From the Head of School

In the Event of Bad Weather The weather this morning was noticeably cooler - a prompt for me to give our annual reminder about possible school closure due to snow and bad weather. It is never an easy decision to close the school; it is a denial of opportunity. We don’t take it lightly and only if it is not safe for a large number of students to get into school. Sadly, it doesn’t take much snow to disrupt Aberdeen roads, and the view in one part of the city can be quite different to another. By 6am on the morning of poor weather, Ron Falconer, our transport coordinator will talk to our bus companies about the state of the roads. If they judge them unsafe, Ron will contact me for a final decision, also bearing in mind what other schools are doing. If we decide to close, by 7am we will send out an email and put a message on the Community Hub and our other social media. If possible, we will do it the night before. Northsound 1 Radio (FM 96.9 MW 10.35) also read lists of school closures. We can’t guarantee there will be anyone in school to answer the phone, and won’t call families individually - so it is important to check these sources.

• If there is bad weather but we think the school can still open, one of three things will happen: Normal bus routes
• Alternative bus routes (taking into account local conditions). In which case our transport coordinator, Ron Falconer, will contact affected families.
• A late start without buses, with families making their own way into school. Parents would need to check our website for updates.

If school is closed during the school day, we will contact families. Children of families who can’t be reached will be kept at school. It will take some time to recall the buses to ISA so parents are welcome to pick up students.

If the school is only closed for a day, we won’t have remote learning - this may or may not involve live lessons, which will depend on circumstances. Children in middle and high school in particular should check Google Classroom for work from their teachers. If the school is closed for any longer than that we would switch to remote learning.