September 27th, 2013

The Waterloo Region District School Board is pleased to announce that Southwood Secondary School will be open for classes on Monday morning. In consideration for the safety of our students and staff, a portion of the second floor will be remain sealed and not accessible to students or staff as clean up and remediation are ongoing. We will make every effort to make personal items contained in the restricted area available to students as soon as possible. We want to take this opportunity to thank our student and parent community for their patience and cooperation as we have worked through this process.

Please continue to stay tuned to updates available via Board and school websites and local media outlets.

Updated September 27 at 2:30pm

 

On Tuesday September 24th a fire occurred on the second floor of Southwood Secondary School during period C. The fire alarm sounded and our staff and students did a brilliant job evacuating the building. The Cambridge Fire Department was very pleased with our evacuation procedures and the way our students and staff responded to the situation. We want to thank our students, staff, and parents for your patience as we work through this very challenging situation. We understand our students have been without their personal belongings for a number of days and this has created some angst and frustration. As such we would like to work with parents and students to return as many personal belongings as possible prior to the weekend.

On Friday September 27th between 1 pm and 3 pm, students are invited to retrieve their personal belongings from period C first floor classrooms and lockers only. In consideration for the safety and wellness of our students and staff, there is currently no access to the second floor. Students will not be able to retrieve belongings from second floor classrooms or lockers at this time but we will provide regular updates and will make those items available to you just as soon as we are able.

If students wish to retrieve their personal belongings from the first floor, we ask them to please report to the front doors of the school between 1 and 3 p.m. We will be allowing limited controlled access to the building and students will be supervised and directed to the appropriate areas.

Again please note, if a student’s locker or period C classroom is on the second floor, they will not be able to retrieve their personal belongings at this time. Again thank you for your patience as we work through the logistics of re-opening the building for our students and we will continue to provide updates as to the status of second floor access.

Updated September 26 at 5:00pm

 

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office has completed their investigation and the site has been released back to local police and school board officials. At this time, the police investigation is still underway.

In consideration for the safety and wellness of our students and staff, a thorough cleanup operation is underway at Southwood Secondary School. As a result, the school will be closed Thursday, September 26th and Friday, September 27th. and all extra-curricular and off-campus activities scheduled for these days have been cancelled. All weekend and evening rentals are also cancelled until further notice. The status of the school opening will be communicated sometime throughout the weekend and information will be posted on the board and school website.

We understand this is a difficult time, and we appreciate the patience and cooperation of our school community. Please stay tuned to local media outlets, board and school websites for regular updates.

Updated: 3:50 September 25

 

 

Southwood Secondary School will be closed to students and staff for Wednesday, September 25th. All extra-curricular and off campus activities scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled. The investigation into the cause of a second floor fire and the related cleanup is ongoing in cooperation with local police and fire officials.

Students or staff who wish to get access to personal property will not be able to do so until further notice. All property has been secured and the school is locked.

While we want to reopen the school as quickly as possible, the safety of our staff and students remains our first priority.

Please stay tuned to the school and board website and local media outlets for regular updates.

Updated at 6:25pm

 

This afternoon a fire started on the second floor at Southwood Secondary School in Cambridge. The school was evacuated and all students and staff exited the building safely.

School board personnel are working closely with police and fire officials to determine the cause, and to assess when it will be appropriate for staff and students to return to the building.

The safety of our staff and students is our first priority.

Updates will be posted to the school website our website as they become available.