A distraught stepfather has revealed the last Father’s Day letter written by his daughter before taking her own life under the weight of relentless bullying.
Charlotte O’Brien, a year seven student at Santa Sabina College in Strathfield, in Sydney’s inner west, took her own life on September 8 after two years of misery in which she said students had used information confidential to intimidate her.
Charlotte’s former primary school, Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Bossley Park, allowed a day off for students to allow for her funeral at its church on Friday.
Hundreds of friends, students and teachers are expected to attend to support the grieving family.
Her stepfather, Mat, revealed that his speech at the funeral will include a Father’s Day letter written by Charlotte just a week before her tragic death.
He said her words reflect what an “extraordinary, loving and thoughtful girl she was.”
It was just one of several letters written by the young woman to her parents and loved ones before taking her own life.
In the final letter to her mother, Kelly, Charlotte asked her to “please share my story to raise awareness” about bullying.
The father of Charlotte O’Brien (pictured), a year 7 student who took her own life after being relentlessly bullied, will read his final Father’s Day letter to her at her funeral on Friday.
Her parents found notes left in small, pink handwriting after their daughter took her own life in the upstairs bedroom of the family home.
In a letter to Mat, Charlotte described her father as ‘more than a captain; you are also like the sea. You can be calm and powerful. Strong when you have to be’, according to Sunday Telegraph.
She added that he inspires “abundance, achievement and endless possibilities” while describing herself as a “surfer, riding your waves of support, while you teach me to trust, enjoy the ride and go with the flow.”
“Dear Dad, I will always cherish you as I sow my seeds and become the captain you taught me to be.”
Hundreds of friends, students and teachers are expected to attend Charlotte’s funeral and support her bereaved family at her primary school on Friday (pictured is her funeral leaflet).
Pictured: A poem on the back of Charlotte’s funeral pamphlet.
Another note encouraged her parents to report their bullying experience to the school to help other students receive better support in the future.
Mat and Kelly believe Santa Sabrina College could have done more to stop the bullying Charlotte received.
“I’m not looking for retaliation for these girls, what I’m looking for is for schools to step in and act when things first arise,” she said.
“I know these are difficult conversations for all of us, but we need to have them today.”
Emails between Charlotte’s mother and the school reveal that Kelly believed the bullying was having “serious ramifications” on her daughter’s mental health.
Her parents, Mat and Kelly, believe their high school, Santa Sabrina College, could have done more to stop the bullying inflicted on Charlotte (pictured with her family).
Mat claimed that other parents had also raised the school’s “toxic” culture and that the school needed to intervene as adults and separate the children.
Kelly claimed that after her GP labeled what was happening to Charlotte as “bullying”, the school rejected the term and said it was “juvenile behaviour”.
Kelly said that some days Charlotte would burst into tears as they approached school, lamenting that she “had no friends,” that everyone hated her, and that she was “a monster.”
Santa Sabina College has defended its handling of harassment, saying its anti-harassment policy was available on its website.
“Last week, I was overwhelmed by the number of emails and messages from our families talking about their children feeling safe and cared for at Santa Sabina College,” said Principal Paulina Skerman.
He said parents “objected to the depiction of our university as incapable of addressing issues that cause distress among our students.”