St. Mary Parish Schools

Emergency Resources for St. Mary Parish Schools: 2011-12

2011-07-01T15:52:00.010-05:00

In addition to utilizing the district homepage and parish media outlets, the St. Mary Parish School System has created means to contact the community in emergency situations. The sustained loss of power to our communications network (Internet and phone) will trigger emergency communications messages posted immediately at this location.

Since this emergency blog will not be available through the St. Mary Parish homepage in the event of loss of power/communications, it is important that you bookmark this site by right-clicking on this page and selecting “Add to Favorites.”

The district also maintains a Twitter feed that can be accessed without a Twitter account. In the Search box, simply type @stmaryschools to read all tweets posted.

The St. Mary Parish School System is committed to providing our community with timely recovery information following any emergency school closure. The district has a comprehensive hurricane preparedness plan that addresses the period immediately following landfall of a hurricane or tropical system. A rapid-entry team is assigned the task of determining asset loss, engaging in cleanup, effecting needed repairs, and planning for reopening of schools and normal school operations.

These two links may prove to be the only way to reliability gain information immediately following major loss of assets in our parish. The district is committed to providing a means to maintain information flow during any emergency situation.

Early School Closings for 2010-11 School Term

2011-05-18T15:50:00.000-05:00

St. Mary Parish announces accelerated school closings as the result of continuing flood threat:

All elementary school students will attend school until the end of the day on Tuesday, May 24.
Franklin Junior High and Franklin High students will attend school until the end of the school day on Thursday, May 26.
All other junior high and high school students will report to school on Thursday, May 26, to receive report cards before an early dismissal.

Schools to Remain Closed on Friday, February 4th

2011-02-03T10:17:00.003-06:00

All schools and administrative offices of the St. Mary Parish School Board will remain closed through Friday, February 4, 2011. All athletic events planned for Friday, February 4, are also cancelled. The National Weather Service has declared the entire region under a Winter Storm Warning with freezing rain and ice accumulation expected on roadways, overpasses, and bridges. Motorists should avoid travel unless absolutely necessary. All schools and administrative offices will reopen on Monday, February 7th.

The Louisiana State Police requests that citizens dial 511 for information about road closures.

School Closures for Thursday, February 3, 2011

2011-02-02T15:01:00.002-06:00

Local and national weather forecasters predict the possibly of freezing rain and icy road conditions on Thursday, February 3, 2011 causing possible hazardous driving conditions. All schools and offices will be closed on Thursday, February 3rd. Please stay tuned to local media and radio stations for information concerning Friday, as school officials will be closely monitoring the predictions regarding Friday’s conditions in order to determine whether schools will be open Friday.

Hurricane Season 2010 Begins

2010-07-01T08:00:00.006-05:00

For the past two years, we have used this blog as a backup for the St. Mary Parish Schools web pages if electrical outages prevent us from accessing the district's traditional site.

In addition to providing emergency information, a blog provides us with a way to update information in real time and to allow you to add comments on our postings. While we welcome comments from readers, please understand that we must moderate them for appropriate content. Therefore, you won't see your comment until it is reviewed and released by the blog administrators, which is done as quickly as possible.

Please remember to bookmark this page so that you can easily access information during emergency situations. You can also follow us on Twitter to get brief updates even faster--just click the link on the right, and you don't even need a Twitter account!

Ike: Monday Morning Update

2008-09-15T10:31:00.009-05:00

Schools in St. Mary Parish reopened this morning, thanks to the hard work of school district personnel and school administrators, faculty, and staff. Dr. Aguillard just reported that attendance this morning was at 90%--pretty impressive, considered what the past two weeks have been like.

The water from Yellow Bayou has receded since yesterday, and the Central Office parking lot is usable today. It is raining again in St. Mary Parish right now, and it seems obvious that this will add to the flooding problem in some areas. However, the rain brings a mixed blessing in that it should eventually help to wash away the brackish water from coastal flooding, hastening a return to normal for our local waterways.

Hwy. 90 traffic (both east- and west-bound) is being diverted to Hwy. 182 since flood waters are encroaching on that highway (see pictures in yesterday's posting). When I looked down the road this morning at 10:00, there was a considerable traffic tie-up at the light in Centerville, where Hwy. 317 meets Hwy. 182. COC employees report that a 5-minute commute has temporarily turned into a 40-minute stop-and-go nightmare. But this, too, will be gone with the flood waters.

