of the death of a classmate’s
parent can affect a young person in a variety of ways, depending on
their age, how well the student knew the individual who died, and the
student’s prior experience with grief, death, and loss.
When reacting to a death a student may:
Appear not to be affected
Ask a lot of questions
Be agitated and angry
Try extra hard to be good
Be thinking about it privately
Be frightened
Be sad and withdrawn
We suggest that you encourage your student to talk about the events of
the day. If they seem to need information, answer their questions
simply and honestly. We encourage you to call the school at 503-916-
6360 should you need any assistance.
Sincerely,
Tim Lauer
