Blowing snow forces exam cancellations

Snow squalls hammered the region on Wednesday with whiteout conditions causing the Catholic school board to cancel exams.

Blinding snow and whiteout conditions made for another treacherous day on the roads, with strong winds whipping through Innisfil, Barrie, and Wasaga Beach.

For many students, it was another day at home as school buses were once again cancelled. But for those in the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, it also meant the cancellation of final exams.

The board says it had no choice but to call off the last scheduled day of exams, and rescheduling wasn’t an option.

“One of the issues is we would need to amend our school year calendar with the Ministry of Education and get approval for that,” said Scott Gorecki of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board. “And the other is if we were to schedule transportation for tomorrow for students to complete the missed exams, the estimate is approximately one hundred thousand dollars of additional costs to run the buses.”

Instead, teachers have been instructed to assign final grades based on students’ performance throughout the semester.

The Simcoe County District School Board took a different approach, saying in a statement:

“Schedules have been adjusted in some schools in the region impacted by inclement weather and bus cancellations. This slight scheduling adjustment will ensure that all students have the opportunity to complete their culminating tasks. Information is being shared directly with families.”

The board also noted that teachers have the professional discretion to consider recent in-class improvements when finalizing grades. For most students, the second semester begins on Monday.

Another Day of Digging Out

The west side of the region was hit hard once again on Wednesday, leaving residents shovelling their way out.

“It was pretty bad last night,” said Alex Czyizczon, a local student. “Buses got cancelled, so that’s pretty nice for me. Now I have to shovel the driveway.”

And with the Great Lakes still mostly ice-free, the lake-effect snow isn’t letting up anytime soon.

“Georgian Bay and Lake Huron are 70 per cent open,” said Dave Phillips of Environment Canada. “So we are under the threat of constantly getting that lake-effect snow. But it’s not until about a month from now when the lakes freeze over that that contrast between the air and the lake is not such that it will produce the local snow effects.”

Until then, drivers and residents will need to brace for more snow, wind, and school disruptions.