![]() This weekend, it would be helpful if there are opportunities for students to connect with other students in healthy ways, with adults near-by. It has been a difficult two days, to be sure, and it is also wonderful to witness teachers, staff and students supporting each other throughout the school. ![]() While many of our students are still working through sadness and other emotions, we are continually struck by the resilience of our young people. That we love them, and will move heaven and earth to provide the support that they need. I share this to encourage you to have a meaningful conversation with your children, and to remind them that no matter what they are going through, we (the adults in their life) can help them through it. This issue will be discussed further at the upcoming Tuesday, February 11th at 7:00 in the NSHS Auditorium. ![]() #NEWTON SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL HOW TO#We are all extremely concerned about this, and are working with experts in the field to know how to proceed. Roee’s death is also so deeply troubling as this is the third student suicide in Newton since the beginning of the school year. ![]() There were no indications to any of us – or to his family – that Roee was even contemplating suicide. Roee’s family has shared with us that his death was by suicide. He was very connected to many adults in the building, and was not shy about engaging in long conversations. He was an excellent student, served as a class officer for the class of 2015, participated in athletics, and was a peer advisor for a freshman homeroom. Roee was personable, engaging, bright, articulate, and compassionate. Thank you once again to our community for embracing our school, from food to tissues to well wishes. I want you to know that our students and staff are taking care of each other, and that through our sadness there are lots of hugs and stories. It is so difficult to write to you to share our experience over the last two days. Here's some of the letter from Joel Stembridge, the principal at Newton South High School, sent to the community shortly after Grutman's death: sometimes the kids just need to talk with each other." "We told her we feel heartsick about this and we will do anything we can to help, but 'we're not going to make you talk if you don't want to.' And she said 'Thank you, I want to talk to my friends.' Yesterday I heard voices in her room - a bunch of them congregated there - and I thought, 'I'm not going to go break in.' I felt they were up there linking arms and steeling themselves. "Anya's been spending an enormous amount of time with her friends - who are Roee's friends," Knoll said. Still, Knoll said, the kids are gathering together and trying to process these deaths in their own way. "It's impossible to make any sense of it." "No one among his family or uld see anything like this coming," Knoll said. Knoll said in Newton - where many kids have been classmates since the age of 4 - Grutman's out-of-the-blue suicide is particularly excruciating. "My daughter was gray and pale and tightlipped for the last two days." (Knoll says Anya gave her permission to be named here.) "I think the kids are beside themselves," said Elizabeth Knoll, whose 17-year-old daughter, Anya Graubard, is also a Newton South junior and was friends with Roee. "One after another, the speakers at Monday’s service told of a young man who lit up a room when he walked in, and despite his schedule busy with honors classes and sports, always had time for a friend."Īccording to parents in the Newton South community, many children are still in shock (as are their parents and teachers) and struggling to comprehend the string of suicides in general, and in particular, the death of a boy who appeared to be so well-adjusted, socially connected and stable. Grutman's death follows two other suicides: Katherine Stack, a Newton South sophomore, took her own life in October, shortly after Karen Douglass, a Newton North senior, also committed suicide.Īt a memorial service for Grutman last night, hundreds of classmates and family members gathered to remember the "bright, articulate, compassionate" young man, The Boston Globe reports: (According to the state Executive Office of Public Safety & Security, Grutman's death was a result of "asphyxia by hanging.") Tonight's gathering comes after reports that 17-year-old Roee Grutman, a popular Newton South junior, committed suicide earlier this month. Tonight at the Newton South High School auditorium, school officials and mental health experts will try to offer some guidance on how to talk to children about suicide and how best to support kids and families reeling from the news of a third teen suicide in this community since the start of the school year. Twitter facebook Email This article is more than 8 years old. ![]()
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