Inclement Weather

Our first and most important priority, as always, is the safety of students and staff.  Our second priority is to ensure learning opportunities continue as often as possible. These two priorities are at the foundation of our Inclement weather procedure (AP1-13), which describes when decisions are made to close schools and bus routes - in individual communities or throughout the division.

There are 3 types of days in Chinook’s Edge: green, yellow and red days, which are outlined below.

 

 

Green Days

The days when it is clearly safe for everyone to travel. All buses are running and all of our schools are open.

Yellow Days

Yellow days are when schools are open, but buses might not run in some or all areas of the Division.

Reasons for yellow days: extreme cold, heavy snowfall, fog, or freezing rain. 

If a bus is cancelled because of inclement weather in the morning it is cancelled for the entire day and will not run in the afternoon either, with the exception of fog days. On fog days it is possible that buses will run in the afternoon even if they were cancelled in the morning due to fog.

Will learning happen on yellow days?
Learning will take place at school on yellow days for those who are able to arrive safely. 

Should I notify the school of my child’s absence?
If your child will be at home on a yellow day, please contact your child’s school.

How will yellow days be announced?
Parents of bussed students will receive notification of a bus cancellation through the Bus Status App, along with an automated call from your Bus Driver and / or notification through School Messenger.  (Staff receive information through email).

Information will also be posted to Facebook and Twitter, the Chinook’s Edge website and individual school websites at affected schools. Area media outlets will be notified of bus cancellations. 

Red Days

Red days mean some schools or all schools in the division are closed (and buses aren’t running). 

Reasons for red days: The forecast temperature between 7 and 9 am that day, with windchill, is minus 45 degrees Celsius or colder.  Also, a red day may happen when there is a heavy snowfall or a blizzard warning is in effect at that time.

Our response on red days is to ensure a reasonable level of safety for students, staff and parents who we anticipate are riding a bus, driving or walking to and from school. (Please read more about how and when we determine when a red day is decided on in our Q&A’s). 

Will learning happen on red days?

• Day 1 - Students will receive learning opportunities through Google Classroom or as outlined in communication from your child’s teacher. 
• Day 2 - If there is a second consecutive red day - students will participate in learning through a more structured, guided approach that will be outlined in Google Classroom, or as outlined in communication from your child’s teacher. 

How will red days be announced?
Parents of students attending impacted schools will receive a voicemail, email and / or text message using our Chinook’s Edge automated communication system. Please ensure your contact information is up to date at your child’s school so you can receive this information. 

If we have enough confidence in the forecast that there will be a school closure the following day, we will make that decision as early as possible. When it is unclear whether there will be a closure, we try to make a decision prior to 6 a.m. on a given day whenever possible. (Please read more about what goes into a decision in the Q&A’s below). 

Information will also be posted to Facebook and Twitter, the Chinook’s Edge website and individual school websites at affected schools. Area media outlets will be notified of bus cancellations.

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

We appreciate your patience and understanding when Inclement Weather disrupts our school days in Chinook's Edge.

We know these days can present challenges in your home and that it can be difficult to find childcare, particularly on short notice. We have collaborated with multiple people (parents, staff, local ATA executive, Trustees) over the last few years, to prioritize safety while also keeping schools open for learning whenever possible. 

Questions & Answers about Inclement Weather in Chinook's Edge

Student and staff safety is our first priority. Our second priority is keeping schools open for learning whenever possible. We strive to find the right balance between these two priorities. We hope the answers to these commonly asked questions are helpful in increasing understanding of the way we approach inclement weather. 

Q. What goes into a decision to call a red or yellow day?
A.  On inclement weather days, at 5:30 am, the Transportation Director, the Superintendent, and two Associate Superintendents hold a conference call. They consider data sheets containing all our communities, what the current windchill temperature is, and what the forecast windchill temperature is for 7, 8 and 9 am in each of these communities. The temperatures are taken from the Weather Network App. The group also considers weather conditions such as heavy snowfall, fog, etc. 

Regarding extreme cold conditions, if two out of the three numbers are -45 Celsius with the windchill, or colder, we are likely to call a red day for schools in that community. 

To maintain consistency in an area it is possible that a red day will be called even if a particular community hasn’t quite met the -45C (with windchill) threshold. For example, if three school communities geographically close to each other had forecast wind chills of say -46, -46 and -43 then it is quite possible we will close schools in all three communities to ensure less confusion for all. 

We know people commute and the inconsistency of having one community open and one closed can be confusing. Therefore, it is possible that in neighbouring communities we will close schools when they are not at the -45 C (including windchill) threshold.

Q. My community wasn’t -45 degrees or colder. Why did you close our school?
A. (See previous response) 

Q. My child’s school was open but a neighbouring school was closed. Why?
A. (See previous response) 

Q. Why is -45 Celsius the threshold for decisions?
A. Environment Canada outlines that there is a significant drop in the amount of time it takes for skin to freeze at a wind chill of -45C. The risk of hypothermia and frostbite is higher at these temperatures. We would be concerned for anyone walking to school or whose vehicle broke down in these conditions. Also, this temperature is not ideal for school buses.

Q. If you’re going to close schools, why wouldn’t you decide the night before?
A. In many cases, particularly with a forecast for snow or fog, there can be a significant shift in the weather overnight. Because we feel a responsibility to be open whenever possible we like to wait in those circumstances to ensure that the forecast is accurate. 

Wherever possible, if a closure is going to happen, we strive for early notification of parents, students and staff. We recognize that school closures and bus cancellations impact our families and staff. 

Because weather is variable, and because we want to have schools open for learning as much as possible, there are times when we won’t make a decision the night before. When there isn’t a clear decision to close schools the night before, we will make the decision in the morning, using the process previously described.

Q. Why wouldn’t you just close a school if it’s cold? Alternately, why won’t you leave schools open regardless of the weather?
A. Over the years we have received a number of comments from parents and staff who are concerned that students walking to school, when the weather conditions are extreme, are in danger. We have also received comments when our schools are closed about the disruption to student learning and to the routine of families.

We recognize our decisions impact students, staff and families, and we take that responsibility seriously. We strive to find a balance between safety - our first priority - and keeping learning opportunities available for students wherever possible.  We feel as though we have drawn a line that balances the responsibility we have to remain open as much as possible with our deeply held concern for the safety of our students, staff and parents. 

If you have questions about our decisions, please contact us at our Division Office at 403.227.7070. 

Q. Neighbouring school divisions are closing schools during inclement weather. Why are Chinook’s Edge Schools still open?
A. Different school divisions may have a different criteria for making decisions. Also, they may have different circumstances - for instance differences between rural and urban communities and transportation routes. Also, some school divisions build extra instructional days into their calendar so that they have additional leeway during inclement weather. After talking with families, staff and the Board, we believe that Chinook’s Edge has found a good balance, prioritizing safety while also working to keep learning opportunities available for students wherever possible.  

Q. Why did my bus driver cancel my child’s bus route?
A. Bus drivers are in the best position to consider safety at a local level. If a driver believes a route is unsafe based on weather or road conditions on a particular day, they are able to cancel a route.  If the driver makes the choice before leaving and early in the morning, they will notify the families on their route, and let the division know so we can display it on our Bus Status App. If the decision to cancel a route happens later, communication can be more challenging. We do our best to notify impacted families.

Because weather can be unpredictable, we ask for your patience. Also, please ensure your children : 1) are appropriately dressed for the weather 2) have a plan, with you - their parents, of what to do if the bus doesn’t come to pick them up. We want every student to be protected at all times, including in cold and stormy weather.