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'Dear Mr. Fisher': Kids write letters to education director pleading for action on school violence

Amid rising school violence in the province, some kids have written letters to Thames Valley District School Board director of education Mark Fisher, pleading for lockdowns to end.

Parents at W. Sherwood Fox in Westmount say some kids are scared to go to school

CBC News ·
A letter in kid handwriting that states "To Mr. Fisher. At Sherwood Fox I don't like the lockdowns because it stops me from going to the bathroom, going outside, filling my water, getting my lunch and leaving music and gym."
A letter written to director of education Mark Fisher from a Grade 2 student at W. Sherwood Fox public school in London. (Supplied by W. Sherwood Fox school council)

More than 30 children and parents have written letters to the region's director of education, pleading for an end to violence at their school in west London.

The letters from students at W. Sherwood Fox Public School, some handwritten and others typed, offer insight into how kids see and react to daily 'code yellows' — called when students have to remain in their classrooms while staff deal with another child having a tantrum or violent episode. 

"I am in grade one," writes one student. 'I relly (sic) love school but I do not like when other students block the front foyer... sometimes kids get hurt. I do not like that." 

'I am feeling a little nervous to go to school," writes a child in Grade 3. Another, in Grade 2, writes "I don't like the lockdowns ... I get scared and my friends get scared too." 

The letters are part of a package hand delivered to Mark Fisher, the head of the Thames Valley District School Board, on May 1, from the W. Sherwood Fox school council. 

A main letter from the school council detailed problems with how the school deals with violence and outlined possible solutions, and 30 others from parents and students expressed more personal stories of dealing with the daily incidents. 

Fisher has not responded to the letters or acknowledged getting the package, and neither have any senior school board officials, school council chair Cindy Burfoot told CBC News on Monday. 

Fisher and senior leaders were unavailable for an interview with CBC News, a communications staffer said. 

The school council provided some letters to CBC News with parents' permission, but we are withholding the names of the children who wrote them because of their ages. 

Here are some of the letters: 

A letter by a child in Grade 3 written to director of education Mark Fisher demanding changes to an unsafe school environment.
A letter written by a student in Grade 6 at W. Sherwood Fox public school. (Supplied by W. Sherwood Fox school council)
A typed letter from a kid in Grade 5 at W. Sherwood Fox public school to director of education Mark Fisher outlining why there is fear because of lockdowns at the school
A letter written by a W. Sherwood Fox student in Grade 5. (Supplied by W. Sherwood Fox school council)
A letter in kid printing says: "Dear Mr. Fisher. I am in Grade one. I relly love scohol but I do not like when other students block the front foyer. I can not get to music and gym when this happens. sometimes a kid in my class has a tantrums. Sometimes kids get hurt. I do not like that. I do not like how they close the hallway because I cannot go to the bathroom.
A letter from a Grade 1 student at W. Sherwood Fox in London. (Supplied by W. Sherwood Fox school council)
A letter from a Grade 5 student to director of education Mark Fisher, saying there are lock downs at the school too often. They interrupt the day and make people nervous. The student suggests fundraising for a sensory room.
A letter from a student in Grade 5 at W. Sherwood Fox in London. (Supplied by W. Sherwood Fox school council)
A letter in kid handwriting that states "To Mr. Fisher. At Sherwood Fox I don't like the lockdowns because it stops me from going to the bathroom, going outside, filling my water, getting my lunch and leaving music and gym."
A letter written to director of education Mark Fisher from a Grade 2 student at W. Sherwood Fox public school in London. (Supplied by W. Sherwood Fox school council)
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