No Instruction
Unless otherwise notified, families should not expect instruction to occur when school is cancelled for severe weather.
Notifications
- In the event that severe winter weather causes poor road conditions or dangerous cold, OHMCS may announce school cancellations.
- All families will receive a text, voicemail and e-mail message within 20 minutes of a decision to close school. If you haven’t received these messages, a decision to close or delay school has not been made, and school is expected to be in session as usual. Always assume school is in session, unless you hear or see differently from OHMCS.
- When school is cancelled, OHMCS will notify parents on the morning of the late start or cancellation (possibly the evening before) using the following tools:
- Text message
- Voicemail message
- E-mail message
- Facebook page
- Local media outlets – OHMCS, however, cannot guarantee if, when or how the media will report the information provided.
Please ensure your contact information in up-to-date in FACTS, and that you have not previously blocked text or email messages.
Schools could be cancelled if…
- The school bus won’t start or run dependably.
- Local road conditions are dangerous or impassable.
- Our neighborhoods experience sustained wind chills of 40 to 45 degrees below zero during the morning bus pick up and afternoon bus drop off times.
*Like neighboring districts, OHMCS will rely solely on forecasts provided by the National Weather Service –Twin Cities. Most often, OHMCS will align with decisions made by Mounds View School District.
Activities
If school has been cancelled, families should assume all activities at the school have also been cancelled, including before and after care. If an exception to this rule is made, families will be notified.
Lunch Program
When school is cancelled, please note lunch may be disrupted on the day of return, due to the variation in lunch orders on any given day. Should this be a concern, please plan to send a packed lunch to school with your children.
Late Bus
On winter days when the metro-area traffic is significantly congested because of poor road conditions, parents should expect the school bus to be similarly delayed. Parent alerts (text messages) will be sent as needed to keep parents aware of delays.