The Bluewater District School Board is apologizing for an incident at an Owen Sound school that prompted complaints from parents.
The incident took place on Thursday at East Ridge Community School, where three staff members dressed in morph suit costumes with the East Ridge Falcon colours entered a classroom in an exercise geared towards newsgathering among students, according to school board Communications Officer Jamie Pettit.
A parent complaint mentioned the men were shouting and frightening children during the 'staged robbery', however, Pettit says that's not true. Pettit says the intruders pretended to steal a broom and dustpan before leaving the room.
Staff members realized some students were frightened by the fake robbery, and Pettit says the school board has been in contact with the parents of students who were "negatively-impacted".
Pettit expressed regret the false information being spread on social media about the incident and added some of the parents have weighed in with a more balanced view of what took place.
Pettit says at no time were any students in danger, and the intent of the exercise was to provide an authentic experience in writing a news report. He says students were going to eventually use notes taken during the exercise to write a news report about the mock threat.
School administrators are expressing regret and are taking full responsibility for not thinking this through.