Inclement Weather Notes
Show Choir Competition Season Runs in the Winter Months of January and February each year. By the conclusion of Competition Season in mid-March, the weather has improved greatly. We've experienced just about every possible weather scenario that can occur and we've made it through without any injury to any students or damage to any vehicles. We've had our trip cancelled by the CSCSHC and we've had a host school cancel due to poor weather. We've also been caught in bad weather that happened while we were at an event and we had to make some decisions. Below are a few notes on what to expect if there is bad weather forecast as well as some past experiences. It is worth noting that there isn't one single answer as conditions at the time of a decision will be the driving factor.
The rules also may be different for a Competition Day versus a Practice Day. We will repeat this a couple of times, but please note: The safety and security of all students from New Palestine High School - show choir students, crew students and band students - always our top priority. This also applies to our Choir Director, chaperones, room parents, adult crew members and adult band members, many of whom will transport themselves in their own vehicles. We will not take unnecessary risks with any of these vital participants in Show Choir at New Palestine High School.
The rules also may be different for a Competition Day versus a Practice Day. We will repeat this a couple of times, but please note: The safety and security of all students from New Palestine High School - show choir students, crew students and band students - always our top priority. This also applies to our Choir Director, chaperones, room parents, adult crew members and adult band members, many of whom will transport themselves in their own vehicles. We will not take unnecessary risks with any of these vital participants in Show Choir at New Palestine High School.
PRACTICES and E-LEARNING DAYS
If school is cancelled due to poor weather conditions, The Choir Director may call a special practice, upon the approval of the Superintendent and Principal. This is a practice that would occur during the day as all evening activities are called-off when school has been cancelled. Whenever these special practices are scheduled, they will be last-minute and not planned. Also, student participation in these types of off-schedule E-Learning Day practices is entirely optional. For students who don't have a parent at home who can drive them, options are limited. Some parents might not feel safe with their students driving or being driven by another student on poor road conditions and that is always a parent decision. If ever this type of practice is called on an E-Learning Day, please know that your student safety is top priority and if you are concerned at all, your student is excused from practicing.
Example A: A Thursday before a competition is an E-Learning Day for CSCSHC, due to snow or ice. The choir automatically cannot hold practice in the evening in their usual time frame due to CSCSHC policies about evening practices. The Director may request that they hold practice in the Auditorium from 1-4 pm on the E-Learning Day. Example B: A Thursday before a competition is an E-Learning Day for CSCSHC and Diamond Sensations can hold their usual practice because they are finished by 6 pm. However, Crimson Heat cannot perform due to restrictions against evening performances. Crimson Heat may be requested to hold their practice earlier in the day from 1-4 pm to make-up the missed practice. Example C: It's early January, prior to the start of competition season. An E-Learning Day is called by the CSCSHC on a Wednesday. Available members of the show choirs may request a special practice day at NPHS, along-with the approval of the Director and School Corporation officials. Diamond Sensations may call a 1-4 pm practice in the Auditorium. Again, in all cases above where the school corporation has cancelled school, student participation in any extra practices is entirely optional for all students. We don't want you or your student taking any unnecessary risks. |
SHOW CHOIR COMPETITION WEEKENDS
When Will We Inform Parents/Students of Plans of a Competition Cancel Due to Weather Concerns?
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A decision whether to attend or not will be held until the Friday afternoon prior to a competition or very early on Saturday morning. We will hold this decision until the latest possible moment, as weather forecasts can and do change, even just a few hours apart. The students have been practicing hard and we don't want to pull the plug prematurely when the day of the Competition might not have the predicted weather. This is Indiana, after all.
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How Will We Inform Parents/Students of Plans of a Competition Cancel Due to Weather Concerns?
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Depending on how much notice we receive, notification could come via the Remind 101 texting system. This is likely the first point of contact to broadcast information to parents and students. If you are not signed-up and you want to be, please text "@npshow" to number 81010.
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Who Makes the Call on Whether We Can Attend, When There's a Weather Concern?
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The decision whether or not to attend a competition is the discretion of the Superintendent of the CSCSHC, working alongside the Principal of New Palestine High School and the CSCSHC Transportation Department. These three areas will work with Mr. Beebe on options or consult him if there are questions. The primary focus is always on the safety of everyone involved and that will always take priority in this decision.
Even if the Superintendent approves the trip, the CSCSHC Transportation Department will allow the bus drivers to evaluate the safety of the trip and they may decide to not drive, which would force New Palestine Show Choirs to withdraw. Depending on weather at the location we are attending, that school corporation Superintendent may make a decision based-upon local weather conditions. The competition can choose to cancel the competition, even if things are fine at NPHS. |
Can the Competition Host School Alter the Schedule?
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The host school for the competition is running the event as a fundraiser for their Choir organization. They will delay on cancelling until they have no options and their school officials call-off the event. We have had the host school cancel before due to poor weather. However, we have also had a school contact us and adjust their schedule for the day. For example, a typical competition has a "day show" and a "night show". Due to weather, some schools may have indicated they aren't coming but others said they could still come. The Host School makes a plan to run the competition, but remove "Night Finals" and have all choirs perform just one time for judges. We have seen this happen and we've experienced this before. So, the competition would start at noon and run until 9 pm, for example and they would award the top 4 mixed and top 3 women's groups trophies. This would allow them to make-up the loss of the entire competition because there is no rescheduling of a competition. If the competition is cancelled, they are out the money they have spent and the money they would have earned through ticket sales and concessions.
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Additional Competition Notes and Past Experience
1. Weather looks questionable on Friday night. We have rented and packed the equipment truck on a Friday night, only to have the trip cancelled early on Saturday morning. The adult crew unloaded the truck on Saturday morning when the weather cleared and we returned it. The students never performed and the competition that Saturday day was ultimately cancelled by that school as well.
2. We have attended a competition and the trip there was fine, but bad weather moved-in during the day and made the trip home very difficult - we chose the safest path, gathered all of the buses, the equipment truck and remaining NPHS adults, and formed a caravan, watching out for one-another. The trip home took more than twice the time it took to get there and we arrived very late (early on Sunday morning), but everyone arrived safely. 3. We have attended a competition where an ice storm was in the forecast for mid-afternoon. As soon as the second group performed, we informed the host school that we were packing-up and leaving immediately as we were north-west of Fort Wayne. We did not participate in awards at the end of the day and if we had been chosen as a Night Finalist, we forfeited that opportunity to try and return home in safety. The ice storm did arrive and made our trip home difficult for a portion of the time, but it would have been much worse had we stayed. 4. In the past 12 years that NPHS Show Choirs have been attending winter show choir competitions, only 3 times has an event been cancelled. Other than 2019 at Twin Lakes High School, most cancellations occur very early in the morning, rather than the night before. All schools hosting these events have gone into a great deal of time, preparation and expense and they host these events as a fundraiser for their choral program. They know the schools attending have put in a lot of time and effort and paid an entry fee to attend the competition, so they will do all they can to go-ahead. |