A purple and yellow welcome sign greets students and teachers at the entrance of the La Loche Community School, located in La Loche, Saskatchewan. From between the trees that surround its baseball and football fields, the village’s lake peeks through.
Inside the school, floor-to-ceiling coloured panels light the entry corridor and stylized classroom doors stand side by side in the school’s hallways. The bell’s ring breaks the silence every hour and chattering students fill the halls as they walk to their next class.
But a few months ago on Jan. 22, a noise much louder than a bell rang through these halls.
That day, it was the sound of gunshots.
A 17-year-old male student of the school, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, killed two professors and injured seven others.
The now 18-year-old is being charged with four counts of first-degree murder, as he killed two people before entering the La Loche Community School, along with seven counts of attempted murder and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Nate Peardon, who graduated from St. Thomas University’s Bachelor in Education program last year, is one of the teachers filling a position left by a victim of the shooting. He started working two weeks ago at the Dene High School of the La Loche Community School.
“I knew the leadership qualities that come with teaching were needed up here. So I put the tragedy in the past and focused on the present. I’m trying to get students through that tragedy,” he said.
Even though his family was worried because of the shooting and because he was moving halfway across the country, Peardon took this opportunity without fear and hasn’t regretted his decision.
He’s currently teaching Grade 9 science, math and health as well as Grade 11 and 12 forestry. Each one of his classes has about 25 students.
According to Peardon, this incident is now seen as a “stepping stone for growth.” He said it has brought the school community together and given it a chance for a new beginning.
“A development session took place for staff members of the school related to violent threat risk assessment before school started,” Peardon said.
This incident has also made the school put more emphasis on its mental health assessment and help for students.
“Students are going rather frequently to counsellors. There are no problems with them talking to these counsellors. There is a big focus on mental health and getting those feelings out,” said Peardon.
Nevertheless, there is still a lingering emotional trauma at the school, especially with the students.
“The first day of school I really did get that vibe that students thought they were entering a hostile environment. Most of them are in a moment in their lives where they’re trying to move past it.”
Many security changes have taken place at the school as well, explained the 22-year-old-teacher. “There are security guards on duty as well as the doors are locked. They did establish safety protocols like what to do in the event of an emergency lockdown.”
Peardon said he’s felt safe every single day he’s been at the school.
“I never go to school feeling that I am unsafe or that my safety is put on jeopardy. I always come to school thinking it is a positive environment and that students genuinely want to be there.”
The high school teacher thinks the hardest part for students will be when January comes around once again.
“The date of the shooting will be hard for everyone because it was a tragedy. And as positive as one can be about it, people still have feelings toward that event much like 9/11. Even with training, there are still things that are very hard to let go.”
However, Peardon believes that as their teacher as well as leader, he’ll be able to make his students feel safer and live through the emotional trauma together.
“It’s about creating a safe classroom environment where students are surrounded by positivity. I have trained and volunteered in mental health for the previous four years now, so getting students to be comfortable enough to talk about their mental health, whether it is with me or with a counsellor at the school, is something that I promote regularly.”
