Will or won't it snow?

[patty04]

We have snow YAY!!! but only just started to come down, so i am at work

[TwoZeroAlpha]

Snow here this morning, took a decision not to attempt to drive along with a few teachers and HT said not to risk it. School is open but I guess they're managing without us.

[mattx]

School closed - [ I was asked to come in ] - view from my window about an hour ago: [ it's now worse, much worse ]

[witch]

Had I been able to get on the internet this morning, I would have sadly stated that not only did we not have snow here, but that I didn't even have to scrape the car this morning....The bad weather predicted for here missed us completely.

BUT..it is snowing now and has been for the past hour. Woohooo!!!

 

Due to turn to sleet by lunchtime though, worse luck.

Within 5 mins of snow starting (and it isnt heavy), we had phone calls from parents asking if we were going to close the school!

[localzuk]

Snow day here. No snow where I am, but supposedly higher up in the town there is plenty. Plus most of our staff live on Exmoor or in Taunton - where there is a lot of snow. Doesn't mean no work though.

[Netman]

We're all off home at 12.15 - Woohooo!

[theriver]

So, things were in place:

 

- early am call to get the website updated with a "we're closed" message

- message sent to local radio station

- Parentmail contacted with relevant information

 

All done nice and early, we're ahead of the game.

 

Let's see how we did:

 

- local radio station an early casualty, web server collapsed under load

- school website died soon after, along with all the others in Herts learning grid that I tried

- sometime later, Herts webserver cames back online but was returning the homepage for a different school. And not just for us, I tried numerous North Herts schools and all were showing the homepage for this one primary school in Hemel Hempstead.

Presumably the people at St Rose's were unaware of this, and will be absolutely floored when they next review their hit count :-)

- and at 10:59am, I get an email from Parentmail telling me that the school is closed.

 

So, after much planning, expenditure of time, effort and money, the message was spread in the old fashioned way, by parents ringing each other up and spreading the word.

 

Why do we bother?

[LosOjos]

We use a text messaging system here to spread the word, and it's a good job that we were open (in a way, I'd rather we had been closed though!) because the text message that was sent at around 7am didn't reach some staff until 11am and some still haven't received it. Reception took over 300 calls from parents before 8.30 and have been working through answering machine messages since... Why can't this country handle the 'extremities' (actually very mild compared to elsewhere in the world) of any kind of weather?

[korifugi]

We have our new text messaging service up and running - so just as I was thinking of rolling out of bed this morning, I had a text to tell me not to bother!

 

Quick check on the net to see that the feeder I was meant to be at was also closed...

 

Back to the warm confines of bed:cool:

 

Well, until now anyway!

[kevbaz]

Whole of plymouth is shut down, well all but one school, luckily not mine! 1st time in about 15 yrs scince my school was closed due to snow and weve not had this sort of snow for just as long!

 

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs147.snc3/17443_423264380312_685935312_10338211_5895734_n.jpg

[Dos_Box]

Just been out for my lunchtime walk to find that the docks in Preston have frozen solid!

[Guest Guest]

No snow where I am, but supposedly higher up in the town there is plenty..

 

Sorry, but how? Blood southern pansies!

[Tcsltd]

Just been out for my lunchtime walk to find that the docks in Preston have frozen solid!

 

Might take my ice skates up later!!

[witch]

It has now stopped snowing and is starting to melt. BUT it is chaos here as kids have been ringing their parents and saying things like " the school is about to close", and "others are going home" and asking the parents to come and get them. Which they have - even thought there is NO reason to. Mind you, most of the local schools have wimped out and closed - I can't see why - this is ridiculous even for the effete south.

[ZeroHour]

I have to say just reading and seeing the pics on the last few posts I have to laugh. We have ice in Aberdeen on the pavements (for over a week or so) thats up to 3 inches thick! (kevbaz try walking on that )

[Dos_Box]

Ours was like that for the past 2 weeks but had melted by Sunday evening, only to be replaced with this new batch!

[glennda]

just got a phone call from an assistant head, our website is annoying him so i have to put on the information about school being closed tomorrow!!!

[laserblazer]

Just put a new message on the snowline to say we are open tomorrow for kids who can get in safely. Wonder how many of the staff will make it in?

[rad]

We have been open (ie today and yesterday) I am not bothered by it but cos other schools locally are closed, the staff think we should close, but why, roads are clear and yes there is snow on the ground, whats the problem.

[Guest theeldergeek]

Interesting article.

 

BBC News - How schools decide on snow closures

 

Our school is rural, and the bulk of both the students and staff have to travel along minor A roads to reach the place. Added to the fact that a lot of the students are actually transported in from afar on buses, and you have the problem of them maybe getting to school but not being able to get home. The same for the staff of course. We've been closed since Wednesday when the snow came.

 

The main roads are, AIUI, quite clear, but of course getting to the main roads can be impossible. My road is a sheet of ice and I have seen several cars go 'sideways' round the bend at the top of the road then giving up trying to get up the hill. Fortunately, most of the residents round here who usually park their cars there, have moved them elsewhere - just in case!

 

The kids are using the road as a sleigh run because although under normal conditions it is quite busy road, no-one is really getting through at the moment.

 

Just been told we are closed again tomorrow, and with more snow forecast at the weekend down here, the outlook is looking quite grim

 

I'm actually getting 'cabin fever' sitting at home now, I am bored silly!

Edited January 7, 2010 by theeldergeek

[john]

Interesting article.

 

BBC News - How schools decide on snow closures

 

Our school is rural, and the bulk of both the students and staff have to travel along minor A roads to reach the place. Added to the fact that a lot of the students are actually transported in from afar on buses, and you have the problem of them maybe getting to school but not being able to get home. The same for the staff of course. We've been closed since Wednesday when the snow came.

 

The main roads are, AIUI, quite clear, but of course getting to the main roads can be impossible. My road is a sheet of ice and I have seen several cars go 'sideways' round the bend at the top of the road then giving up trying to get up the hill. Fortunately, most of the residents round here who usually park their cars there, have moved them elsewhere - just in case!

 

The kids are using the road as a sleigh run because although under normal conditions it is quite busy road, no-one is really getting through at the moment.

 

Just been told we are closed again tomorrow, and with more snow forecast at the weekend down here, the outlook is looking quite grim

 

I'm actually getting 'cabin fever' sitting at home now, I am bored silly!

That is very similar to us, we have about 12 coaches that bring our students to College, and staff travel to us from over 1hr away if not more in some cases (Thats in good weather and conditions!) so for us its not as simple as snow on the ground at the college site. As we found out on Wednesday when we opened, we soon closed as actually the weather where the College is had not been as bad as where I live (I live 7 miles away) and then go another 3 miles down the road (10 ish in total from it) it was very different again. It shows its by no means a simple easily worked out process.

[leco]

OTOH school leaders only have a duty of care when pupils/employees are in school. Obviously most will consider how people are to travel and from where. But a view from one geographical location does not necessarily give a wider picture therefore official advice must be taken. Edited January 8, 2010 by leco
spelling

[browolf]

off for 3 days now. I hear the issue is mainly health and safety: we have many buildings and many (1800) kids and it's probably impossible to keep all the areas kids will be in free of ice. Then there's the fact many teachers live far enough away to involve less travelled streets and hills.

[stevenwba]

we closed for 1 day *cries*

 

west midlands is meant to get some snow sunday night, so hopefully some more snowdays!

[6Foot2]

Snowing again here. Just dusting the cars in the car park ATM.