Grief counsellors had to be called in this week to assist students at Excelsior High School in St Andrew cope with the violent death of yet another of their of schoolmates, the third over the last eight months.

Fourteen-year-old Lodonna Lewis, a new student at the school, was shot and killed on the weekend by gunmen. The incident took place on Water Street, west Kingston. Lewis became the second female student from the school to have been murdered since this month.

"The students are in an introspective mood. They are wondering if something is wrong why they are being killed like this. They are asking questions, what has happened and why this is happening," said Lorna Swaby, one of the two guidance counsellors assigned to the school.

Swaby said there was a sombre mood at the school Monday, as its chaplain and others addressed the children during the morning devotion.

"It was very sad. There were tears. I had to counsel a group of students," she said.

Swaby described Lewis as a smart child and one who was like a peacemaker. Though she was new at the school, she made an early impact.

"It has been hard dealing with the killing of our children," Principal Deanroy Bromfield told The Gleaner.

Grieving students

He said the school's chaplain, along with counsellors from the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the two guidance counsellors assigned to the school, were kept busy speaking with grieving students.

Clinical psychologist, Dr Karen Richards told The Gleaner that the recent incidents could have have an immediate impact on the students, such as a sense of loss, shock and maybe heigh-tened fear in their respective communities.

Asking questions

"At some stage these students may probably start asking questions. Somebody needs to explain to them in context that there is no jinx at the school, there is no spell or bad luck," Richards advised.

The psychologist further recommended that the students start looking out for each other, listening to each other's concerns, and that more teachers make themselves available for students to approach and discuss with them their problems.

glenroy.sinclair@gleanerjm.com