Teri Ann Cox
Executive Director of The Children’s Center
Dear Center and Magic Moment Families,
I hope you had a fun and safe Halloween! It is hard to believe October is behind us and we have already turned back our clocks. As the winter season now approaches, I wanted to share the procedures we use to make the decision to either be open or close during inclement weather.
When a weather event is anticipated, we start monitoring the NH weather forecasts 24 hours ahead of time. Much like area school districts, we also utilize Precision Weather which targets weather and road conditions in the region. It is not uncommon for WMUR to report conditions that may be true for much of the state, but not precisely for our specific region. The decision whether to close the Center is based on all the information gathered, including input from the local school districts. The Center will remain open if the total assessment indicates that our staff and families (who collectively come from 11 different surrounding towns) can reasonably pass over the roadways. Safety is the top priority in making the decision.
The Children’s Center historically has fewer “snow days” than the surrounding school districts. On average, we typically close for two full days in the winter, and occasionally have 2-hour delayed openings, or early closings for our staff to start their commute home prior to nightfall. Every effort will be made to communicate with families the night prior if we are going to close or have a delayed opening. Decisions to close early will be made and communicated by noontime.
These communications are made via Procare Connect messaging, published on WMUR school closings (both online and on TV), and posted on our Facebook page.
The final decision as to whether children come to school or not is up to you. Our families are geographically spread across southern Carroll and into Belknap counties, so it is impossible to know the conditions on every road. Please decide what is best for your family, and if you are going to keep your child(ren) home, let us know so we can mark your child(ren) absence and account for the correct number of meals we will need for that day.
In addition to this newsletter, you will be receiving a more detailed letter via email that includes information regarding the crediting of accounts in closure situations and specifics for our All Star, Mis Amigos, and Magic Moment families specifically. Please look for that communication and read it in its entirety. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Lastly, November is “National Gratitude Month.” I hope you all have many reasons to be grateful and give thanks this month!
With kind regards, Teri Ann