A WEEKEND TRAGEDY FIRST-GRADERS TRYING TO COPE WITH CLASSMATE'S DEATH.Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Austin Williamson's classmates Classmates can refer to either:
Across town, a makeshift shrine with flowers and stuffed animals
A stuffed animal is toy animal stuffed with straw, beans, cotton or other similar materials. Some stuffed animals are very old – home made cloth dolls stuffed with straw go back to at least the went up at the McBean Parkway intersection where the 6-year-old died Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
En route home from church, the Ford Expedition The Ford Expedition is a full-size SUV built by the Ford Motor Company. Introduced in 1997 it slots between the smaller Ford Explorer, and the now discontinued and larger Ford Excursion. The Expedition offers up to eight passenger seating and a range of V8 engines. driven by his mother was struck by a Lexus SUV driven by Cheun Sun, causing the Expedition to smash into a utility pole A utility pole, telegraph pole, telephone pole, power pole, or telegraph post is a post or pole upon which telecommunication network equipment is situated. . Tisha Williamson was treated and released from a local hospital; her 3 year-old son Kyle, who also was a passenger in the Expedition, was not injured in the collision. ``He was a very sweet boy, well-liked by other students and cute as a button,'' said Gayle Abril, Valley View principal. Abril gathered the first-grade teachers after receiving a call about the collision to brief them on the incident. After calling parents of Linam's pupils, Abril went into the classroom to talk to the children themselves. ``This was too emotionally difficult for the teacher to do,'' Abril said. ``For children this age, we talk about simple truths. We tell them what happened, but we keep it very simple. For them, he's just absent. ``They took it very well. They wanted to know what happened and asked how his mother and brother were. They wanted to know if he was in heaven, and I told them I believed he was, that Austin was their classroom angel now.'' After receiving the initial news, the children shared stories about family members and pets who died, which is a normal coping mechanism coping mechanism Psychiatry Any conscious or unconscious mechanism of adjusting to environmental stress without altering personal goals or purposes , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. childhood experts. ``This is how you check to see if they understand,'' Abril said. ``It gives them a concrete understanding of what you just told them,'' said Anita O'Brien, Valley View's school psychologist, who met with the students after Abril's visit. She helped the principal draft a letter that was sent home explaining some of the reactions children might have to the news that parents would see at home or some time later. ``Children take cues from their parents,'' O'Brien said. ``If the parents react to something with strong emotions, the children think that's the normal way to react. ``Parents should just be open with them and answer their questions, but be cautious not to overanswer them. Children will ask for details they're not ready to hear.'' Sgt. Jim Anderson Jim Anderson can refer to:
A prayer service was planned Monday night at Valley Community Church, where the family attends. Services are pending. Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Jacob Schreier, Debbie Sheff and Cayden Jackson pause at a memorial for Austin Williamson, 6, of Canyon Country, who was killed in a car crash there Sunday morning, at the corner of McBean Parkway and Arroyo Park Drive. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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