"We get the talk every year and no one really listens to it," said the 13-year-old Grade 8 Colquitz Middle School student. "But I saw one kid and her face was all torn up. I thought she'd been in a fight. The kids thought there were bugs all over them. They were really freaked out."

"Some people were crying," said her friend Shae Mellors, 13. "It scares you so bad."

Yesterday, Colquitz principal Brett Johnson tried to calm those fears at school assemblies, telling the 630 students what happened to the teens, aged 13 and 14, in Cuthbert Holmes Park near the Silver City cinema complex that night.

"It's important that the community gets the message that something is being done about this," said Johnson. "For us, this is not about sensationalism. It's about a group of vulnerable teenage kids who got themselves into a situation I'm sure they regret, that's not typical for this age group."

A family and youth counsellor has been brought in to talk to students, said Johnson. Some of the students, who were not emotionally ready to be at school, were sent home. Johnson also sent a letter home to parents -- which he hopes they receive.

Saanich investigators are working on a slew of tips from parents as they try to find out who's supplying the young teens with drugs, said Price.

On Tuesday, a group of about 25 teens from Colquitz and Spectrum Community School, went to the park near Silver City. Some older kids were there and one had a bag of pills, Johnson said.

"The kids were told they were taking ecstasy. It turned out to be crystal meth. The pills were passed out ... Some kids, who had no idea of the power of the drug, consumed up to 12 pills," Johnson said.

One youth, who saw his friends in distress, called 911 about 5 p.m. Ambulance and police took two overdosing teens to hospital. An hour later, a 13-year-old boy who was ripping off his clothes and tearing at his face, was picked up at Tillicum Mall and taken to hospital. A fourth girl walked to hospital and admitted herself.

Another Colquitz student, a 14-year-old girl who was also at the park that night, was missing all day Wednesday. She was found and is now safe at home.

Johnson urged the students to stand up to peer pressure, and told them people who cook up designer drugs -- which are available for less than the price of a package of cigarettes -- don't care if they live or die.

"They're just out to make gobs of money."

The principal said he had talked to the four students who overdosed and they wanted him to pass on a message.

"You know these kids," said Johnson. "They are some of our coolest, toughest kids. Are they scared right now? Scared right to the very core of who they are. They saw some things that they never really should have, and it's going to stick with them the rest of their lives. And it has really scared them. It got very real for these guys."

Johnson said he wanted the kids to learn from their friends' mistakes.

"I want you to say 'I know somebody, he's OK, thank God, but it could have been much worse.' "

Spectrum principal Judy Harrison said her students and their parents are curious about what happened, and the school is doing its best to keep them informed. One of the students who overdosed came back to school Wednesday. Another is still at home, feeling the effects.

"There's an agitation, a variety of feelings. There's worry," said Harrison. "But when I go into a classroom, they're focused and working." Counselling is in place for those who want it.