Community Corner
Sympathy, Support Offered to Family and Schoolmates After 6-year-old's Death
Counselors available to Cedar Hill Elementary School students, email says.
The death last week of a first grade student who had attended Cedar Hill School in Basking Ridge has drawn support from the school, as well as expressions of empathy from township officials on Tuesday night.
Last Friday, Cedar Hill School Principal Joseph Mollica sent an email to parents saying, "It is with great sadness that we inform you that Anneliese Saitta, a Cedar Hill first grader, passed away yesterday. We know that our community will be affected by this tragic loss."
It reportedly was said during a service for the girl on Tuesday morning that doctors still are looking into the cause of her death.
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Bernards Township Police on Wednesday confirmed that at 9:33 a.m. on Jan. 9, township police, along with the Basking Ridge First Aid Squad, Lyons VA Emergency Medical Service and Somerset Medical Center Mobile Intensive Care Unit all responded to the medical emergency.
Deputy Mayor John Malay and Township Committeewoman Carol Bianchi offered sympathy to the family at Tuesday's Township Committee meeting.
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Malay said that police and other first responders had responded to the call on Jan. 9. He said police and paramedics had worked to save the girl, despite the tragic outcome.
The email from Mollica said that teachers had shared "developmentally appropriate information with all of our students," the email said. School counselors met with all first grade classes, and the counselors have remained in the school throughout the day to provide individual support to students and staff as needed," the principal said in the email."Every effort has been made to keep our daily routine unchanged and as normal as possible," Mollica added in the email.
The email invited parents to attend a talk with counselors on Monday morning, and said that counselors would be available at the school through this week.
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