Snowstorm Windy Closes Schools in Lebanon
2015 is an exceptional year. We are getting one snowstorm after
another. People were bracing themselves for the third snowstorm this
year. It was given the name Windy, because it would be accompanied with
wind-speeds up to 80 km/hr.
We barely managed to start school after snowstorm Johann when we got
news of Windy. We managed to have normal school days from Monday 16 till
Wednesday 18 February.
Because we already lost many school days to snowstorms, we decided to
wait until snow starts falling before closing school. Many parents of
boarding students started coming to take their children home on
Wednesday afternoon in spite of our decision.
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Thursday morning 19 February 2015 started as a normal school day, but
many boarding and vocational students were absent. We went through the
first two periods, but occasional snowflakes started to fall during the
third.
The typical pandemonium of snow immediately followed. Bus drivers and
parents started arriving to take children home. Some members of staff
were asking to leave although there was very little snow on the roads.
They were reminded of the simple rule that staff can only leave after
all students have already gone home.
By 1:00 PM all students and members of staff had already left JLSS.
We
easily could have finished the school-day and sent students home at the
end of the school hours, but the urge of almost everyone to go home the
second a snowflake descends, has become the norm or excuse to go home.
The only road that closes these days in our region during the toughest
storms is the Dahr El_Baidar road to Beirut. The main roads in the Beqaa
are always open. Even after very heavy snowfall, bulldozers remove the
snow early in the morning, and roads are open again in a few hours.
The very same people who are always eager to go home at the sight of a
snowflake, find no difficulty doing other work elsewhere, or driving
their cars in thick snow to go around shooting birds!
The Minister of Education decided to close schools in Lebanon from
Thursday till Saturday for a very valid reason. Most schools do not heat
their classrooms although they charge very high fees. Students were
freezing in their classrooms and many children were getting sick.
We can only say thank God for Schneller School and our partners who
support us to provide a very high standard of care to our children.
If Lebanon is to have a future, there should be standards that all
schools should follow, and Lebanon must be able to function normally,
with or without snow!
Saturday 21 February was a glorious day with a
lot of sunshine. The director summoned the staff of the Maintenance
Department in order to prepare school to receive students on Monday.
The cost of removing snow during the last storm was US$ 300 which is
expensive. This time the director had an innovative idea for removing
snow which would not cost JLSS any money. He hoped it would work and decided
to give it a try.
He asked George Shawool to bring the school tractor
and some metal chains. They then chose a heavy log from one of the pine
trees that fell during the last snowstorm and chained it to the tractor.
The director asked George to tow the heavy log with the tractor and see
if his idea for removing snow would work.
The initial run was satisfactory but it was decided to choose an even
heavier log. The heavier log did the job, but towing the log was
accumulating a lot of snow, and the tractor was struggling. An
adjustment was needed to gradually dispense with the accumulated snow.
The angle of towing the log was adjusted, and the idea worked well. By
1:00 PM the roads inside Schneller School were reasonably free from
snow, and the school was ready to receive children on Monday.
We thank the staff of the Maintenance Department for their hard work
which they always do in difficult situations when everyone else is
enjoying a break at home.
Classes were resumed on Monday 23 February at 7:50 AM.
Click this Link
for a Short Video of the Removal of Snow
Please wait a while for the video to download.