EARLY ACCESS Starting with Topsail. Predictions and alerts aren’t live yet.

STARTING WITH TOPSAIL FAMILIES

School
tomorrow?

An earlier heads-up.
More time to plan.

When the weather might change the school day, a little notice goes a long way. We’re building a heads-up that helps you plan childcare, work, and the morning ahead.

For Newfoundland & Labrador families.
Independent. Essential alerts planned to be free.

A LITTLE NOTICE. A LOT MORE ROOM TO PLAN.

school tomorrowEXAMPLE MESSAGE

TOPSAIL ELEMENTARY For Wednesday, February 18, 2026

High closure risk

Tomorrow may need
a backup plan.

Heavy snow overnight. Poor visibility in the morning. A good time to line up childcare or adjust your workday.

An early heads-up helps you prepare.
Your school confirms the decision.

Based on a real forecast from last winter

Illustrative message. No alert was sent.
Prediction accuracy has not been measured.

Colourful Newfoundland homes and a school in the snow

For the whole day
that starts with school.

LAST WINTER, LOOKING AHEAD

What a day’s notice
could make possible.

Childcare arranged. Work adjusted. A backup plan in place. Here’s what the forecasts told us before Topsail’s February 18 closure.

TOPSAIL ELEMENTARY FEBRUARY 2026

  1. THE FIRST SIGNAL

    Around 30 cm

    Forecast storm total

    Most of the snow was expected before 6 a.m. Wednesday, with strong winds during the morning.

    Time to start watching Wednesday.

  2. A STRONGER SIGNAL

    25–50 cm

    Forecast storm total

    A storm warning, heavy overnight snow and poor morning visibility. A reasonable point for a high-risk heads-up, looking back.

    A HEADS-UP WE COULD HAVE OFFERED

    “High risk of closure tomorrow.
    Time to make a backup plan.”
    About 26 hours before school was due to start.
  3. THE CLOSURE DECISION

    Closed Wednesday.

    Metro closure reported by VOCM

    NLSchools announced that metro schools would close the next day. Families now had a decision to act on.

    The official notice confirms the plan.

WHAT HAPPENED · FEB 18

Topsail Elementary closed all day.

Observed daily snowfall at St. John’s airport: 27.8 cm.

See the verified record

A look back, not a prediction result. No alert was sent. The high-risk assessment is ours, and we haven’t measured prediction accuracy yet. This example shows the opportunity for earlier notice.

Explore last winter
How we reconstructed this example

Forecast times come from the publishers’ current page metadata. We have not recovered independently archived pre-decision versions. The 8:17 p.m. time is VOCM’s displayed report time; the original announcement time is unknown.

The potential notice window runs from Tuesday’s forecast publication to Wednesday’s scheduled 8:20 a.m. school start. It is not a measured lead over the official announcement or a guarantee for future storms. We need to test forecasts across both closure days and days schools stayed open.

Forecast amounts describe the whole storm. The airport observation describes ECCC’s daily measurement period; these are different measures. ECCC / NAV Canada observations . Measurement notes . Data licence .

When plans change, get your school’s heads-up.

Join early access for Topsail Elementary.

Join early access

THE PLAN IS SIMPLE

A heads-up.
A plan.
A calmer morning.

  1. 01

    Pick your school.

    We’re starting with Topsail Elementary and building with local families.

  2. 02

    Get time to plan.

    Our goal: an early warning when the weather puts your school morning at risk.

  3. 03

    Know when it’s official.

    Closure and delay alerts will link to the official source. Essential alerts will stay free and ad-free.

A LOCAL START

Your school.
Your morning.
A little more notice.

We’re starting with Topsail Elementary in Conception Bay South, and building with the families who know these mornings best.

Join early access to help shape School Tomorrow and hear when it’s ready.

Topsail ElementaryConception Bay South, Newfoundland & Labrador

GOOD TO KNOW

A few things
you might wonder.

Built for our community.
Clear about where we’re starting.

Is this an official school service?

No. School Tomorrow is an independent project. It isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Topsail Elementary or NLSchools. Always follow your school’s official notices.

Will I get closure alerts right now?

Not yet. You can join the early-access waitlist and hear when we launch. School-closure predictions and live alerts are still being built. Check the official school status report ↗

How early could I get a heads-up?

We’re aiming to help you plan the day before, when the forecast gives enough reason. Some storms will be clearer earlier than others. Our historical example shows what might have been possible; it isn’t a guaranteed warning window. We still need to measure how often our predictions would be right.

Is a prediction the same as a closure notice?

No. An early heads-up would flag a risk so you can make a backup plan. Your school makes the closure decision. We’ll clearly separate predictions from official notices, and you should always follow your school’s instructions.

Will I have to pay?

Essential closure, delay and reopening alerts are planned to be free and advertising-free for every parent. Signing up won’t enroll you in sponsor messages.

Can I change my mind?

Yes. Use “Withdraw my signup” after verification. To manage an existing signup, verify the same mobile number again. Reply STOP to our waitlist messages to unsubscribe. Replying START restores permission to sign up, but you must join again through this page.

Know another Topsail parent?

Good things start with a neighbour.

PRIVACY & SMS TERMS

Your information.

School Tomorrow uses your mobile number, selected school and consent record to manage the early-access waitlist and contact you about launch. We record when you consent and verify your number, and whether you arrived through a shared parent link. This does not subscribe you to school alerts or sponsor messages.

Each code request sends one verification text. Waitlist and launch messages are occasional. Standard message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. For assistance, reply HELP to the message sender or contact peter@petergifford.ca. Reply STOP to the sender to stop texts from that sender. Verification codes and waitlist messages may come from different senders; withdraw through this page to leave the waitlist.

Waitlist records are stored in Google Cloud in Montréal. Twilio processes your mobile number and verification requests to confirm that you control the number. Our providers may process service data outside Canada. We do not access contacts or use advertising or analytics services on this page.

A secure browser cookie keeps your verified signup accessible for seven days. Unused verification requests expire after ten minutes. Expired verification and session records are removed by database cleanup; this cleanup is not immediate.

Withdraw from this page to remove your waitlist phone number and consent record and revoke access sessions. Reply STOP to waitlist messages to unsubscribe. A keyed identifier is retained to remember a STOP preference, along with minimal message-event identifiers to prevent replay. Other temporary abuse-prevention records expire. To rejoin after STOP, reply START to the waitlist sender and complete a new signup.

For questions or deletion help, contact peter@petergifford.ca.