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Home > Blogs > Lakota Schools News and Issues > Archives > 2010 > March > 29 > Entry
Sad day in Lakota
Student deaths are never easy, but this one is especially difficult. If you haven’t heard, a Lakota East sophomore died today after getting struck by a bus.
Here is an e-mail sent out by Principal Keith Kline. I thought I would share it, so people who don’t attend East know what is happening there.
“Today was a tough day for Lakota East. Thanks to caring staff, supportive parents and great kids, we made it through the day. There were tears and lots of questions but that is to be expected.
As you may hear in the media, Sodany April Phann was a fifteen year old sophomore here at East. She was involved in a terrible accident this morning that resulted in her losing her life. The incident is under investigation by local law enforcement officials. I know you join me in sending our thoughts and prayers to her family and friends.
Throughout the day, students who needed to take a break were allowed out of class to talk with our own guidance counselors as well as counselors from Journey Grief Support. Those students who were closest to Sodany spent most of the day with counselors. We have communicated directly with those parents about what has taken place. This is one of those cases where we need to use our entire community to help support our kids.
For some, losing a classmate or friend may be a first time experience. I have spoken with grief counseling experts and they have shared the tips provided below. Please touch base with your teen this evening. We are concerned about how each of our students might react to such news and want to make sure we are here - partnering with you - to support them through this tragedy.
Thank you for your continued support of your student and our school. We are fortunate to have such a strong school community.
Other information to use in working with teens experiencing grief.
Expect tears or simple quietness. Teens may not know what about the situation is bothering them and may, in fact, respond in different ways. Swings in behavior are not uncommon. Encourage teens to ask questions and talk. Answer their questions honestly and simply. Unanswered questions, many times, are worse than the truth. Just listen to their expressions of hurt. Supportive responses include: ‘I can see that you are really hurting.’ ‘It is hard to accept the death of someone you know.’ ‘I know…it just seems unbelievable.’ Responses that are not typically helpful - ‘You will feel better tomorrow.’ ‘Don’t think about it right now.’ Many times, teens feel helpless in these situations. We are working to create a way for our school to appropriately remember and honor Sodany’s life. Information about our plan will be shared with students, staff and parents as soon as it is finalized. Lastly, if your teen knew Sodany, help him/her talk about happy memories. This will help them remember her life, not her death.
Again, we are going to need the support of our entire school community to help our teens work through what has happened. As we come together, I am confident we can help them through this tragedy and remember the great things that were part of Sodany’s short life.
If your teen seems to be in distress over today’s news, please email or call your student’s counselor immediately. We will work with you to do whatever we can to make sure your child is okay.”
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By null
March 30, 2010 2:14 AM | Link to this
my prayers go out to this family, God Bless .
By Chanel
March 30, 2010 11:57 AM | Link to this
Although I wasn’t cose to Sodany, this death struck me pretty hard. I ride the bus that picks her up every morning. Monday morning I had missed the bus, on my way to school I recieved a text from a friend saying, “Someone in my neighborhood just died, my friend just died.” To hear that made my heart sink. When I got to school and found out who is was it was horrible. To hear the stories from the kids on the bus, and my friends who had actually seen it happen. There was a change at Lakota East, it just felt..dead. Today, everyone wore purple and converse. Her favorite color, and the shoes she wore Monday morning. We all know the she is now in a better place, and our hearts go out to her family. Although it may take some time, we are all here for one another. RIP Sodany.
By Jordan Armacost
March 30, 2010 12:01 PM | Link to this
Sodany was a great girl. I sat right next to Sodany in Algebra class freshmen year. She was always nice, we use to talk. Although, we havent talked recently, im very sorry for your loss. I herd about Sodanys death yeasturday. My mom sent me a text a little over 1 p.m, she had told me what happened. Right away, tears came to my eyes. I will always have the memories we had together, she was a smart, caring and beautiful girl. Purple was her favorite color, so today everyone wore puprle who cared an will miss Sodany. My prayers go with her family, im very sorry for your loss. R.I.P. Sodany.
By Rachel Incerpi
March 30, 2010 5:08 PM | Link to this
Sodany was in my geometry class, I didnt know her that well, but I’m taking it pretty hard. To know someone right in my school had faced a tragedy, its scary. She was nice, even though I didn’t know her well it still effects me its still hard. My support goes out to all her family memebers and friends, R.I.P Sondany
By Joseph T
March 30, 2010 10:02 PM | Link to this
I am a Junior at East. I had never met Sodany personally, but the news hit just as hard. We never hope to ever have to experience anything like this in our high school days. When Dr. Kline came on during 7th bell today, he stated how blown away he was at the immense support offered by the students. I never gave much thought to the student body before, but I must say this: East has an amazing core of students. I didn’t realize that until that very moment. Yes, I had my purple shirt on along with everyone else, and how cool was it to see everyone set aside their differences and come together to remember a fallen student? That’s something I’ve wanted to see for such a long time…Sodany, may God watch over your soul. What a beautiful reunion you will have with him! You will forever reside in peace, glory, and comfort. We will certainly be praying for you over at St. John’s. I’ll make sure your name is put on the memorial list during the weekend masses. Rest in Peace, Sodany. East will miss you immensely.