It is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago we had temperatures into the double-digits and had the option of leaving our coats at home.  However, with the arrival of December, it is important that all families are aware of how inclement and stormy weather can affect school and the safety of our families.

School Cancellations & Delays:  

When announcements are made for a delay or closure, GCS follows the PEI Public Schools Branch.  Alternatively, sometimes only certain schools will be delayed or closed and will be announced by “family of schools”; GCS follows the Bluefield Family, Colonel Gray Family, and Charlottetown Rural Family of schools.  If any of these are delayed or canceled, GCS will be also.

In the case of a “one hour delay”, school will begin at 10:00am, while a “school closure” or “system wide shutdown” results in no school at all for the day.

There are a number of ways to know if there is a school delay or closure; they are as follows:

  1. We will post on the GCS Facebook (Grace Christian School – Prince Edward Island), Twitter (@gcs_pei), and Instagram (gcspei) accounts.
  2. Each PEI radio station regularly announces delays/closures (as “Public Schools Branch”)
  3. The CBC Stormcentre website (http://www.cbc.ca/stormcentre/pei/) (as “Public Schools Branch”)
  4. The PEI radio station websites also post delays/closures on their sites (as “Public Schools Branch”)
  5. Families can opt in to a GCS text message notification.  If school is delayed or canceled, a text message can be sent from GCS to one cell phone in the family to notify of the delay/closure.  This is an OPT-IN ONLY program.  If you would like to use this option, please email Jordan Ellis (jellis@gcspei.ca) with the cell phone number that you want to have the text message notification be sent to.  If you opted in last year and still have the same cell phone number, it is already still in the system.

We strongly encourage you to follow us on one of our social media platforms and to register for our text message system for cancellations if you haven’t already.

If school is closed (not simply delayed), any after-school or extra-curricular activities will also be cancelled (such as sports, after school care, clubs, etc).

Christmas Service Project:

Learning through service allows every student at GCS to move their focus from themselves to the needs of others. Not only does this expand their sense of compassion for others, but also allows them to demonstrate how Christ can use them to make a difference at any age. What a better time than the holiday season to share the love of Jesus with others in our community? As this year’s Christmas Service Project, students in grade 5/6 will be preparing small treat bags which will be handed out on Christmas Eve to visitors of the Soup Kitchen.  More details will be sent home in the coming weeks.

Assignments & Assessments:

Thursday:  Spelling Test 10
Friday: Exploration Timeline, Fact Sheet, Diary Entries Due

Important Dates

December 14 – Christmas Program
December 22 – Christmas Parties (Half Day)
December 23 – January 7 – Christmas Break
January 8 – First School Day of 2018