Here’s how school boards prepare students for threats and traumatic events

CTV’s Luke Simard gets reaction from the region's school boards on the school shooting in BC that left 10 people dead including the suspect.

The tragedy from British Columbia is being felt around the country.

CTV News spoke to local school boards about what they are doing to communicate amidst a tragedy more than 3,000 kilometers away.

Dr. Beth McCague, senior psychologist at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (SMCDSB) has the tools and resources to assist students when they need it most.

“Some are in the group form. We have more targeted individual work with students and certainly lots of consultation to educators throughout the system on around how to support students’ wellbeing and mental health,” said Dr. McCague.

• WATCH: Ten dead, dozens injured in mass shooting at B.C. high school

Both the catholic and public school boards have similar protocols when it comes to student safety, including practicing school lockdowns three times in a school year.

Dean Maltby, associate dean for the SMCDSB said practicing lockdowns helps students become more comfortable should a significant event occur.

“It gets students to feel a level of comfort when doing those events so that when they do happen, it’s more of an automatic reaction than something new and out of the blue,” said Maltby. “So, we take those practices very seriously and those occur each year.”

School boards also use email to keep parents always informed.

“We really try and update when we know things to be as factual and up to date as possible, because we don’t want to throw out misinformation to parents,” said Maltby. “So, there may be a bit of a lag time, but it will be the information that we know best at that time.”

After tragic and traumatic events, schools will then have counsellors on site for students and educators to use.

“We facilitate ways that students can gather with familiar people and giving the adults resources but also bring in mental health workers to support if there are individual students struggling,” said Dr. McCague.

• RELATED: ‘She never hurt a soul’: Grieving father speaks after daughter killed in B.C. school shooting. Live Tumbler Ridge updates here.

If a student does activate a resource, counsellors will do their best to assess and find the proper resources.

“Any student of any age shows or says I’m really struggling, our approach is to really wrap around them and that really does depend on who the student is, their age, what they’re struggling with, who’s currently supporting them,” said Dr. McCague. “And it’s always a collaboration of who is already supportive and can we support the supporters.”

McCague also reminds parents on the importance of having open discussions with your children at home.

“It’s important, as parents, that we actually ask questions and get really curious about what are you thinking? What did you hear? What is it like to hear that, and in any way that our kids bring us information,” said Dr. McCague. “We want to help hear their questions and concerns and validate all the feelings.”

Both school boards said schools have a vast amount of tools and resources for students and educators to use if they feel like they need some assistance and wanted to send an important message that it is always okay to ask for help.