By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Update on Gilbert Paterson school situation provides no new information

Mar 22, 2018 | 10:41 PM

LETHBRIDGE –  Up-Date as of noon Friday.

The Lethbridge Public school board held an information update for the media Friday morning regarding the situation at Gilbert Paterson school.  However, no new information or update was actually provided, even though the school board initiated the news conference.
 
Associate Superintendent, Morag Asquith read from a prepared statement, which had previously been released to the media and the public.
 
Asquith said she was open to questions from the media and was repeatedly asked for details about the incident.  However, she declined to offer any other information and said that the police would have to answer the questions, but there were no police in attendance.
 
Asquith did state, “The parameters of the threat can now be ruled out.”   She would not elaborate of what the ‘parameters’ were.
 
On Thursday evening, a Gilbert Paterson parent told LethbridgeNewsNOW that negative comments and a graffiti threat written on a boys’ bathroom wall, had targeted the school’s principal.  Again, Asquith would not confirm the information and told media to speak with police. However, when asked how the school principal was dealing with the situation, Asquith said she had been in contact with him and that he was “responding confidently and accessing resources and supports to ensure his response is supporting students and staff.”
 
The Associate Superintendent said district officials spent time with school staff on Friday morning, talking about what it would look like on Monday when they return to regular classes and how they could take care of themselves.
 
The school district follows the Violent Threat Risk Assessment Protocol, which she says provides sound practice in dealing with similar incidents. Although it was the school board that called the news conference, Asquith was not able to provide details of the protocol or the time-line of the events leading up to the cancelling of classes.
 
Asquith noted the school board was in contact with police and parents last night to ensure consistent and accurate ‘messaging’ was put out and she felt sufficient information was provided.    She stated that while there is never a perfect response during a ‘crisis’ situation they acted quickly to get out information about the school closure on Friday, which allowed parents to prepare.
 
Gilbert Paterson School returns to normal classes on Monday. In the meantime, a police-issued statement Friday morning noted a student had discovered a written message threatening violence.  There was an enhanced police presence in and around other schools Friday morning, as police continue to investigate the incident.