Authorities are dealing with more threats against schools in Steinbach and Kleefeld.
Another threat was received on Thursday. As a result, all Steinbach schools and the Kleefeld School will be closed on Friday.
The Hanover School Division has issued a notice on its website.
It reads as follows:
The Hanover School Division is committed to ensuring the safety of our students and staff. Essential to this commitment is open communication with parents/caregivers about safety issues when they arise.
Please be advised that Clearspring Middle School (CMS) received a voicemail late this afternoon (Jan. 26th) from an unknown caller issuing threats to CMS and the Steinbach Regional Secondary School. As you may be aware, a voicemail was received at CMS yesterday (Jan. 25th), issuing a threat for Kleefeld School. These calls were preceded by two similar voicemails received at CMS the week prior, one of which directed a threat to CMS.
We take threats to schools or persons very seriously; therefore, upon receiving the voicemail today, staff immediately contacted the RCMP. The RCMP are taking this very seriously, and an active investigation continues to be underway. We thank the RCMP for providing support to the Hanover School Division.
In an abundance of caution, ALL STEINBACH SCHOOLS and Kleefeld School will not be open to students/staff tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 27th).
To ensure student learning continues, all Steinbach schools and Kleefeld School will transition to remote learning for Friday and follow our existing cold-weather protocol:
-
Teachers will post assignments/activities/lessons onto Seesaw or Google Classroom as soon as possible in the morning.
-
Teachers will send a message to parents (or students, depending on the grade) letting them know how and what time(s) of the day they will be available online or via email to answer questions.
-
Teachers will attempt to connect virtually or via telephone with each student to check in and provide suggestions for work.
Some teachers may not have access to their computers tomorrow. Therefore there is a slight chance that not all teachers will be able to offer virtual learning. Thank you for your understanding.
For our school emergency response plans to be effective, we depend on the cooperation and assistance of many people, including parents/caregivers. We appreciate your understanding and are grateful to the RCMP for their assistance.
Please monitor your email for any further correspondence. We will send follow-up communication before the start of school next week.