02/11/2026
Today, hearts are heavy in Tumbler Ridge and the ripples will be felt around this globe.
When something unthinkable happens in a school, our instinct is to rush to the children — and of course we do. But in times of crisis, our first and most urgent work is with the big people. The helpers. The educators. The parents.
Because if you’re not okay, the people you serve don’t stand a chance.
There is nothing you will say today that matters more than attending to your own nervous system first. Slow your breathing. Feel your feet on the floor. Kids aren’t listening for perfect words — they’re watching for cues of safety. They are scanning your face, your tone, your posture for one question: In this moment, are we okay?
Right now, information is everywhere. This is the first time in history that children have access to this much detail, this quickly. We cannot control that completely, as hard as we try. But we can open conversations. We can create space to help them make sense of hard things. We can say, “What have you heard?” and “What are you wondering?” and then we can sit with them in it.
The hardest moments on this journey were never meant to be walked alone. The closer you are to the situation, the more you can identify both in your physical location and your emotional connections, you will feel it all that much more.
Show up.
Bring food.
Look after your teachers today.
Hug each other a little longer at drop-off.
Together, we will make sense of hard things.
