SCHOOL+CLOSINGS

School Closings, Late Starts, and Early Dismissals Menno Schools uses an automated telephone service called School Reach to notify parents and staff for school closings, late starts, and early dismissals.

When used, the service will simultaneously call all listed phone numbers in our parent contact list and will deliver a recorded message from Dr. Christensen or another school administrator. The service will deliver the message to both live answers and answering machines. Calls where the line is busy or where no one answers will be automatically retried twice in fifteen minute intervals after the initial call.

Here is some specific information you should know: • Caller ID: The Call ID will display 605-387-5161, which is the main number for Menno School. • Live Answers: There is a short pause at the beginning of the message, usually just a few seconds. Answer your phone as you normally would, “hello,” and hold for the message to begin. Multiple “hello’s” will delay the message. • **Answering machines**: The system will detect that your machine has answered and will play the recording to your machine. The maximum number of rings before hang-up is five. **Make sure your machine answers after four rings** or you may miss the message. • Morning and Day Calls: In the event a cancellation decision is made the night before, or in the early morning hours, the message will be broadcast to home phone numbers only. In the event a cancellation decision is made mid-day, the message will be broadcast to home, cell, and work numbers. General announcements would be sent only to home numbers.

For the most part this service has been successful. However, there have been times of glitches with the program or with the local telephone company. We suggest that when the weather looks like there could be a late start or no school, please return to the old system of checking the Sioux Falls television stations of KELO, KSFY, KDLT, or KTTW. Also, the following radio stations should have the announcement, WNAX and KYNT.