Mr. Thibodeaux is working on a plan for making up school days lost because of the antics of those bad boys Gustav and Ike. The October 17th Teacher-Parent Conference Day/Professional Development Day will now be a regular school day, and we will issue progress reports on Sept. 18.

From Dr. Aguillard: The district is ramping up maintenance and contractor services to quickly schedule the replacement of any ceiling tiles showing water damage. All district buildings will be closely monitored for additional water leaks, and necessary repairs will occur immediately. Air conditioners will be run in all building to assist in drying them out.

I still welcome your photos of damage done by Gustav and by Ike. Please make sure to specify what we are looking at in the photos? Thanks,
sudu

Ike: Sunday Morning Update

2008-09-14T10:27:00.008-05:00

From Dr. Aguillard:
All St. Mary Parish schools are set to reopen on Monday, September 15, 2008.

From Su:
Let's hope that the rest of the 2008 Hurricane season is UNEVENTFUL! However, if you have photos of damage to your school or your area, please send them to me via email (su.dupre@gmail.com), and I'll put together a slide show to remind us of how challenging the past few weeks have been. Thanks bunches!

Note: Move your mouse over the image below to view SlideShow controls. Click the little caption cloud icon (lower left) to view the captions and the photo credits. I'll be adding photos as you submit them.

Ike: St. Mary Parish Closes Schools on Friday, Sept. 12

2008-09-11T10:40:00.001-05:00

From Dr. Aguillard: St. Mary Parish Schools to Close Friday, September 12th due to Hurricane Ike

Like most residents, the St. Mary Parish School Board is closely monitoring the projected point of impact for Hurricane Ike. In light of the recommended voluntary evacuation of low-lying areas, the potential for tropical force winds in the parish, and the need of our residents to have sufficient opportunity to secure and protect personal property, the St. Mary Parish School Board has canceled all classes, athletic events and school activities on Friday, September 12, 2008. All schools are expected to reopen on Monday, September 15th.

School personnel are requested to secure classrooms and electronic equipment prior to departing today.

Gustav: Final Update

2008-09-09T10:20:00.014-05:00

We appear to be ready for the return of students and teachers to St. Mary Parish schools tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008). It won't be perfect, but overall, St. Mary Parish was lucky--Hurricane Gustav could have inflicted much more damage than it did. Our thoughts are with those in other districts where electrical, water, and sewerage services may not be restored for four to six weeks. Imagine how difficult that will be!

Your contributions to this blog from wherever you sought shelter from the storm and after you returned to St. Mary Parish were vital in maintaining our lines of communication when local cell phone usage and electrical power were compromised. Rather than a static web page, the blog was interactive, allowing us to share information in real time. We all thank you for your questions, your reports, and your helpful hints. I know that I benefited from information posted on this site.

Mr. Thibodeaux's team produced a Hurricane Preparedness Plan that was highly effective. It now has been fully tried, and small improvements can be made to assist us next time a hurricane threatens. The plan included the purchase of an emergency generator, and its use provided a command center in the Maintenance Department that allowed Dr. Aguillard to assess damages beginning on the day after the storm passed. In fact, the generator was strong enough to power the district web site and email servers by Thursday at noon, even though electrical power to the Central Office Complex was not restored until Friday evening. Thanks to Brad Wiese, Blaine St. Romain, Mary Grimm-Howard, Lane Boudreaux, Kevin Derise, and the maintenance crews for making it happen.

And now, it's your turn: Please feel free to issue an "atta-boy" to those who made a difference at your school or facility, to those who helped to secure or survey or clean-up your site, and to those who helped maintain the lines of communication among school or district personnel.

Just click the Comments link below, and type your shout-out in the "Leave your Comment" window on the right. Beneath that window, make sure to click the "Name/URL" button and insert your name so that we'll know who has made the posting.

Note: Since all posts are monitored, you will not see your comment right away. Check back within an hour, and it will magically appear.

Thanks again for your support and participation!
sudu

Gustav: Saturday Morning Update

2008-09-06T11:50:00.004-05:00

Return to work/school information:

Principals, custodians, and cafeteria managers should report to work on Monday, September 8th.
COC, MOC, OSS personnel should report to work on Monday, September 8th.
Schools are currently scheduled to re-open on Wednesday, September 10th.
The district will be picking up spoiled food items on Monday from cafeteria freezers and coolers, with vendors restocking on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday's return to school.

About making up school days:

We can expect to have to makeup some--if not all--of the time we have missed. Plans are in the works at this moment to determine the best way to accomplish this. Some ideas include adding minutes to the school day and eliminating professional development days. This will be a topic for discussion at the Sept. 11 School Board meeting, so stay tuned for further developments.

P.S. Electrical power was restored this morning to most of Elliot Subdivision in Morgan City.

This morning, I reluctantly made hotel reservations in Shreveport beginning Thurday, Sept. 11--just in case Ike decides to finish what Gustav started.

sudu

Gustav: Friday Morning Update

2008-09-05T07:21:00.004-05:00

The St. Mary Parish Schools Web page and email service is up and running under generator power as of yesterday about noon. However, until full electrical service is restored, we may still have periods during which the web site and email will be inaccessible.

We will keep the blog until everything is fully functioning.

Also: Yes, the plans is to open schools on Wednesday, Sept. 10. :-)

sudu

Gustav: Thursday Morning Update

2008-09-04T11:41:00.002-05:00

Copy of official press release from Dr. Aguillard:

All SMP schools are planned to reopen on Wednesday, September 10th

(Widespread School Damage Reported as Minor)

Public schools fared well thru Hurricane Gustav with initial damage assessment characterized as minor. Maintenance personnel are already in cleanup mode as crews began tree debris removal, securing damaged canopies, awnings, and overhangs, and checking electrical and AC units for possible damage. Generally, a large number of schools reported some minor water intrusion via wind-forced perils: roof leaks, skylight leaks, and water seepage under exterior doors. District personnel are reacting quickly to mop up and dry impacted areas.

Other storm related damage reports included the following issues:
· Loss of some building flashings, gutters and awnings (many schools)
· Damage to exterior metal buildings: sheds, dugouts, canopies, fencing
· Numerous downed trees and branches (widespread)
· Damage to fencing around Morgan City High School stadium
· Significant damage to parent pickup areas at Shannon, Bayou Vista, and Hernandez
· Loss of corner exterior wall panel to Morgan City High Multipurpose building
· Downed light pole at Morgan City Junior High (pole fell on top of a classroom)

Maintenance crews continue to undercover minor damage at school sites as personnel continue building walkthroughs and equipment is reenergized.

Several school campuses are currently being used for staging areas during community recovery: Morgan City Junior High, Patterson High, and Gibbs Elementary. The district will continue to work closely with community recovery efforts to assist whenever needed.

The district is continuing to work aggressively to meet our target reopening date of Wednesday, September 10th. The current damage report is still a preliminary assessment.

I extend my thanks to the principals, assistant principals, custodians, maintenance workers and others who ventured out Tuesday, September 2nd to assess damage. Maintenance crews and school personnel will be out in full force to begin addressing hurricane-related damage issues. I am proud to see so many dedicated employees working to prepare our schools for reopening.

Gustav: Maintence crews begin work

2008-09-03T20:40:00.004-05:00

Maintenance crews will be heading out tomorrow to begin removing debris in the front portion of schools. Emphasis will be initially focused on securing any dangerous maintenance needs. The district saw significant minor damage to canopies, gutters, building flashing, awnings, etc. Phase I of recovery will be focused on getting schools ready to open on Wednesday, September 10th. All buildings will need a walk-thru inspection and we are somewhat worried about damage that may not be currently visible. Restoring power is step one to our eventual recovery. All AC units will need to be inspected to uncover any possible damage.

Principals have been asked to periodically check freezer temperature. A concern has been that some freezers have digital external thermometers. Principals are requested to check the internal thermometer daily to record freezer temperature. We are especially concerned about any freezers that exceed a core temperature of 35 degrees.

Food vendors are reportedly ready to make deliveries to meet our anticipated reopening of school.

Gustav: Visual Damage Report to Schools

2008-09-03T16:19:00.006-05:00

Visual external inspections conducted today:
Aucoin - minor gutter damage, building will need to be checked for minor water leaks

Wyandotte - canopy in front of school is total loss, lawn mower shed is total loss, gutter damage, vent on cafeteria exhaust stem is gone, window screen damage, canopy damage leading to butler buildings

Morgan City Junior High - canopy damage, gutter damage, canopy near office is heavily damaged, broken light pole to baseball field fell on classroom (will need to enter building to assess interior damage), bus shed is total loss, damage to awnings around gym, shingle damage to concession stand, storm fence around baseball sustained heavy damage, extensive tree damage

Norman - extensive tree damage, fence damage, large branch on top of butler building

Maitland - school sign is down, minor tree damage
MOC - no visible damage

Shannon - gutter and downspout damage (back of school), extensive tree damage, damge to flashing over gym, parent pick-up canopy is total loss

Berwick Elem - boiler room roof possibly gone, gutter damage, canopy damage, extensive tree damage, damage to cafeteria storage room (roof missing), extensive damage to 2-story entry canopy

Berwick Junior- flashing damage

Bayou Vista - parent pick-up canopy is total loss, bus canopy pickup is total loss

Hattie Watts - awning damage (pre-K)

Patterson High - visitor dugouts at baseball field (total loss), center field wall is down, roof top AC units may be damaged, fencing on baseball field is damaged

Hernandez - minor shingle damage, parent pick-up canopy is total loss

LaGrange - temporary building is gone (possibly adaptive P.E. storage area)

Franklin Junior - no damage observed

Berwick High - softball field bleachers (total loss), flashing gone on cafeteria, flashing gone on band room, bleachers at football field (2 sets) total loss, damage to baseball and softball fencing

District II Shop - temporary building roof is total loss

Morgan City High - extensive tree damage, corner of multipurpose building is missing, possible water intrusion into building

McGee Park - dugout roofs heavily damaged, batting cage damage

Adult Education in Morgan City - roof damage (at peak)

Baldwin - shingle damage, tree damage

West St. Mary - gates locked, dugout damage, damage to concession area, baseball light pole is down, concession stand build is total loss, football field scoreboard is total loss, ticket booth in athletic area is total loss

Mary Hines - damage to roof (missing) on butler building (possible math tutoring room)

Hamilton - total loss of temporary building, tree on top of car in parking lot

Gibbs - no visible damage

Raintree - structural damage to cafeteria framing, felt paper gone on new roofing work

Principals will need to check interior of buildings for possible water intrusion. Please call Mr. Wiese, Mr. Thibodeaux or my cell phone number.

Overall -- damage seen is definitely in minor category. District is largely waiting on electrical service, and return of general population to parish.

Food Service will be closely monitoring freezer temperatures to determine spoilage.

District is working to power up main technology rack to bring our Internet presence up to the world. Dr. A

Gustav: Wednesday Afternoon Update

2008-09-03T15:13:00.004-05:00

From Dr. Aguillard:
Principal and cafeteria managers are asked to check the temperatures in their coolers and report findings above 35 degrees.

Gustav: Wednesday Morning Update

2008-09-03T10:04:00.006-05:00

Dr. Aguillard is requesting all school principals who have already returned to the district to perform walk-throughs looking for significant damage to their school facilities, especially related to skylights and broken windows. Please report this information to Mr. Keith Thibodeaux at 985-312-9442. There is no need to report tree or canopy damage as external assessments are being completed today and tomorrow.

The Central Office Complex Maintenance Building is currently serving as the district command center.

A note about Comments: Please remember that I am using the Moderate Comments option, so you will not see your Comments right away. I am moderating from my cell phone as I travel to Lafayette today, and there may be a brief delay between your posting and my releasing your comments.

As you go about returning to your homes and beginning the clean-up, please remember that many accidents occur AFTER the storm. Hospital assistance may be limited--please be careful!

sudu

Gustav: Highlights from 2:00 P.M. OEP meeting

2008-09-02T16:34:00.003-05:00

Franklin-large part of city currently without power.

-minor structural damage noted throughout city.

-large amount of tree damage.

-City waiting on CLECO to restore power (Courthouse power restored during meeting).

-City asking for National Guard support.

-City water services are OK

-City waiting on electricity to run sewer services.

Patterson

-little structural damage noted.

-City requesting ice, water, and food.

-City asking Cleco to deploy extra personnel to assist in recovery of power service.
-City asking National Guard to help with debris removal.

Berwick-significant tree damage.-water plant operational.
-City waiting on pumps for sewer life stations.
-City needs help with debris removal.
-all roads clear.

Baldwin-minor structural damage noted.
-significant tree damage.
-water and natural gas services are OK
-sewer lift stations will need emergency power to become operational.

Morgan City
-City unable to generate electricity (attempting to secure electrical service capacity from other sources.
-significant tree damage.
-City currently 100% without electricity.
-City without sewer service.
-City needs generator power to support water and sewer capacity.
-City requesting National Guard support.
-minor to significant structural damage noted throughout city.

OEP will be discussing the return of evacuees once full power and utility service is restored to an area. Preliminary discussions lean to the west end communities receiving earliest permission to return.

The anticipated start-up date for return to schools is Wednesday, September 10th. This target is contingent upon significant restoration of utility services to our communities, the return of our evacuees (85% of parish residents responded to the mandatory evacuation order), the ability of our district to respond to whatever damage we may have sustained, availability of professional and support staff , etc.

Mr. Wiese and I plan to begin a school-by-school damage assessment in the morning.

Principals are requested to make every effort to report back to their schools by Tuesday, Sepember 9th.

The COC maintenance building is tentatively planned to be our command center for the next few days as we make necessary plans to reopen schools. More information to follow.

I am running low on laptop battery power, and cell phone needed a charge during the OEP meeting to stay functional.

I hope that you are all safe. I realize that you are anxious to get back home to check on personal property and help in the recovery of our parish. Dr. Aguillard

Gustav: Tuesday Afternoon Update

2008-09-02T13:57:00.006-05:00

Dr. Aguillard just phoned with tentative restart date for schools as Wednesday, September 10.
Principals are asked to report on Tuesday, September 9.

Please check back here soon for more info.

Gustav: Initial Report

2008-09-02T13:25:00.005-05:00

I just arrived back in St. Mary Parish after evacuating to Alexandria.

OEP has scheduled a 2:00 P.M. meeting at the Courthouse where discussions will include a possible schedule for a staged re-entry of residents back into the parish.

Currently, three or possibly four staging points are being deployed for water, ice and portable meals.

District personnel (Mr. Wiese, Mr. St. Romain and I) will be traveling the parish on Wednesday to assess damage to schools.

Gustav: Tuesday Morning Update

2008-09-02T10:24:00.007-05:00

From Su in Shreveport:

Reports about St. Mary Parish are now beginning to come in, so I've enabled the Comments section below. If you have spoken with someone reliable, please feel free to post information that might be helpful to the rest of us as we try to determine when and how to return to the parish. The Comments section requires me to release your comments after I have reviewed them, so if you don't see your contribution right away, just check back in a little while, and it will probably appear.

To add a Comment, you can create a Google user name OR you can simply use the Anonymous option--but if you do, please include your name so that we know who you are.

Here is a link to the City of Morgan City website, which discourages Morgan City residents from returning now:
http://cityofmc.com/message.html.

If you need to email me, please use the following alternate address: su.dupre@gmail.com. You might also consider creating a gmail address since the St. Mary Parish Web Mail service will be down for some time. If you send me your new address, I'll be able to forward messages to you.

Gustav: School Closure Extended

2008-08-29T22:28:00.005-05:00

The St. Mary Parish School Board has extended the current school closure through Wednesday, September 3rd.

Please continue to closely monitor the projected path of Hurricane Gustav and stay tuned to local media outlets, our district homepage and this emergency blog for updates.

The St. Mary Parish President and Office of Emergency Preparedness have called for a mandatory evacuation of our parish beginning at 4:00 P.M. on Saturday, August 30th.

The call for a mandatory evacuation of our parish played significantly in the decision to extend our anticipated school closure.

I trust that each blog reader will have found a safe place to await the passage of Hurricane Gustav. Dr. Aguillard

Emergency Information Resources

2008-06-23T12:19:00.000-05:00

In addition to utilizing the district homepage and parish media outlets, the St. Mary Parish School System has created means to contact the community in emergency situations. The sustained loss of power to our communications network (Internet and phone) will trigger emergency communications messages posted immediately at this location.

Since this emergency blog will not be available through the St. Mary Parish homepage in the event of loss of power/communications, it is important that you bookmark this site by right-clicking on this page and selecting “Add to Favorites.”

In addition, the Louisiana Department of Education will likely provide a portal for impacted school districts to communicate information regarding recovery efforts. Right-click on the LADOE homepage http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/index.html and select “Add to Favorites” to bookmark this site.

The St. Mary Parish School System is committed to providing our community with timely recovery information following any emergency school closure. The district has a comprehensive hurricane preparedness plan that addresses the period immediately following landfall of a hurricane or tropical system. A rapid-entry team is assigned the task of determining asset loss, engaging in cleanup, effecting needed repairs, and planning for reopening of schools and normal school operations.

These two links may prove to be the only way to reliability gain information immediately following major loss of assets in our parish. The district is committed to providing a means to maintain information flow during any emergency situation.

Dr. Aguillard