Peninsula School District Superintendent Terry Bouck can breathe a sigh of relief now that last week’s winter snow and ice storms have passed.

Even though things didn’t go as planned as far as scheduled classes and other school-related events are concerned, the district’s communication system worked to keep parents, students, teachers and staff members informed and updated during the spate of inclement weather.

Communication is paramount, Bouck said, and the district provides a number of resources people can use to learn about emergency closures related to weather and other events, including its SchoolMessenger System that notifies all parents within 30 minutes by phone and text message; the district’s emergency line at 253-530-1088; KGHP, the district’s FM radio station with frequencies 89.3, 89.9 and 93.7; and updates from local newspapers, radio and television stations.

The district also is involved in the Peninsula Emergency Management Coalition (PEP-C). A recent document prepared by the PEP-C provides phone numbers and websites that may be helpful during extreme weather.

“We’ve had a week of interrupted school by closures or late starts,” Bouck said. “You know, that’s an anomaly.”

School started two hours late on Jan. 17, and it was canceled entirely Wednesday through Friday.

The decision to cancel Wednesday classes was made Tuesday night, Bouck said, based on continuous weather reports predicting heavy snow.

School started two hours late on Monday as well, due to icy conditions.

“It was a good call,” Bouck said. “Black ice is so treacherous.”

He credited district employees for being tuned into the situation during last week’s storm.

“It went very smooth,” Bouck said of getting the word out about late starts and closures.

He also had kind words for Peninsula Light Co., saying the utility cooperative did a fine job of staying in touch with the school district and “keeping things up and running.”

“I’m really grateful for that,” Bouck said. “I think they were wonderful.”

Class time lost during the winter storm will have to be made up.

A March in-service day for teachers and no classes for students might be canceled as a way to make up a missed day, Bouck said, adding that the district also is looking at tacking on some makeup days at the end of the school year.

“We’ll probably look at those options,” he said.

The district plans to have more information this week.

“I’m happy with how well we did,” Bouck said. “We planned for it (the storm). We don’t just try to guess about things. The bottom line is, it’s all about the safety of our kids and staff.”