School Snow Closures

As winter weather approaches Mission, it is helpful to be aware of our procedures for school snow closures.

Determining School Snow Closures

• If the Mission School District closes schools in the morning due to snow or other hazardous weather, our school closes that day too.
• At other times, we will make the decision to cancel our classes by 1pm on weekdays, and 8am on weekends.

Announcing School Snow Closures

When we cancel classes, we have several ways to communicate to our families:

1. We email all families – be sure that your account email information is correct,
2. We text those who have opted-in to receive texts – contact us for an opt-in text code
3. We update our online Events Calendar (fvad.ca/calendar)
4. We post to our Academy News (fvad.ca/news)
5. We post to Instagram @fvadance
6. We update our telephone voicemail (604-826-0097).

• In the event of power outages during severe weather where these updates may not be possible, please assume the school is closed.
• During harsh weather (snow or other storms), always come to the school building with your child to be sure that classes are running before you drive away.

Winter Power Outages at the School

When classes are in session and we have a power outage in winter, we have specific procedures that we follow and specific events that occur.

• We confirm that everyone is ok in each studio.
• We confirm that all emergency lighting is activated.
• We contact BC Hydro for an update on the outage.

Our office equipment back-up batteries will stay active for up to 60 minutes, so we can contact parents and be contacted in that time.

Our emergency lighting will stay active for up to 60 minutes, but the heating will be off, so we make the decision to close after 20 minutes to be extra cautious.

• After 10 minutes, we ask students to collect all of their belongings.
• After 20 minutes, if the outage is not expected to be resolved within 30 minutes, we contact families.  We ask students to put on their outerwear and wait downstairs to be picked up.
• The same procedures then follow as per a school snow closure for any remaining classes.

Learn more about School Snow Closures

To know more about being prepared in our area, and how Mission handles snow days, visit Snow and Ice Control on their website.

To learn when Mission closes schools, or to sign up for their closure email list, visit Unscheduled Closures on their website.

Text Messages

Our text messages are sent from 1-365-800-0422.  Please save this number in your phone contacts as “FVAD Alerts” so that you know in the future who has sent the message.