The parents of a boy who died of cancer say they're working with the school board to ensure they are indeed welcome to visit their son's school and attend a weekly pizza lunch with his classmates.

Charlene McIntee and Robert Martin say they were devastated when their son's school told them they were no longer welcome to attend the lunches. The couple escalated the matter to the Hastings Prince Edward School Board.

Following a meeting with Mark Fisher, the superintendent of education with the school board, McIntee said a resolution is on the horizon.

"They are more than happy to try and get things to move forward for us," she said. "As in, taking pictures, seeing the kids on pizza day and communication with everyone in general so this doesn't happen again.

The couple have joined students at Queen Elizabeth Public School for lunch once a week to reminisce about their son Thomas Martin.

At these lunches, the parents and students share photos and offer each other support, McIntee said.

Thomas died on Feb. 29 after a 22-month battle with gliomatosis cerebri, a rare form of brain cancer. He was 11 years old.

“Before Thomas passed away, we always went to the school for pizza day because that was Thomas’ favourite day. Even up until he couldn’t hold his own head up, he would still want to go and see the kids on pizza day,” McIntee told CTV Toronto.

On Tuesday, Thomas’s parents received a call from the school principal who asked them to take a “break.”

“I was upset. I said I didn’t understand and that I just wanted to see the kids,” McIntee said. “We have not done anything wrong.”

“He (the principal) said, ‘It’s time for a break. The kids need a break, you guys need a break and no more pizza day.’”

The parents were also told not to mention their son at a Pedal for Hope event, a fundraiser that supports the Canadian Cancer Society.

“Childhood cancer should not be swept under the rug,” Martin said on a public Facebook message posted on his page.

“We fought to have his name mentioned. The next day we were put on notice, no more pictures even thought we had been doing it for the last 2 years with no problems. Then we were put on notice that... we had been using inappropriate language and talking about inappropriate stuff at school.”

Despite the move, Martin said they have had the full support of parents at Queen Elizabeth from the beginning.

“They want us to be there and have told us that they want us there. We will continue to be there because they’re friends of Thomas and they’re our buddies,” Robert said as he fought back tears.

One parent wrote an open letter on Facebook condemning the principal’s decision and urging other faculty members to take action.

“Queen Elizabeth School, you have no idea how awful your decision is to stop all pictures and all reference of Thomas for those who knew, honoured, and cared about this student of your,” Lisa Anne Chatten said the social media post. “What you are teaching the community of the future is heartless disregard for grief.”

Meanwhile, a student from the school formed a petition asking the principal to bring the couple back to the Queen Elizabeth school lunch.

"My daughter was so upset when she found out what was happening to Charlene and Robert. Her classmate started a petition. She wrote it all out on paper and she shared it on Facebook,” Kim McKenzie, whose daughter attends Queen Elizabeth, said. “The students from Thomas’s class are very upset because they enjoyed their visits. It keeps them close to Thomas.”

McKenzie said that Thomas’s parents should at least be allowed to visit the children until the end of the school year.

“I don’t think he (the principal) handled it tactfully or professionally and for somebody that’s in the community as a principle, as a leader of children, it’s not setting a very good example,” she said.

Spokesperson for the Hastings Prince Edward School Board Kerry Donnel told CTV Toronto that the board is willing work with the family to resolve the issue.

“It’s important for the school board to have a positive working relationship with families and students,” Donnel said.

“Thomas was a fun loving little boy,” she said, fighting back tears. “He loved life so much, he loved school… he loved just being there.”

Martin thanked everyone who came forward to show the school their support for Thomas.

"Mistakes are made on a daily basis but the ability to step up before it becomes more than that is huge,” he wrote in another Facebook post Thursday morning. "The reach of our Thomas has been more than we would ever thought of. This boy had a quality (touching people) that we never really seen until he died. For us it has been very stressful and only seems like another loss, after losing to much already. The school board has reached out to us so hopefully we can resolve this soon.”

McInnis said the board will also look into providing additional grief counselling for students at Queen Elizabeth.