In the wake of the classroom shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 14, which killed five students and injured roughly a dozen more, officials of Mooseheart Child City & School immediately initiated efforts to contact the five recent graduates of Mooseheart High School who are currently enrolled at undergraduates at NIU, to confirm their safety.

By early Friday, four of the five had been reached; the fifth was reached on Sunday. All are indeed safe; none of them were in the Cole Hall lecture room at the time of the shootings.

The thoughts and prayers of the staff at Mooseheart and Moose International -- many of whom are graduates of NIU -- are with the families of the students who lost their lives or were injured. May God watch over the entire NIU community during these difficult days, and as their classes resume on Monday, Feb. 25.