Schools will remain open for snow days this winter, boards say

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) and Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) have released inclement weather procedures for this winter indicating schools will remain open if buses are cancelled.

Last year, in the event of a bus cancellation, schools were asked to switch to remote learning for students and were closed to avoid combining students from different classes.

On Nov. 8 UGDSB released information regarding changes to bus cancellations and remote learning on inclement weather days for the 2021-22 school year.

Returning to pre-pandemic protocols, the release noted when buses are cancelled in a division, all UGDSB schools in the division will remain open, with the exception of Centre Peel Public School and Kenilworth Public School bus routes.

“In all other UGDSB schools (elementary and secondary), schools will remain open for all students who can get there safely,” board officials say.

“Students affected by bus cancellations will be supported in their learning through activities provided by their teacher in their Google Classroom.”

WCDSB also released information on bus cancellations in preparation for the cold weather approaching.

According to the board, in cases where buses are canceled but schools remain open, “parents should always assess weather and road conditions and make their own decision as to whether or not to send their children to school under the current and expected forecasted weather conditions.”

The board notes students will still be able to access learning materials on their class D2L page in the morning, which will be made available for students by 10:15am.

Decisions about bus cancellations or school closures generally occur by 6:15am and are posted to the Wellington-Dufferin Student Transportation Services (STWDSTS) website at https://stwdsts.ca/ and Twitter account @STWDSTS and to school and board websites by 6:30am.

To sign-up for notifications of bus route delays/cancellations, parents can visit https://stwdsts.ca/bus-subscription/.