Unfortunate Situation

This is Bill Smith, principal of Southwest High School. I am calling to inform you of an incident that affects our school community.

On Monday, two of our students, Nathaniel and Nicholas Bucklin, were flying home from a family vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on a small airplane piloted by their father. A sibling, Noah, was also on board. The Federal Aviation Administration lost radar contact with the airplane over the mountains. A search and rescue operation began today. The plane has not been located.

We are deeply concerned about this situation. We have reached out to the family of Nate and Nick and will do all we can to help.

Support staff are available to talk to you and students about this situation. Please contact Pat Walker, School Nurse at 612-668-3037.

We encourage you to talk with your students about their feelings. Students may wait a while before wanting to talk or may need to be asked about the situation before talking. Some students may not need to discuss the situation at all. Regardless of their reaction, please contact us if you or your children need additional support.

We are doing all that we can to support our students and families at this time. Please call our main office at 612.668.3030 if your family needs additional assistance.