When we awoke this morning to find snow covering the ground, the first question that was asked, “Is there school today?”. No early morning phone call at 6:00AM from school to activate the emergency phone chains and no announcement on the school website meant students, teachers and parents slipped and sloshed their way to school through the “icy slush”. Other major international schools in Tokyo and Yokohama were also open for school “as normal“.

At school, it was a wonderland for students as they excitedly chatted about the snow falling and their experience of snow in other places. Comments like; “It used to snow at my old school“, “I want to build a snowman“, “Wish we could have a snow fight!” echoed from student to student of all grades, eager to get out and play in the snow conditions. While students enjoyed morning recess in the snow, the outdoor conditions became too wet so indoor play was called. Wet socks and shoes were creatively dried in classrooms in an effort to have them ready for keeping little feet warm!  The grounds keepers worked non-stop to keep the walkways clear and placed signage in areas that needed extra caution when passing through.

The earlier weather forecast said the temperature today will stay above zero and around noon the snow should let up, making conditions OK for dismissal time. But as weather has it, it continued to snow and the school opted to err on the side of caution so parent broadcasters were sent out and students were sent home at 2pm. With public transport still running on normal schedules and the roads flowing with traffic, it seemed that all of our school community would make it home safe.