Diocese reacts to blizzard predictions with caution

July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Diocese reacts to blizzard predictions with caution
Diocese reacts to blizzard predictions with caution


By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer

With meteorologists spouting terms like “crippling and potentially historic,” and Gov. Chris Christie declaring a travel ban for all non-emergency vehicles, the snowstorm approaching central N.J. the evening of Jan. 25 seemed a weather event which must be heeded. School administrators in the Diocese of Trenton reacted with an abundance of caution; hearing the predictions of over two feet of snowfall within the four counties, the decision was made to close all grammar and high schools mid-day Monday into Tuesday. Notifications were issued in a variety of ways, reaching concerned teachers, parents and children via the Honeywell alert system, Facebook posts, emails, texts, tweets and website notifications. 

But the “storm of the century,” dubbed Juno by the National Weather Service, was a dud, not a disaster. The storm veered to the right over the Atlantic to strike Long Island, Boston and neighboring states to the north, while residents of central New Jersey awoke Tuesday morning, peered out their windows, and saw only a fraction of the precipitation predicted. The chief meteorologist at National Weather Service issued an unprecedented public apology for the error, stating, “You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn’t. I’m sorry.”

Though Juno proved to be just another minor snowstorm, parish and school activities were impacted just the same. Despite the predicted 16-20 inches of snow for Mercer County fizzling out to a mere three or four inches, the Facebook page for St. Gregory the Great Parish and Academy, Hamilton Square, held a cheery message to “enjoy the family time that snow days bring.” Meetings, Masses, Eucharistic adoration, Bingo and all evening activities were cancelled, and a telephone outage affected the campus for a time on Tuesday, further affecting operations. 

The parish and school issued a statement on Wednesday, attempting to turn the storm’s negative effects into a positive gesture. Realizing its member families would have stocked up on supplies for the blizzard, it read, “You bought extra cans of soup in preparation for the blizzard that wasn’t. Bring them to church this weekend for our annual Souper Bowl Sunday collection. Cans of soup will be collected by our Social Concerns Ministry and delivered to Mount Carmel Guild for direct assistance to the less fortunate in our community.”

Burlington County’s St. Paul School also proceeded with an abundance of caution. The storm’s predicted 16 to 20 inches of snow ended up with just two to four inches. but classes and activities for Catholic Schools Week were postponed just the same. A Jan. 27 Facebook post by the school showed a whiteboard drawing of a joyful snowman announcing the snow day and advising, “To all the kiddos out there - ENJOY this Snow day! For their parents ... take some time to play in the snow with them - these years go by too quickly! Be safe everyone no matter what your plans may be!”

Ocean County experienced a statewide high of up to 10 inches of snow, but St. Dominic School, Brick, adapted with ease. The school marked both the opening of Catholic Schools Week and their 50th anniversary with a Mass Jan. 25 before the first flakes fell. Principal Carol Bathmann was unfazed as she shared the changes in the week’s planned activities.

“We had a volunteer prayer service and junior national honor society induction, which was rescheduled for next Monday, yesterday’s open house will be next Tuesday, and another open house this morning was also delayed,” Bathmann said. “Everything worked out in the end.”

The five to eight inches of snow that fell in Monmouth County gave students in St. Rose Grammar School an unexpected few days at home. The Belmar school posted a Facebook picture of a snowy street view with the message “Hope you enjoy the snow day #snow” for its followers. Later, another post depicted second grade St. Rose School student Robert Connelley, well bundled against the cold, standing on a snowy walk with his “invention convention” project: a snow shovel equipped with a flashlight and a container in which to carry rock salt. “The only thing better would be if it would shovel for you!” the post quipped.

 

 

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By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer

With meteorologists spouting terms like “crippling and potentially historic,” and Gov. Chris Christie declaring a travel ban for all non-emergency vehicles, the snowstorm approaching central N.J. the evening of Jan. 25 seemed a weather event which must be heeded. School administrators in the Diocese of Trenton reacted with an abundance of caution; hearing the predictions of over two feet of snowfall within the four counties, the decision was made to close all grammar and high schools mid-day Monday into Tuesday. Notifications were issued in a variety of ways, reaching concerned teachers, parents and children via the Honeywell alert system, Facebook posts, emails, texts, tweets and website notifications. 

But the “storm of the century,” dubbed Juno by the National Weather Service, was a dud, not a disaster. The storm veered to the right over the Atlantic to strike Long Island, Boston and neighboring states to the north, while residents of central New Jersey awoke Tuesday morning, peered out their windows, and saw only a fraction of the precipitation predicted. The chief meteorologist at National Weather Service issued an unprecedented public apology for the error, stating, “You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn’t. I’m sorry.”

Though Juno proved to be just another minor snowstorm, parish and school activities were impacted just the same. Despite the predicted 16-20 inches of snow for Mercer County fizzling out to a mere three or four inches, the Facebook page for St. Gregory the Great Parish and Academy, Hamilton Square, held a cheery message to “enjoy the family time that snow days bring.” Meetings, Masses, Eucharistic adoration, Bingo and all evening activities were cancelled, and a telephone outage affected the campus for a time on Tuesday, further affecting operations. 

The parish and school issued a statement on Wednesday, attempting to turn the storm’s negative effects into a positive gesture. Realizing its member families would have stocked up on supplies for the blizzard, it read, “You bought extra cans of soup in preparation for the blizzard that wasn’t. Bring them to church this weekend for our annual Souper Bowl Sunday collection. Cans of soup will be collected by our Social Concerns Ministry and delivered to Mount Carmel Guild for direct assistance to the less fortunate in our community.”

Burlington County’s St. Paul School also proceeded with an abundance of caution. The storm’s predicted 16 to 20 inches of snow ended up with just two to four inches. but classes and activities for Catholic Schools Week were postponed just the same. A Jan. 27 Facebook post by the school showed a whiteboard drawing of a joyful snowman announcing the snow day and advising, “To all the kiddos out there - ENJOY this Snow day! For their parents ... take some time to play in the snow with them - these years go by too quickly! Be safe everyone no matter what your plans may be!”

Ocean County experienced a statewide high of up to 10 inches of snow, but St. Dominic School, Brick, adapted with ease. The school marked both the opening of Catholic Schools Week and their 50th anniversary with a Mass Jan. 25 before the first flakes fell. Principal Carol Bathmann was unfazed as she shared the changes in the week’s planned activities.

“We had a volunteer prayer service and junior national honor society induction, which was rescheduled for next Monday, yesterday’s open house will be next Tuesday, and another open house this morning was also delayed,” Bathmann said. “Everything worked out in the end.”

The five to eight inches of snow that fell in Monmouth County gave students in St. Rose Grammar School an unexpected few days at home. The Belmar school posted a Facebook picture of a snowy street view with the message “Hope you enjoy the snow day #snow” for its followers. Later, another post depicted second grade St. Rose School student Robert Connelley, well bundled against the cold, standing on a snowy walk with his “invention convention” project: a snow shovel equipped with a flashlight and a container in which to carry rock salt. “The only thing better would be if it would shovel for you!” the post quipped.

 

 

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