Last Friday, Peggy Dizon was preparing for her recently deceased son's viewing when the phone rang.

An automated voice informed her 14-year-old Ethan Dizon had not shown up for class that morning.

It was the second time the family received such a call from St. Thomas More Junior High School since Ethan's suicide on Jan. 8, said Dizon.

"My family and I were traumatized by the call from the school," Peggy Dizon wrote in a statement to CBC News. "I let the first one go, thinking it was too soon after Ethan's death and the school was not prepared. But the second call was right on his (funeral) service date."

Right after the second call, Ethan's sister Chloe Dizon,17, expressed her frustration online.

"Today my family got another call from [the school] telling us that 'Ethan is absent from school today.' Of course he's absent — he has been dead for two weeks now.

"Not only is this utterly disrespectful towards my deceased brother, but this is outrageously rude towards my family and me."

New policy to prevent absentee calls

In a statement to CBC News, the Edmonton Catholic School District expressed regret, blaming the calls on "human error."

A spokesperson explained Ethan's name was not removed from the automated messaging system in an effort "to be inclusive" and keep the family updated about messages sent to the school community about Ethan's funeral.

In future, however, the school district "will now remove a student's name" from the so-called PowerSchool messaging system "immediately in the event of a death," wrote Lori Nagy in an email.

Chloe Dizon posted her rebuke on an online petition site she launched the same day her brother died.

The petition notes that two students from the school have killed themselves in recent months. It calls on the Edmonton Catholic School District to investigate what she describes as the "harsh bullying environment" and "elitist attitude" at the school.

Chloe Dizon, also a graduate of St. Thomas More, has said the family doesn't know why Ethan chose to end his life the day before he was supposed to return to class after winter break. In a previous statement, Nagy has said officials do not believe bullying is a problem at the school.

"I have simply asked for a thorough investigation into the school environment that I myself had suffered traumatic experiences in," Chloe wrote in another petition post. "It's in the best interest of all the students that we dig deeper into this situation before this happens to another family."

More than 4,300 people have signed the petition, including many who said they were bullied at St. Thomas More in the past, or knew someone who was.

Last Saturday, hundreds of relatives, friends, students and teachers packed the Edmonton Chinese Baptist Church for Ethan's funeral.

He was remembered as someone who strived to bring laughter into the lives of others, with a passion for snow boarding, hockey and piano playing.

Despite her grief, Chloe wrote online that she plans to attend a Catholic school board meeting Tuesday, encouraging others to do the same.

In a statement to CBC News, she wrote: "The board refuses to admit there is bullying in the school and I am going personally to bring attention to my request and the reasons behind the petition."

Follow Andrea Huncar on Twitter @andreahuncar. You can also contact her via email.