Severe Weather
Very rarely, Burnaby Mountain experiences severe weather conditions which require road closures to ensure the community’s safety. It is possible that our school will be closed prior to opening in the morning or that roads will be closed before the end of the school day. District and school staff will communicate information in a variety of ways.
If there is inclement weather the night before or the morning of a school day, please check the following information sources to see if our school has been closed:
•SFU road conditions
•SFU Gaglardi Way webcam
•Burnaby School District 41 website –
•Local radio station e.g. CKNW
•Local television news station
If inclement weather prevents students and staff from leaving the mountain:
•students will be kept at the school with school staff until their parents and/or designated caregivers are able to pick them up
•this information will be posted on the school and district websites
•families will be contacted by the school
Should you decide to keep your child(ren) at home during inclement weather, even if the school is open, please call (604.296.9036) the school to let us know.
Please read the following letter from a University Highlands parent for pro-active suggestions.
Worried about Snow?
Well, don’t. There’s no need to fret. Yes, the weather on Burnaby Mountain can be quite different to the rest of the lower mainland at times, but this isn’t Whistler. Simon Fraser University and access to and from the top of Burnaby Mountain has only been shut down a handful of times in the last five years and even then, generally for only a couple of hours. However, if you live and/or work off-mountain, there are a few things you can do to you’re your mind and prepare yourself and your children in the rare event of bad snow.
1.Make a mountain friend. Make an arrangement with a friend who lives (and hopefully works) up here and make sure they are one of the emergency contacts you list for your children. In the event you cannot retrieve your child yourself, you can rest assured that they can go home with someone you know and trust.
2.When the weather looks dicey, check the district’s website for school closures.
3.In winter, check SFU’s road conditions & weather forecast before going to school. Because whether up here can differ from down mountain, SFU has taken to maintaining very detailed road conditions information during inclement weather, including cameras located at key places on campus and at the traffic light at the base of campus. They list whether the university and SFU Childcare Centre are open and whether Translink is running. Finally, when they have information that the mountain may be getting snow, they also include this forecast (especially if it differs from the rest of the mainland forecast) on their main page and on the road conditions page. Note that weather often differs significantly above and below the traffic lights at the base of campus.
4.Send spare clothes and a toothbrush. If conditions are reasonable in the morning, but the forecast indicates there may be snow later in the day, send your child to school with a spare set of clothes and a toothbrush and make arrangements with your mountain friend, just in case.
5.Make your decisions based on safety first. Schools tend to close only under extreme conditions because parents and children rely on them to be open. However, don’t risk your and your children’s lives if you feel the weather conditions are unsafe for driving. Missing a day, a morning (late arrival) or an afternoon (early pick-up) or even two, due to snow, will not affect your child’s overall educational experience.
•If getting out of your own neighborhood is hard, don’t drive up
•If Translink isn’t running, don’t drive up
•If you think the weather is turning for the worst, aim for early pick-up
UniverCity Trust – Link to Winter Preparedness on Burnaby Mountain
