A Note from 1A
March 13, 2019
Dear 1A Families,
We are writing to inform you of some difficult news about one of our beloved 1A students, Dashiell Powers, who was diagnosed with Burkitt Lymphoma last month. This is a treatable disease and Dashiell has already began his treatment. His family is very optimistic about his prognosis and we join and surround them in positivity and love.
This afternoon we let our 1A friends know of Dash’s diagnosis. This was done with the presence and support of our school’s social work team. We assured the class that Dash is getting the best care possible, both from his doctors and his family. We also explained that due to the nature of his treatment, Dash will not be in school for the rest of the school year; and is not able to have visitors.
We will be organizing ways of sharing our class’ good wishes with Dash through cards and notes. In the next few months, we ask that you follow your children’s cues, as they will probably come home with concerns and want to talk through their feelings. If the topic comes up, you can respond that Dash is sick but is being taken care of by very good doctors and very loving parents who are hopeful that he will be better soon. Moving forward, we will work closely with our social work team, led by Monique Sierra (msierra@brooklynprospect.org), who will be of service for any student who may need guidance in processing this news.
We hope that this will be a learning opportunity for our students and that we can come together as a loving community to support a member of 1A and the larger BPCS community. Dash’s family has expressed gratitude for the tremendous support from family and friends that they have already received. They will reach out if there is anything else they need and have shared this website in which they will be adding updates and posting photos of Dash. At the moment, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns for the Powers’ family or about this situation, please reach out to us, or the social work team.
Warmly,
Mandy and Drew