The school year has not been smooth sailing for the custodial and administrative staff at Frank Maddock High School as there have been a number of incidents of vandalism.
Much of it appears to be linked to a social media challenge issued in September, called Devious Licks.
The challenge has been taken on by students across North America and has seen many arrests.
The vandalism has hit several schools in the Wild Rose School Division since the beginning of the year. “It was basic vandalism that was irritating, but it seemed manageable,” says WRSD Superintendent Brad Volkman.
He says the challenge encouraged students to share their participation on social media.
The vandalism in the other schools has died down, but FMHS is still dealing with the issue. However, Volkman says it’s taken a different turn. “It went into a strange direction of trying to be as gross as you can,” he says.
Volkman says vandalism isn’t as much of a concern anymore. Rather, there are students who are defecating and urinating in places other than toilets and urinals. Some of the bodily fluids are then smeared all over the walls in the bathroom.
“The majority of the students who want to safely use the washroom are starting to feel nervous. They don’t know what they’re going to be walking into,” he says.
The school still isn’t sure who is causing the problem. Volkman says the school has also seen an increase of kids in the halls when they shouldn’t be, whether they are skipping class or just wandering around when on their spares, which makes it difficult to determine who’s responsible.
In an effort to prevent this, they have introduced a hall pass. Students can use an electronic hall pass, where they quickly scan a QR code and fill out a form which will get emailed to them. If they are uncomfortable using the QR code, there are physical hall passes they can take with them.
After principal Dr. Lara Jollymore announced the implementation of the new hall pass system the school and the division received backlash from students and parents.
The situation got so heated that someone started a petition on www.Change.org to have Jollymore fired. There were several hundred digital signatures on the petition, along with some comments that seemed to focus on Jollymore in a more personal manner.
Volkman says he’s been working closely with Jollymore in regards to the hall pass and increased supervision. He says he’s very supportive of her actions, as is the Parent Council.
“Instituting a hall pass is actually not new to schools in Alberta. There are many schools who are currently using them,” says Volkman.
Volkman says he believes that part of the issue was that they are using QR codes. He wants parents to understand that the school is not collecting any information on students. They are only having students partake in a digital hall pass.
“I think that some people think we’re tracking students to some degree, but that’s not the case. [The electronic pass] is the exact same as a paper hall pass, except it’s on the student’s phone,” he says.
He says all that the code does is record when the student leaves class and when they get back to class. “We’re trying to keep our bathrooms and hallways safe during a time when things seem to be a little bit off,” he says.
At this point, the school is handling the situation on their own. They have had conversations with the RCMP, but the police are not involved in an investigation.
Volkman says they want to find the students who are causing this situation so the vandalism can stop, but also so the students can get the mental help they need.
He says it has been predicted that the stress of Covid would lead to mental illness problems for many people. In an effort to stay ahead of the situation, WRSD hired additional wellness workers to help, basically doubling the amount they normally have in place.
“We knew the number of issues around mental health and wellness were going to be quite a bit higher,” he says.
Along with the hall pass, there will be increased supervision in the school. He says it has been difficult to determine who the culprits are, and the hope is that taking these additional measures will help to reduce the problem or at least help them find the students who are responsible.
“Then we can at least get these wellness resources to these kids, because this is not normal behaviour,” says Volkman.
For those who have concerns regarding Jollymore’s decisions, Volkman says he encourages them to talk to the principal directly. He says that will solve the majority of the issues. Those that aren’t resolved can then be escalated to the division office.
