Parent Resources

Dear Families,

If you’re like us, you’ve been checking your weather app and wondering when and if we might get severe weather conditions. Our maintenance team and volunteers are ready and will do their best to clear school lots and walkways early in the morning on days with snow and ice. Always assume we will have school as usual. Any decision to cancel school is based on severe weather and is always a difficult decision to make.

Even when we keep schools open on wintry days, we understand that you may feel it’s not safe to send your students to school from where you live. If you believe road conditions are too risky for you or your students, you may keep them home. Please remember to contact the school office to excuse their absence. You also may want to have alternate childcare plans in the event school is canceled.

WEATHER CLOSURES

Schools may be closed because of weather, road conditions, or other safety issues. When severe weather or road conditions are the issue, the CDA school district will access neighborhoods, roadways and driving conditions before dawn, taking into account current and immediate weather forecasts. The public school superintendent will use that information to make a decision to close or delay the start time for school – in most cases by 5 AM. The safety of all students and staff is the most important consideration in the decision-making process. If the CDA Public Schools decide to close or delay school due to weather – HFCS will also close or delay. However, we reserve the right to close or delay even if CDA does not call a closure.

There are multiple ways we share these announcements (see below). We do not, however, send messages to confirm that schools are open on the regular schedule. So if you hear nothing, that means we are open!

How to learn of a school closure or a 2-hour delayed start:

• You should receive an email and/or text message from us. We use contact information listed for parents and guardians in the FACTS Portal. Please log in and check to make sure we have your current email address and mobile number to receive emergency text messages.
• If you’ve downloaded the mobile app for Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, you will find their announcement under Notifications.
• Check our social media feeds: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Call the CDA Public Schools Closure Hotline at 208-667-0784.
• Announcements are reported by local news media, including KREM, KXLY and KHQ morning news programs.

If you do not see a closure or delayed start announcement, that means we are open and operating on normal schedules.

What a snow day (emergency closure) means: School is canceled for the day and school offices/before and after care are closed.

All school activities, events and meetings are canceled. This includes athletic practices and competitions as well as other extracurricular activities.

What a two-hour delay means: School will start exactly two hours later than normal.

Before-school extracurricular activities and Before Care are canceled.

Pax et bonum,

Sue Styren, M.Ed.

Principal, HFCS

HFCS follows the Coeur d’Alene school district for weather-related school closures and a 2-hour delayed start. Information is posted by 5:30 am. You can download the CDA schools app, call their weather hotline at 208-667-0784, check their website, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

As soon as we know there is a school closure, we will share it with you on Facebook, and via our texting service. In case of an emergency early closure, the HFCS office will notify parents by text. We will not permit students to leave the school until arrangements are made to pick them up.

The safety of students and employees is the top priority in the decision-making process. When we experience severe weather, such as freezing rain, heavy snowfall, or high winds, the CDA school district will evaluate road conditions and forecasts early in the morning (between 3 and 4 am). CDA school district considers the ability of school buses to operate safely, as well as general driving conditions for students, parents/guardians, and school staff. Other safety considerations include students who may walk to school or wait at bus stops in frigid or hazardous weather.

CDA school district balances these factors with other safety considerations. For example, a school closure may leave some students at home without adult supervision. For others, school may be the warmest and safest place to be. We all understand the impact a school closure or delayed start can have on families. Please know that each potential closure decision is weighed thoughtfully with careful consideration for the safety of the school community and based on the best information available.

When we experience severe weather or hazardous road conditions, a CDA school district team will assess current conditions and immediate weather forecasts early in the morning. Any change in normal operations will be announced before 6 am. CDA school district/HFCS will only announce when we have a closure or a delayed start; you will not receive an announcement that we are open as scheduled.

Holy Family Catholic School reserves the right to call a snow or inclement weather day regardless if the CDA school district calls this event. If HFCS calls a severe weather day, parents will be notified via our alert system – please be sure that your FACTS parent portal information is up to date. If the CDA school district calls a severe weather day, HFCS will follow suit.

We will keep students indoors when the weather is below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. We check two different weather sites and average the “feels like” temperatures to account for the wind chill. Please ensure that you send cold weather gear with your child(ren) so that when we send them outside, they can play and be safe.

Follow traffic flow. DO NOT PARK at the curb to drop off or pick up students and DO NOT leave your vehicle.

Do not talk on cell phones in or near our parking areas.

Once children are picked up, please keep them in the cars. For safety reasons, parents should not allow students to leave their vehicles once picked up.

Do not leave students in a car in the parking lot with the engine running or with keys in the car.

Younger students who need to walk through the parking lot must be escorted by the hand.

Only parents arrange carpools. For convenience only, HFCS keeps a copy of your carpool on file in the school office. It is, however, the parent’s responsibility to let their child(ren) know who will be picking them up on any given afternoon. If there is a change in a child(ren)’s pickup, the classroom teacher should be notified in writing. This will eliminate any confusion for your child and the school staff at the end of the day.

All after school plans should be made prior to and outside of school. Students are not to come to the office to phone home and make after school plans.