Superintendent’s Update
Nov. 1, 2022
Dear Parents/Caregivers,
Hanover School Division remains committed to keeping our community informed and updated with new and/or important information as it becomes available. Today, we are providing an update regarding the election for school trustees and the HSD cold/hazardous weather guidelines.
Trustees Elected
The Manitoba School Trustees election was held on October 26th. We thank all who participated in the vote. On behalf of the Hanover School Division, we congratulate newly elected trustees Shayne Barkman, Jeff Friesen, Cheryl Froese, Charmaine Toews, Dallas Wiebe, and re-elected trustees Lynn Barkman, Ron Falk, Danielle Funk, and Brad Unger.
We also offer our sincere thanks to departing trustees Sue Doerksen, Jonathon Driedger, Shannon Friesen, Carisa Klassen, and Rick Peters for their service to our school communities.
Weather-Related School Closures
A reminder that the HSD weather-related school closure policy requires that schools close for cold weather reasons when the recorded temperature at the Environment Canada Kleefeld Weather Station at 6:00 am indicates -35𐩑 degrees Celsius or colder, or a Windchill of -45𐩑 degrees Celsius or colder. View the HSD Cold/Hazardous Weather Guidelines (PDF) for more details.
As educators, we understand the importance of our children attending in person for learning and well-being. We acknowledge the challenges a school closure creates for families with younger children in particular. We do not take the decision to close schools lightly. Closing schools is for safety measures and is done as a last resort. It is a complex and thorough decision making process that takes place early in the morning.
To reduce the potential impact of closure days and to ensure student learning continues regardless of weather, HSD will provide students with learning opportunities on days when schools are closed. If such cancellations occur, please expect the following:
On closure days due to extreme cold:
- Teachers will post assignments/activities/lessons onto Seesaw or Google Classroom as soon as possible in the morning.
- Teachers will send a message to parents (or students, depending on the grade) letting them know how and what time(s) of the day they will be available online or via email to answer questions.
- Teachers will attempt to connect virtually or via telephone with each student in Grades K-8 to check in and provide suggestions for work.
- We are not expecting synchronous (all online at the same time) learning to occur.
- We understand that not all students/families will engage in work on a cold-weather closure day, and we will honour and respect all choices.
- Teachers will not launch new lessons/units, so please keep in mind the work teachers assign will primarily be work students can engage in independently.
On closure days due to hazardous weather:
- Teachers of Grades K-8 should prepare a work package to be sent home in advance of winter and periodically throughout the winter months, which may be utilized on inclement weather closure days.
- Teachers will send a morning message, instructions, and post assignments/activities/lessons onto Seesaw or Google Classroom as soon as possible in the morning.
- We understand that not all students/families will engage in work on a hazardous weather closure day, and we will honour and respect all choices.
- Teachers will not launch new lessons/units, so please keep in mind the work teachers assign will primarily be work students can engage in independently.
We thank you for your continued partnership as we continue to create safe environments and provide education to all of our learners in the Hanover School Division.
Respectfully,
Shelley Amos, Superintendent/CEO
Hanover School Division