Maple Ridge mom says school downplaying, dismissing bullying of son

MAPLE RIDGE (NEWS 1130) — A Maple Ridge mom is taking aim at her son’s school for letting his bully get away with too much.

Ashley Belmas says her seven-year-old son Bryson has been getting bullied by the same kid for a year. She says it started out with verbal taunts but now it’s turned physical, with a recent incident that caused a head injury — which she claims the school downplayed.

The most recent altercation was on Pink Shirt Day, a day dedicated to ending bullying.

“They were face to face, this kid pushed him so hard, he fell back, smashed his head on a playground pool, and had a giant goose egg,” said Belmas.

Belmas says her son is in a Grade 2/3 split classroom at Laity View Elementary and his bully is in the same class, though one year older. The most frustrating part for Belmas is the lack of urgency or care from the school.

“They didn’t even tell me that there was a goose egg, they just said he fell down,” she said.

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Bryson is staying home for now, anxious and scared to go to school.

“He stayed home on Monday. On Tuesday he was punched, kicked, shoved off the monkey bars, and wrestled onto the ground, Wednesday he got booted in the face. I’m keeping him home until something is actually done.”

She’s reached out to the school but hasn’t gotten a response she’s satisfied with yet. “Yesterday I sent an email to the principal. It was almost three full pages. How he’s feeling how this is harming him, examples. All I got from the principal was ‘I’m sorry he feels this way but give me a call.'”

Belmas tells NEWS 1130, that since she posted to social media, the school has been trying to get an inclusion team to support her son.

 

Last year, Belmas says, the bully taunted her son in the washroom so much, an educational assistant now stands outside the washroom when he needs to use it.

“All they did was send a note home in the bully’s agenda,” she said. “The only reason I found out is because my son seemed off that night. Finally, I got him to open up and talk and he just started crying.”

“Bullying is terrible but it’s especially terrible when you do it to someone who can’t fight back. My son has medical issues but he’s also speech delayed. He can’t pronounce or say a lot of words. There’s gonna be backlash.”

Belmas says she wants the bully removed from her son’s class and put in another.

“My son is the victim. Why should he have to give up his teacher and his friends? Especially when his teacher this year has been absolutely amazing. She’s tried her best but she’s at her wits end with this [bully]. You can tell by her demeanor. I’d like some kind of punishment for this kid.”

The Maple Ridge School District tells NEWS 1130, they’re taking this incident seriously.

“A parent reached out to the school principal yesterday to share her deep concerns about her child’s experiences with a classmate. The principal recognized the seriousness of these concerns and immediately began a review to gain a full understanding of the situation and to determine how the concerns that were raised might best be addressed,” a statement says.

“While we cannot speak to situations involving specific students, the school is committed to ensuring there is appropriate follow-up. The school district will provide any support that is needed, including the involvement of our Safe and Caring Schools staff and our Early Learning district principal. As this involves young children, the school district is unable to provide further comment.”