Remembrance Activities January 11 - 12, 2009

People have been asking us if there are any Remembrance activities to mark the first anniversary of the Bathurst tragedy. What follows are some of the activities planned to mark this sad anniversary.

1. Sunday, January 11, 2009: Holy Family Church, Bathurst, NB, a memorial church service at 2 pm

2. Sunday, January 11, 2009: We have been told that people are planning to gather at the site at midnight for a candlight vigil.

3. Monday, January 12, 2009: The following is the text of a letter that was sent to us by Coleen Ramsay, Principal.

On (Monday) we will be inviting all students and staff to wear Red and Black to honour Javier, Codey, Nathan, Justin, Dan, Nikki, Nick, and Beth. At noon we will gather at the Boys in Red memorial in the school courtyard for a moment of silence and a laying a wreath. Between 3:30 and 5:00 pm, friends and previous BHS graduates will be invited to drop in to the school cafeteria and we will have light refreshments as they come together in an informal way to mark the passage of a year and to remember the friends they lost.

The Student Council and our staff are in agreement that this school based commemoration should be meaningful, low key, and away from the glare of public attention. With that in mind, we will not be granting any media access to the school or to the memorial site on that day.

In addition to these events, we will open the gates to the memorial from Friday afternoon until Monday morning, and this will allow the general public to pay their respects as they see fit.

On Sunday evening, from 10:30 pm until 12:30 am, while the memorial will remain open, we will ask the media to leave the site so that families and friends may observe the moment in a quiet and personal way, should they wish to be there at that time. While we will not be organizing any events at the memorial that night, we are aware that a number of people are interested in holding an informal vigil at that time, and we are pleased to grant access to the site while doing our best to maintain a private atmosphere.