If you landed here from a search engine and want to know about 20 March 2008 school closings/reopenings please check the following posts:

Updates 16 March 2008, 23:00

Commission Scolaire des Affluents
All clear to return to school as usual, boardwide

Commission Scolaire de Montréal
There was an emergency evacuation of one CSDM school on Friday and as a consequence all facilities schools and daycares will be closed 17 March 2008
Update: Administrative offices will remain open
News as to when school will resume should be available Monday after 14:30
The CSDM has a PDF document listing all its schools with the dates when they will re-open - please consult often, as it will be regularly updated

Commission Scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord
Le Centre Performance Plus et la Polyvalente Lavigne in St-Jerome will be closed 17 March 2008
All other facilities and schools in the board are open

Collège Jean de Brébeuf
All clear for both secondary and college students

Other notes:
All four campuses of the Socrates Schools are closed 17 March 2008

Day classes at St. Pius the 10th Culinary School and Adult Centre in Ahuntsic are cancelled 17 March, however night classes will still run as normal and the attached building Paul the Sixth High School is open all day, having been deemed safe

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14 March 2008

In light of the accident in Morin Heights that claimed three lives this week, the people of Quebec are taking a serious look at the potential for another building to collapse due to the weight of snow on the roof. Two of the province’s school boards are closing schools today in order to permit inspection of roofing surfaces, and clearing of accumulated snow. Boards affected are:

Commission Scolaire des Affluents
All schools, day cares and offices closed today
Saturday classes at École l’Horizon et Léopold-Gravel cancelled tomorrow as well
According to reports on TVA school will resume Monday morning

Commission Scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord
All schools, centres and day cares are closed today
The board has announced that classes will resume Monday unless there is any notice to the contrary

Collège Jean de Brébeuf
Closed today for roof clearing, but placement tests will be given tomorrow as scheduled

Other school boards including the ESM, Lester B Pearson and the CSM are all holding classes as usual today. These three boards, in particular would like the public to know that they are doing everything necessary to clear snow from the school roofs and that inspections are underway due to the unusual amount of snowfall this winter. Lester B. Pearson claims that regular snow removal and roof inspection is part of its regular maintenance routine.

On a related topic, school boards have asked municipalities to avoid clearing snow on streets surrounding schools during the times when students are arriving and departing the school. Snow removal is made more complicated by cars parked on the streets near schools, and in some places this is forcing staff to take special measures in order to for students to safely enter & leave the school building. At our son’s school the buses had to be re-routed due to a combination of accumulated snow and cars obstructing access to the school.

I’d like to ask for drivers to please avoid parking in the school zones, particularly during school hours. We need to allow snow removal equipment to access the streets surrounding schools so they can clear them. Especially around elementary schools this is crucial. Our children are small and not always able to move out of the way quickly when they are wearing all that winter gear. A tall snow bank in front of the school could obstruct a driver’s view, and cause a potentially fatal accident. Let’s leave the streets clear for the kids and the necessary snow removal equipment! Even if it means parking a block or two from home, the peace of mind is worth it.

The city is offering free overnight parking in order to help out, too. Close to 25,000 spaces are available in 25 lots around the Montreal area. Parking is free of charge from 6 PM to 7 AM in lots bearing special signs. For more information, see the overnight parking lots page. There is a map so you can locate a lot near you.

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