School Information -->Inclement Weather Information

Inclement Weather Information

Fairfax County Public Schools emergency messages, including school closings are now available through e-mail. Please sign up to Keep in Touch at https://fcps.medianext.com/herndonms/start.html.
Note: Fairfax County Public Schools no longer posts messages at the independent site http://www.Schools-Out.com.
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Herndon Middle School participates in a program called WeatherBug. To download WeatherBug, go to http://weather. weatherbug.comand click on the "Download" button. Once you have downloaded the program, you will be asked to register and enter our school promotional code number: 3PXJN. WeatherBug will only accept one registration per computer, so be sure to pass this address along to family and friends using the "Share the Bug With a Friend" e-mail form that is found on the lower right-hand corner of the Bug. Just remember to pass along our special promotion code so that we get proper credit.

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Parents are urged to make arrangements now for the care of their children when schedule changes are made (and to provide for the rare situation when it is necessary to close an individual school because of a power failure or other circumstances). Children should know where to go if a parent will not be home.

Decisions on schedule changes are made after careful study of the best information available from many sources including weather services, the highway department, the police, and FCPS transportation staff members who are out checking the roads. While no sources dealing with weather predictions can be infallible, decisions are made with one overriding consideration—the safety of the students who ride buses or walk to school each day.

FCPS has several schedules set up to deal with inclement weather; these are put into effect when conditions threaten the safety of children who are walking or riding school buses to schools. These schedules are:

(1) Keep schools closed. (2) Open either one or two hours late. (3) Close one or two hours early.

In every case of a schedule change, the news will be carried by approximately 35 radio and television stations, which are notified as soon as a decision is made. Do not phone the school or one of the stations for this information. Turn on your radio, television, or cable Channel 21, check www.fcps.edu, or call the FCPS hot line at 703-246-2500.

When the decision is made that schools will be closed all day or will open either one or two hours late, the announcement will be made by 6 a.m.

When schools are closed for the day, the following will apply:

• All extracurricular activities, interscholastic contests, team practices, field trips, and non-school activities in school buildings will be canceled. (Exceptions must be approved by a cluster director.)
• Adult evening classes, community-use activities, and recreation programs will be canceled.
• Extended day care and school-age childcare centers will be closed all day.

When schools are opened either one or two hours late, the following will apply:

• If it is on Monday, elementary schools (which usually close early on Mondays) will close at their usual Tuesday-through-Friday time.
• Extended day care and school-age childcare centers will be open by 8 a.m. when possible.

When schools are opened one hour late, the following will also apply:

• Afternoon kindergarten classes, afternoon preschool and afternoon FECEP will begin at the usual Tuesday-through-Friday time.
• If it is on Monday, preschool centers and FECEP will not observe the early closing schedule but will close at the usual Tuesday-through-Friday time.

When schools are opened two hours late, the following will also apply:

• Morning kindergarten will be dismissed one hour later than the usual Tuesday-through-Friday time.
• Afternoon kindergarten will begin one hour later than the usual Tuesday-through-Friday time.
• Preschool special education programs and FECEP will be canceled.
• Breakfast programs will be canceled.

When schools are closed one or two hours early due to worsening weather conditions during the day, the following will apply:

• The announcement will be made by 10:30 a.m.
• Extracurricular activities, interscholastic contests, team practices, and non-school activities will be canceled.
• Extended day care and school-age childcare centers will operate from the time school closes until 6:15 p.m. whenever possible. Parents may be required to arrange for an early pickup when necessary.
• Afternoon preschool programs and afternoon FECEP will be canceled.
• In general, community-use activities, recreation programs, and adult education classes will be canceled.

When schools are closed one hour early, the following will also apply:

• On Mondays, elementary schools will close one hour earlier than their usual Tuesday-through-Friday time. (For example, elementary students who are usually dismissed at 3:05 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays will be dismissed at 2:05 p.m. on Mondays.)
• Afternoon kindergarten will be held and will close one hour earlier than the usual Tuesday-through-Friday dismissal time.
• Morning preschool programs and morning FECEP will be dismissed one hour earlier than the usual Tuesday-through-Friday schedule.

When schools are closed two hours early, the following will also apply:

• If it is on Monday, elementary schools will close two or more hours earlier than the usual Tuesday-through-Friday schedule.
• Afternoon kindergarten will be canceled. Principals will notify parents about makeup days.
• Preschool and morning FECEP will be dismissed at 11 a.m. or as soon thereafter as buses can arrive.