Seine River school trustees have approved some changes to the division's school closure policy.

Board chair Wendy Bloomfield says they’ll make the closure decision earlier in the morning, with hopes that this will make things a little easier for parents who need to find childcare when schools are closed.

Closure notifications will be sent out by 6:15 am. Previously, the policy stated that closure notifications would be sent out by 7 am.

The other policy change reflects an update to the media outlets that are notified of school closures.

Seine River parents and caregivers received a letter yesterday that addresses school closure days and details of how the division plans to handle learning when schools are closed.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

In looking at the forecast and thinking about the last month, it is unfortunate that extreme and cold weather continues to impact our students’ learning. The EBCD CANCELLATION OF CLASSES & BUS ROUTE Regulation requires that schools close for cold weather reasons when the recorded temperature is indicating a windchill of -45𐩑 degrees Celsius or colder to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

All educators understand the importance of in-person learning for our students, both for education and well-being. Extreme weather has resulted in the cancellation of many school days this winter. Weather-related cancellations, coupled with an extended winter break and a week of remote learning, have significantly reduced our students’ number of in-class days.

To reduce the potential impact of additional closure days moving forward and to ensure student learning continues to be supported regardless of weather, SRSD will continue providing students with learning opportunities on days when schools are closed for extreme cold weather. If extreme cold weather cancellations occur, please expect the following:

• Teachers will communicate with their students at the start of the school day to remind them of work previously started, including projects that were previously assigned.

• Teachers are available during the day to answer questions or help with specific problems. Students can connect with their teacher during the day for further assistance.

• Teachers will remotely support students with learning activities related to concepts already covered in class, and will not be providing remote instruction.

• Synchronous (all online at the same time) instruction will not take place as we know all students do not have access to technology. Teachers will not launch new lessons/units, as all students may not be able to participate.

We also understand not all students/families will engage remotely on a cold-weather closure day, and we will honour and respect all choices.

On behalf of the SRSD, I want to thank our parents/caregivers for their understanding and cooperation on extreme weather days when student safety and division policy necessitate cancelling school. We fully understand the inconvenience and disruption that school closures have on many families and work schedules.

Sincerely, Simon Laplante (Co-Superintendent), Elaine Lochhead (Co-Superintendent)