Angry parents are demanding that the principal of a Manitoba public school and two teachers be removed, alleging they stood by and did nothing as two Grade 8 students were tricked into chewing moose droppings by an adult chaperone on a field trip.

Karen Eyolfson says her 13-year-old son, a student at Walter Whyte School in Grand Marais, bit into the moose droppings after being told by a parent chaperone on the two-day canoe trip late last month that the animal feces were chocolate-covered almonds. She alleges that three staff supervisors — including the school principal — stood by as her son chewed the droppings and classmates laughed.

Another classmate was also tricked into eating the moose droppings, the school board said.

“They thought it was a big joke,” said Eyolfson, who has since pulled her son from the school.

She also says staff did not inform parents about what occurred on the trip when the students returned. She says her husband had to “pry” the information out of principal Bob Kovachik after learning about the incident from their son.

Kovachik did not return the Star’s calls Wednesday.

Eyolfson says her son will remain home until the principal and two teachers are transferred to another school.

“How can we trust that our kids are going to be in a safe, respectful environment that is conducive to learning?” she said.

Scott Kwasnitza, superintendent with the local school board, said none of the adult supervisors on the trip intervened to stop the “ill-conceived practical joke.” He said staff members involved have been disciplined, but would not elaborate.

“Anything that’s student- and personnel-related is out of bounds and I’m not going to comment,” he said. “Obviously this was a grievous error and the person who initiated it has expressed deep regret and remorse.”

Kwasnitza added that the school board is “very concerned” about the students involved and understands that the students have “lost a little bit of trust in the people around them.” The board has been offering counseling to the students, he said.

“We want to rebuild the trust with the children, with the families, with the community,” said Kwasnitza. “We know that some misjudgments occurred and my feeling is we need to take responsibility for that, and we need to atone for that.”

He noted that the students who chewed the moose droppings have seen a doctor as a precaution.

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Vince Crichton, a moose expert at Manitoba Conservation, said parents “should know better” than allow kids to put animal droppings into their mouths.

“Never, never ever would I think about putting them in my mouth,” he said, adding that moose are known to carry parasites and bacteria in their digestive systems. “I am not aware of anything that can be passed to humans, but we don’t know.”

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