Please know, our counselors and social workers are available for students who may need to talk about their feelings regarding any situation the student may be experiencing.

The following tips for parents may be useful in helping children cope with loss and grief.

• Children grieve differently. Be prepared to listen when they are ready to talk.
• Give children the information about loss and death at the level they can understand.
• Keep in mind that grieving is hard work. It will take time for our children to work through the process.
• Children need assurance from their parents that their own families are safe.
• Normal social activities may offer a much needed distraction and sense of connection and normalcy.

Here are some additional resources for your family:

• Death and Grief in the Family: Tips for Families

• Preparing Your Child to Say Goodbye

The following are some basic tips you can share with your child:

• Know your surroundings. Look and listen for the things and people around you that could pose a safety risk. It’s also a good idea to know your neighborhood (practice different ways of getting home from school or a friend’s house).
• Always in a group. There’s a lot of truth to the saying, “safety in numbers” and we encourage all students to travel with a buddy at all times. Walking, riding bikes, running, or playing outdoors with multiple friends is much safer than alone – not to mention, much more fun!
• Remove distractions. It may not be as enjoyable to run without music playing, but those headphones could prevent you from hearing a car or another safety hazard. The same is true for using your cell phone, which can easily distract you from surrounding safety risks.
• Don’t go. If someone you don’t know or don’t trust asks you to go somewhere with them, say “no” and run in the opposite direction to tell an adult. If someone in a vehicle asks you to come closer to them or to the vehicle, say “no” and run in the opposite direction to tell an adult. The same is true for personal information. Never give out your name, telephone number, address, or other personal information.
• Speak up. If you see or hear something you believe could be dangerous or has made you uncomfortable, report it to an adult immediately. School buildings statistically remain the safest place for children to be. Please remind your child that they are safe at school and the adults at school care deeply about their safety. Please reassure your child that they can and should feel safe reporting any incident to an adult and that we will take every report seriously.

Unfortunately, “stranger danger” issues can arise in safe neighborhoods, public places, and the internet. Please talk to your children about the ways in which they can keep themselves and others safe.

• Suicide Prevention: Toolkit for Parents/Guardians
• Teenager’s Guide to Depression
• Mental Health Tips Following a National Tragedy
• Care for the Parent, Guardian, Caregiver and Teachers
• Parents/Guardians: Guidelines for Helping Youth After the Recent Shooting
• Student Perpetrators of Violence: Brief Facts
• The Role for Caring Adults after a School or Community Tragedy

Why should I be concerned?

Dear Bloomfield Hills Schools Families:

To minimize disruption to the educational process, the goal is always to keep school in session unless road conditions, severe cold or other weather conditions pose a significant risk to student safety. In the past few winters, record snowfalls and extended bitter cold (beyond -25 degrees) reacted with one another (e.g. salt not working), making actual conditions even tougher to accurately predict. We also faced some additional days that did not nearly reach the -25 and beyond mark, but also a few that did.

However, just as there is no defined depth of snow accumulation that indicates closure (because of the overall effect of wind, ice, temperature, humidity and other factors), likewise, there is no exact temperature that indicates closure. Typically, when wind chills head into the -22 and below range, we consider school cancellation because frostbite can set in within approximately 30 minutes. If the road conditions are not favorable, bus delays may push bus stop wait times into the 30 minute range, posing a risk to our students. For that reason, a designated member of the administration will often drive district roads between 3:00 and 4:30 a.m. and report findings and recommendations that help inform our decision. We also consult with weather authorities and other area superintendents, but ultimately we have to make a decision based on what we feel is in the best interest of Bloomfield Hills students.

Whenever possible, we try to provide advance notice of school cancellation so that families can make alternate plans. Yet, this has to be balanced with waiting as long as possible to make sure the weather stays true to the forecast. Of course, no forecast is perfect, and sometimes the temperatures and snowfall amounts vary, which supports waiting until 4:30 am to make the decision (despite the difficulty we know this poses to families who have less time to make alternate arrangements). There is no way to be perfect with this. We can only make the best possible decision in real time with the best available information.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Michigan winters are never predictable or easy to navigate, but we will do our very best to keep both learning and safety as our top priorities!