The following message is from Delaware Community School Principal Stacy Dobbs, Ph.D.:
Our school put a hold-in-place in effect as a precautionary measure Tuesday afternoon after a student indicated that one of their peers may have had a toy gun in the building.
The matter began shortly after noon when one of our teachers found a colorful Orbeez water gun in a first-grade student’s desk. An Orbeez gun is a toy gun that shoots water beads that can cause bruises or welts. The student told their teacher that they thought a fourth-grade student in the building also may have had a toy gun.
As a precaution, we implemented a hold-in-place at 12:20 p.m. so that we could investigate in both of our fourth-grade classrooms. After nothing was discovered in a search of student backpacks, we determined that one of our fourth-graders did have a colorful plastic toy gun with them in their classroom.
Our fourth-grade teachers talked with their students about the situation, including that it is not acceptable to bring any type of weapon, including toy weapons, into school. We ask that you have this conversation with your children at home as well.
Our teachers also let the students know that there are many trusted staff members at school that they can talk with whenever they need support or are feeling uncomfortable about something they have seen or heard.
We lifted the hold-in-place and returned to regular security measures at about 1:15 p.m.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at (518) 475-6750.
