Two St. Albert residents have called on St. Albert Public to rethink a guideline that bans permanent memorials to the dead in schools.
Many St. Albert-area schools have memorials, awards, and other honours dedicated to staff and students who died during the school year.
Last year, St. Albert Public staff raised concerns the district was not treating all deceased staff members and students with the same level of acknowledgment with these memorials, said district spokesperson Paula Power.
“We realized a need to give our schools some guidance,” Power said, so administration developed a guideline for school memorials, the printed version of which was sent to schools in the week of Aug. 23.
“Creating permanent memorials can hinder the process of grief by stigmatizing those who are unaffected by the death, as well as negatively impacting vulnerable students and those who are at risk for suicide,” the guidelines read, and people can choose whether or not to view memorials in public spaces.
“Because school attendance is not an option, permanent memorials in schools will not be established.”
Power said district staff plan to contact the families linked to current school memorials to arrange for their removal and return, adding there was no set date by which the memorials had to be gone. She did not know how many memorials were in St. Albert Public schools.
“We don’t want to cause anybody distress,” she said.
Instead of memorials, Power said families would be encouraged to honour deceased staff and students in other ways, such as by creating scholarships. Temporary memorials, such as memory books or fundraisers, would still be allowed.
In an email, Greater St. Albert Catholic superintendent Clint Moroziuk said GSACRD allowed people to dedicate memorial trees, benches, works of art, and other items to deceased staff and students with the approval of the superintendent. Residents could also ask board trustees to name rooms or buildings after a deceased person. GSACRD did not have any policies about removing memorials.
Power said questions on the memorial guidelines should go to district office at 780-460-3712.
Memorials matter, say residents
St. Albert resident Aiden McGaw said he and his family learned of these new guidelines on Aug. 24 when Lorne Akins principal Derek Herman called to tell them the school was taking down a memorial jersey dedicated to McGaw’s sister, Shea-Lynn, a Grade 10 student at Bellerose who died in a vehicle rollover in 2021.
“She was always the energetic friend that pushed people to be their best selves,” McGaw said of his sister, adding that she was known for giving roses to residents of seniors homes.
McGaw said his family established a scholarship in Shea-Lynn’s name and memorials to her at her former schools. Bellerose students signed commemorative stones. Lorne Akins retired her jersey number and put it on display. Sir Alexander Mackenzie put up a plaque to indicate that a star had been named after her.
McGaw said he became angry and distraught when he learned these and other memorials were slated for removal.
“I felt I was disrespected by the school board,” he said.
“Taking these (memorials) down is almost like trying to push grief under the rug.”
He posted an account of the decision online, which drew the attention of his friend, Mikayla Jeske. Jeske was a close friend of Darian Mar — a Grade 8 student at what is now Hillgrove School who was killed in a car accident in 2017. Two plaques dedicated to him have graced a wall and a cement table at Hillgrove for the last six years.
Jeske said removing these and other memorials disrespects the friends and families behind them.
“These children, these students, these siblings, these friends, they passed away in such tragic ways and way too young,” Jeske said.
“They (the district) are showing that they don’t care. They don’t care about the hurt these people went through.”
Jeske and McGaw said St. Albert Public should change its guidelines and let memorials stay in place, either indefinitely or for a specific period of time.
“Darian got six years. Why does Shea-Lynn only get two?” Jeske said.
Jeske and McGaw said physical memorials spark conversation and provide context to a person’s life that you don’t get with an award or scholarship. They also teach students about life.
“We need to have memorials around for learning purposes and as reminders of how precious life is,” McGaw said.
