After being closed for three days due to significant snowfall, schools in the St. John’s area are re-opening on Thursday.

NLSchools made the announcement on social media Wednesday afternoon. Busing contractors have been consulted, the post reads, and improvements were made during snow clearing through the day.

Bus runs will begin at their usual times on Thursday.

NLSchools asked parents to be cautious on the roads, and to tell their children not to play on snowbanks near bus stops, roads or schools.

Schools on the northeast Avalon were shuttered as the region dug out from more than 100 cm of snow from a pair of major storms inside of a week.

Education Minister Paul Dinn said he agreed with the decisions made by each municipality to not call a state of emergency, saying it was a different situation than the massive storm known as Snowmageddon in 2020, which resulted in a weeklong state of emergency.

‘It’s a little bit shocking’

Meanwhile, some parents were spending a lot of time outdoors with their children in the wake of the school closures.

Jennifer Cake is a parent of two. She told CBC News she was surprised and “slightly devastated” by the announcement schools would remain closed on Wednesday.

“It’s a little bit shocking. I don’t really see [why], especially at our school, it’s all clear, everything’s good to go,” she said.

Cake said she is lucky her job is flexible, and allows her to have time to take care of her kids during the school closures.

“We’ve been sliding, skating, we’ve been kind of enjoying the outdoors. But I know that it’s probably a lot more stressful for parents who don’t have any wiggle room,” she said.

Jeremiah Vallotton said he has been trying to get his children out of the house to get some exercise since Sunday’s big storm.

His children are not yet old enough to attend school, but he said he’s also shocked by the closures.

“I don’t remember schools closing this much when I was younger at all,” he said.

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