St Kevin’s School students suspended after box cutter incident

Parents are outraged two students from a Catholic primary school on the Gold Coast allegedly brought box cutters onto campus and threatened their peers.

Two students at St Kevin’s School in Benowa have been suspended after they brought a box cutter onto campus last week.

Students at a Catholic primary school on the Gold Coast have been suspended after they allegedly brought weapons onto campus and threatened their peers.

The girls from St Kevin’s School in Benowa allegedly brought box cutters onto the grounds on Wednesday last week, leaving parents outraged they have not been expelled.

In an email sent to parents on Monday, and seen by this masthead, principal Leigh Mirto said the school was taking the alleged incident with the “utmost seriousness”.

“Last week, these students brought box cutters to school and directed threatening language and messages towards some of their peers,” he wrote.

“Regardless of the intent, we are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness.

“The leadership team and I have been working closely with Brisbane Catholic Education to ensure we are following the appropriate protocols under the Weapons in Schools Policy.

“We have spoken directly with the classes to reinforce the seriousness of the situation and to reassure students that their safety remains our highest priority.”

A Brisbane Catholic Education spokesman confirmed the matter had been reported to police.

“Brisbane Catholic Education continues to work with St Kevin’s Catholic Primary School on a recent behavioural matter,” he said.

One parent said they believed the school should expel both students.

“I think they shouldn’t be coming back to the school,” they said.

In another email, which has been seen by this masthead, the school said it was made aware of the incident on Friday last week and placed the students into in-school suspension.

Staff spoke to the students on Monday and decided to suspend them for the rest of the week.

They were then picked up by their guardians.

The parent said they were “disappointed” the school did not inform them about the incident until Monday afternoon.

“It’s too long in my opinion,” they said.

Some parents decided to keep their children home on Tuesday while they demanded answers from the school.

“We want answers from the school and we want to know what they are doing to keep our kids safe,” one parent said.

“I’m concerned about the safety of my child and the other students and what the school is going to do to address this because it seems they will be back at school next week.”

Originally published as St Kevin’s School students suspended after box cutter incident