September 23, 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are deeply saddened to share the tragic news with our Martin Clipper
families that one of our students passed away from an accident last night.
The sudden loss of JJ Slagter, a 2nd grade student at Brandon Elementary,
will profoundly impact our entire school community.

We want to acknowledge that this is hard and that it is natural to come

together to process what has happened. School and community
professionals are working together to provide counseling services for
students and faculty affected by this death. On Monday, we will have safe
spaces available in school for those who want or need to process their
thoughts and feelings with crisis response professionals.

We are doing everything we can to support your children, school staff, and
the entire community of Martin. We anticipate that you may have to work
through questions about JJ’s death at home. As more information becomes
available, we will share it with you in additional communications, including
support from our Crisis Response Team.

Thank you for your understanding and support during this tragic time.

Respectfully,

Samantha Ball, Superintendent

Rebecca Lynema, K-12 Principal