When we reach that time of the year when schools may be cancelled due to inclement weather and dangerous road conditions, we feel it is important to ensure that you are aware of the procedures for cancelling school.  

The decision to cancel school is arrived at through a consultative process involving a number of individuals located in different geographic areas of the Tri County Region.  Factors taken into consideration are weather and road conditions, weather forecasts and, above all, the safety of children walking to school, waiting for a school bus by the roadside, or traveling in school buses to and from school. 

Weather conditions can vary greatly from area to area and can change significantly within a few hours. This increases the difficulty of making the best decision for everyone concerned.  We may at times only cancel one "family" of schools excluding all others (Yarmouth town & county, Digby county, Barrington, etc)

Early Morning Cancellations:

When schools are cancelled prior to school beginning for the day, the decision will normally be made by 6:30a.m.  Please refer to the media outlets listed above for cancellation announcements.

Late Morning Cancellations:

It may be necessary to close schools during the day in order to ensure students are home before weather conditions become severe.  In such cases, we monitor the provincial road reports and maintain contact with the Environment Canada weather service.  When a decision is made to close school early, announcements will be made on all of the media outlets listed above.  

Note:  Parents with children attending Drumlin Heights, Plymouth, St. Mary's Bay, and Weymouth, and travelling on CSAP buses - the procedure has changed from the past.  The Tri-County Regional School Board (TCRSB) and CSAP have agreed to close simultaneously.  If the TCRSB closes a system/family of schools that does not depend on transportation by CSAP, the TCRSB reserves the right to close a system/family of schools on its own terms.  Hopefully, we will be able to coordinate so that specific schools within a County or area will be named in our announcements.  Announcements for early dismissals will identify how many hours prior to regular dismissal that the early dismissal will take place.  For example, if School A regularly dismisses at 3:30pm but a decision has been made to dismiss at 12:00pm, the announcement will state that School A will dismiss 3 1/2 hours early.

Late Bus Runs:

In some instances buses may be delayed - even in good weather. In these cases, parents will be notified by the following radio stations that a bus or buses will be delayed by a specific amount of time. 

• Radio CJLS 95.5 FM, 94.7 FM, 93.5 FM, 96.3 FM

• CBC Radio-1 92.1 FM

• Radio AVR at CKDY 1420 AM, CKDY-1 103.3 FM

• Radio CKBW 93.1 FM

• Radio CIFA 104.1 FM

If a bus is delayed by thirty (30) minutes, students are expected to meet the bus thirty (30) minutes later than would normally be the case.

Suggestions for Parents:

1. Please do not call the School Board Office or radio stations, as your calls jam the telephone lines, which are needed for emergency use.  

2. Please listen to one of the media outlets listed at the top of this page between 6:00a.m. and 8:30a.m. if there is any question that school may not be operating.  

3. Do not drop students off at school unless you are certain school is operating that day and there is supervision by teaching staff and/or administration.  

4. Make alternate arrangements for your children in the event of a mid-day school cancellation.  You may wish to notify your child's school of these arrangements.  

The most important consideration in determining the operation or closure of schools is the safety of our students.  If schools are operating, the final decision to have your child attend school remains with you, the parent. It is our sincere hope that we can work together to ensure a safe winter for all school children.

When an announcement is made to cancel all schools in the Tri-County Regional School Board, it includes the following: