Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools is once again relying on the musical skills of its singing superintendent to relay information about snow.
Last February, the school district uploaded a video to YouTube of Scott Saywell, guitar in hand, singing about school cancellations and while there were no closures with this morning’s snowfall, a video was uploaded detailing rationale that is taken into consideration when closing schools. Saywell sings and plays guitar to the tune of The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun.
In the video, Saywell said that decisions are made after school district staff have toured school sites in the early morning and reported back to him on conditions. Schools will remain open unless there are extreme conditions, he said.
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While the first snow video was done on a whim, the latest was planned after a snowfall warning was issued yesterday and even though schools are open, Saywell told the News Bulletin.
“For my part, I wanted to get some information out to the community, parents particularly,” he said. “I was pretty sure today we were OK, but we did have … some accumulation in some spots and that is a challenge with Nanaimo, from Lantzville to Ladysmith, Gabriola and Cedar and all these areas, can be quite different.”
The first singing superintendent video was among three school district communications department items recognized by The Canadian Association of Communicators in Education for its Bravo Awards, recognizing excellence in school public relations.
The video was uploaded at about 10:30 a.m. Friday.
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reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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