Local students create safe space to discuss Russian invasion of Ukraine in the classroom

Constant images of death and destruction in Ukraine flood social media and news outlets. Ukrainian officials now reporting more than 400 civilians bodies have been found.

So some eighth-grade students at James Workman Middle School in Cathedral City made a safe space to talk about the war in their classroom.

"It helps relieve anxiety. It feels more safe in here," said student Davian Lopez. "It's sad watching people my age and younger seeing getting killed by missiles and war"

The student's math and science teacher, Michelle Deblois, leads the discussion giving her students a safe space to speak up about their thoughts and feelings about the invasion.

"I had a number of kids number of my eighth graders that expressed anxiety, worry. So we started just taking a look at it," said Deblois. "It's not my subject, it just seemed like they needed an outlet. And they needed to talk and learn."

Now, the first 10 minutes of class are dedicated to talking about the latest Ukraine news. They've been talking about things like Ukraine president Zelensky's speech addressing the Grammys and Russian propaganda. 

"Almost all are watching on TikTok. A lot of these little videos that are coming through. So they're all getting a lot of information, a lot of scenes of war," said Deblois.

Another student a part of the discussion is Vincent Stodolka. 

"Well, this last TikTok that I watched was a five-year-old kid crossing the Polish border without his family crying because he had lost his family when the Russians bombed his apartment building," said Stodolka. "I questioned myself, like, how would I feel in those types of situations? Like, I probably wouldn't feel good. Because my family would be suffering, I would be suffering."

A support system to remind each other they're not alone. 

"We're more connected through it because we all go through the same thing. And it's like all very traumatic for us," said Lopez.