TOLEDO, Ohio — Three days after the shooting Friday at Whitmer High School football game, students returned to the classroom. WHS Director of Communications Katie Peters said there was a range of emotions experienced.
Faculty wore spirit wear to show their pride and some students wore orange to address gun violence. Peters said while they shared many different emotions, they all experienced the same situation, including the ones who were not there.
"We just knew that every student in this building was going to need some level of support, so we approached it with a multi-tiered attack," she said.
The school held support groups for students on Monday and sectioned them off for different approaches. The groups met in separate areas of the school to express their own feelings with resources available.
The groups included students in the stands, players in the game and band members.
"We gave each student a QR code," Peters said. "Maybe today they aren't feeling any sort of emotion, but maybe in three days, they will. We want them to know that those supports remain in place for them."
The QR code allows students to sign up for extra help or a counseling session with counselors or staff members they trust.
WHS is planning to do an orange-out at their away game next Friday at Clay High School to advocate for solutions to gun violence.
Central Catholic High School, WHS' opponent on Friday, had Monday off due to Columbus Day.
Central Catholic will return to school tomorrow. School officials said they will also be providing support and addressing the situation with their students moving forward.