Weather Policy
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY AND EMERGENCY DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
Best Practice: Follow HCPS Announcements and WBAL news station alerts
During inclement weather conditions, SMS follows the Harford County Public Schools' early dismissal, late opening, and full-day closing decisions. As noted in the School Handbook, this information is announced by WBAL radio and TV stations.
St. Margaret School will be closed if public schools open two hours late on a scheduled early dismissal day. On days when Harford County Public Schools are closed, and we are scheduled to be open, listen to WBAL radio and TV for a St. Margaret School announcement.
Should an early closing occur, please have a backup plan in place to provide pick-up for your children. It might be another school family, a neighbor, or a relative. Share this information with your children, as they can become upset when no one arrives and we are unable to reach you. In recent years, we have had to close early for emergency situations unrelated to the weather. Be prepared, and there will be less anxiety for both you and your children.
There may be a change in the dismissal procedure on rare occasions, such as inclement weather. For example, if there are icy conditions underfoot or hard-blowing rain, we may decide to keep all students inside at dismissal. In that case, students will remain in their homerooms, and parents will need to park as usual on the lot but come to each child’s homeroom to get them. If parents wish to take their children from school early, they will need to sign their children out on the individual classroom emergency sign-out sheet.