It is believed that the word sophomore was derived from two Greek terms: Sophos, meaning “wise,” and Moros meaning “foolish”. Most teenagers start the 9th grade at 14 years of age, turning 15 before the end of the year. Today, it’s used to denote students entering their first year of high school. Originally meaning “newcomer” or “novice, the word freshman dates to the mid-16th century.
Wishart said weapons are prohibited from school grounds, but students don’t have to go through metal detectors to enter the building. The matter remains under investigation by school administrators and police. Stanton said the incident shows the effectiveness of the long-standing collaboration between the schools and the police department through its resource officer. Principal Steve Sullivan informed parents through a phone message about the incident and told them everyone at the school was safe. “We want them at all times to feel safe,” Stanton said. The school intends to hold grade-level meetings with students to let them know they are always welcome to bring forward concerns, reminding them that student safety is paramount. “Staff involved did use those techniques and mitigated what could have been a much worse outcome,” Stanton said.įollowing the incident, a debriefing was done with school staff.
Stanton said staff train in how to de-escalate a situation. Wishart said the department had done lockdown drills with students and staff at the high school recently. “It was in an isolated area, which was one of the best things we had working for us,” Wishart said. While other staff were in the guidance area at the time, no other students were present, Wishart said. Wishart said the boy, who is not a Granby resident, was arrested on about a half-dozen charges, booked at the police station and then arraigned at Hadley Juvenile Court. When the student was advised the Taser would be used to disarm him, he let go of the knife. The student refused to drop the knife until other officers arrived and a Taser was taken from its holster. School officials then issued a shelter-in-place order, placing the school in lockdown, which Wishart said lasted for only a matter of minutes. Police said the resource officer held the student at gunpoint, ordered him to drop the knife, and called other officers for backup. Police said the student is “significantly larger” than the resource officer. GRANBY - A student who threatened the school resource officer and other staff with a knife and metal club at Granby Junior-Senior High School was arrested Monday morning after causing a brief lockdown, police reported.Īt around 11 a.m., staff learned that the boy, 15, had come to school with a knife, and the school resource officer was summoned to deal with the situation in the guidance office, according to a release supplied by Police Chief Alan Wishart and Superintendent Sheryl Stanton.ĭuring his interaction with the resource officer, the boy allegedly became enraged and combative, physically attacking the school resource officer, pulling a knife and club from his backpack and making several threats.