The Lambton-Kent District School Board has made arrangements for students and staff to attend a funeral for a student tragically killed last week near Bothwell.
Director of Education Jim Costello says anyone at John McGregor Secondary School attending is excused for the day.
"If need be we will hire supply teachers to cover off those classes and replace those teachers, for all or a portion of the day, as necessary," says Costello. He adds that teachers will drastically slow the pace of class work while the students continue to grieve. "It would be not uncommon in this situation to totally re engineer the classroom experience and take away any assessments and tests for the immediate future in the time being, certainly in the next couple of days or week or so." Final exams are scheduled to start next week.
The 14-year-old was struck by a van while walking along Longwoods Rd. shortly after 6pm last Wednesday. Police are still investigating the incident.
Today's funeral is scheduled to begin at 1:30pm at Badder and Robinson Funeral Home in Bothwell.