Nuisance and destruction at Bovenkarspel primary school: “Something has to be done”

There has been nuisance in the Princenhof street for a long time and this must be stopped, according to parents Mariska Ott and Linda Sier. Their children attend Gideon School and they worry about the safety of their offspring. “Something has to be done,” they say.

Especially outside school hours – in the evenings and on weekends – there is a lot of trouble, especially in the school yard of the Gideon school. School equipment is destroyed and sabotaged, and rubber tiles are set on fire. Children are intimidated and threatened. It concerns a group of young people between the ages of 10 and 15. Director Marieke Broens of the Gideon School sometimes has trouble sleeping. “How bad is it going to be? The school will soon catch on fire.”

Nasty incidents have followed rapidly in recent days. On Tuesday, Linda’s 9-year-old son was chased by a student from a neighboring school who was holding a box cutter. Linda was quickly alerted by her other son and was able to quickly take the knife away. “He said he found it.”

Last weekend Mariska and her son Brandon (8) found his bicycle completely burned in the school yard. “It was locked in the bicycle rack. They managed to get it out of there and it was eventually set on fire in the square. Probably via a fireworks bomb. There is nothing left of it. That saddens us a lot. We wanted it gave us a new bicycle once and that was this one. We had to save up for it and it was not even a year old,” Mariska mourns.

Tough and courageous

Three of the six perpetrators have now reported to Mariska. “They are coming to apologize tomorrow. I think that is very brave of them, it takes courage. Despite all the misery, I think it is a nice signal of how it can be done. To stand up for the things that have gone wrong .” She is still unsure whether she will press charges.

Things have been going wrong since last summer, Broens also knows. “Small vandalism, major vandalism, fireworks bombs, deodorant cans being set on fire resulting in a big bang. All completely unnecessary. Fortunately, we have a lot of contact with the school next to us, ‘t Palet, but also with parents, residents, the Neighborhood connectors, the youth worker and the local police officer. It is a shared concern and we stay in touch with each other. That is the positive thing, but other than that it is all very annoying when you receive messages again during the weekend that it has happened again. I have really pissed off about it.”

Social control and cameras

Surveillance 24 hours a day is not feasible for a school. “We have indicated to the municipality that we want the bushes around the school to be much lower, because there is a much better view of the square. This means more social control. The local residents also want that and we have already asked the question several times. the municipality. And we are looking at whether we can hang cameras. I hope that is allowed in terms of privacy. So if we see something, we can do something with it.”

Parents Mariska and Linda also hope that the nuisance in and around the schoolyard will soon be over. “Many parents are concerned about the safety of the children. This is a neighborhood full of children. If it is not safe, you have to bring your children inside. Then you get isolated and you don’t want that. Children should not be afraid to play outside.”