Sydney family ‘devastated’ after Santa Sabina School removes daughter’s statue

The memorial was erected by Charlotte’s aunt Melinda Rodger and her children Sunday evening.

“We wanted to do this for Charlotte because we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye,” Roger said.

“It was our special way of giving her a chance to tell her that you are important and we miss you.”

“When we drove past the next morning, there were so many flowers that (my kids) said to me, ‘Mom, this looks amazing, Charlotte would love it.’

But on Monday afternoon, all evidence of the memorial had disappeared.

“We were absolutely devastated to find out late Monday night that it had all been removed… words can’t express how devastated we were.

“We came here to see for ourselves… and found Charlotte’s grandfather wandering aimlessly up and down the street with a bouquet of flowers, trying to find a memorial to lay his flowers.”

Roger told Charlotte’s grandfather to leave the flowers at the original memorial site, but the next day they too were gone. 

The school confirmed it removed the memorial because it was concerned about the “impact” it would have on pupils’ mental health.

“On the advice of mental health experts… we removed the memorial due to concerns that were raised about the impact it could have on young people,” director Paulina Skerman told 9News in a statement.

“The college is working with Charlotte’s family to find a permanent and loving way to remember Charlotte.

“We will ensure that she will not be forgotten.” 

Roger was able to collect some of the items that were taken from the memorial today and picked them up at the Santa Sabina campus.

She said she “can’t understand” how the Charlotte monument would have a negative impact on students. 

Charlotte’s father Mat told 9News he “runs out of words” to describe his feelings about how the school responded to his daughter’s death. 

“My niece and nephew wanted to honor her memory… we don’t follow a manual on how to grieve, so I’m not going to tell her cousins ​​how they should grieve the loss of their cousin.

“From the school’s point of view, if they told me to put these things away, I wouldn’t touch them.”

He also said his family is “holding together at best.”

Charlotte’s family said the school told them it planned to erect a permanent memorial to her.

“If they do this, it will be a positive step,” Roger said.