Seattle Public Schools is closed for the day due to the snow and icy road conditions, and Metro Transit is operating all routes on snow routes today.

Check Metro’s Snow Page for updates, and be aware that all scheduled buses will likely run late or not at all. Already this morning, several scheduled runs of the number 5 and 28 have been canceled, including the 6:13 a.m., 7:22 a.m., 7:52 a.m. and the 8:32 a.m. runs of the number 5, and the 7:32 a.m. of the number 28.

Be aware that kids will be out building snowmen and sledding, so if you do brave the roads, please be extra careful.

Update 7:40 a.m.: The Phinney Neighborhood Association and the Greenwood Senior Center are closed.

Update 11 a.m.: Seattle Public Utilities will NOT pick up residential or commercial garbage, recycling or food/yard waste.

Contractors will attempt to serve priority commercial locations this afternoon.

Weather and road conditions permitting, garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste service will resume Tuesday, on a revised schedule — with customers scheduled for pickup today (Monday) collected Tuesday. All remaining residential services will be delayed one day this week.

Seattle Public Schools, with more than 52,000 students across the city, begins classes tomorrow. So please be extra careful as you’re driving, stop for all crosswalks and crossing guards, and be aware of more bicycles on the roads.

SPS has switched bell times for older and younger students this year. Most elementary schools will start earlier, while middle and high schools will start later.

Most elementary schools will now start at 7:55 a.m.; a few will start at 9:35 a.m.; and Loyal Heights, in its temporary home at John Marshall at 520 NE Ravenna Blvd. for the next two years, will start at 8:45 a.m. K-8 schools have a mixture of start times, from 7:55 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and 9:35 a.m.

All middle and high schools will start at 8:45 a.m., except for Denny International Middle School, which will start at 7:55 a.m.

See the Bell Times webpage for the list of school start and end times.

Seattle Public Schools released a statement today regarding water quality and testing at all schools, in the wake of lead found in the water at several Tacoma schools.

“The Seattle Public Schools considers student health and safety as a top priority. Over the last several years we have adopted and implemented a set of rigorous standards which have set nationally recognized standards for safe drinking water quality in public schools. The program was established by the School Board, which adopted a Drinking Water Policy in 2004. It includes periodic testing of each drinking water source in each school, coupled with reporting of the results on the District website.”

Click this link for the Drinking Water Testing Report webpage, with links to water testing reports and schedules for every school in the district.

Greenwood Elementary School’s latest water testing report is from Jan. 6, 2016. “All sources meet the policy. The school will be flushed after any breaks longer than five days. Follow-up monitoring: Will be performed in school year 2018-2019.”

West Woodland Elementary School’s most recent testing report is from June 3, 2014.

“Status: All sources meet the policy, except: Bottled water will be provided at: Nurse office sink (#34) The school will be flushed after any breaks longer than five days. Follow-up monitoring: Will be performed in 2017.”

Broadview-Thomson K-8 had a broken link to its results. We’ll update as soon as SPS has that fixed.

Seattle Public Schools is holding a series of community meetings about boundary changes that will take effect for the 2017-18 school year. Boundaries are changing for 18 attendance area elementary and nine middle schools to balance enrollment and create attendance areas for new schools opening in the fall of 2017.

Meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 4, at Ballard High School, 1418 NW 65th St. (with interpreters in Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese); 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, at John Stanford Center Auditorium,2445 3rd Ave. S. (with interpreters in Amharic, Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrigna and Vietnamese); and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at Roosevelt High School, 1410 NE 66th St. (with intrepreters in Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese).

The changes were approved by the Seattle School Board on in November 2013. Additional meetings will be scheduled this fall. You can see a list of schools with changes and maps here.

Several community groups are working together to make safer routes for children to get to school at the three new schools opening in the fall of 2017 at Aurora Avenue North and North 90th Street.

Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, Cascadia Elementary School (Advanced Placement Program) and Licton Springs K-8 will serve about 1,700 students total, including students from Greenwood and Phinney Ridge. Many students will have to cross major streets, including Aurora, 85th, I-5 and 105th/Northgate Way.

The groups already conducted safety audits of the area, and now would like community input on pedestrian safety so they can provide that information to the city’s School Traffic Safety Committee, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police and the City of Seattle.

Take the survey here. The survey is being conducted by Licton-Haller Greenways, Greenwood-Phinney Greenways and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. At the end of the survey, you can enter a drawing for raffle prizes for gift certificates from Woodlands Pizza, Fred Meyer and other local businesses.

Licton Springs K-8, a public option school temporarily housed in the south wing of the Lincoln Building, 4400 Interlake Ave. N. in Wallingford, is hosting an open house and tours in January and February. Licton Springs is open to any student in Seattle Public Schools. It will move into its permanent home at 1330 N. 90th St. in the fall of 2017.

An evening open house is from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11. Daytime tours are from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Jan. 20, 25 and 27, and Feb. 1, 3, 8, 10, 22 and 24.

Rising to Justice, Learning with Joy, Creating our Future.

If you are looking for a school that is dynamic, creative, and student centered, while dedicated to equality, social justice, and Native American experience –Licton Springs K-8 may be the school for your child! Licton Springs K-8 (formerly known as Pinehurst K-8, and before that Alternative School #1), has been providing students with a hands-on, project based, social-justice curriculum since 1970, and now has a new Native American focus.

Bus transportation is provided for students in the Broadview-Thompson, Northgate, Greenwood, Bagley, and Olympic View Elementary attendance areas. Limited transportation is available for students living in the Jane Addams or Eckstein middle-school service areas. SPS provided ORCA cards are available for any student in grade 6-8 who is more than 2 miles from the school, anywhere in the city.

Click here for the school’s attendance area map.

Remember, neighbors can take part in a Safe Routes to School audit for the Wilson-Pacific schools site near Aurora Avenue North and North 90th Street. The first audit starts at 11 a.m. Wednesday; the second audit starts at 2 p.m. Saturday. Both start at The Woodlands Pizza at 8314 Aurora Ave. N.

Three new schools will open on the site. Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, Cascadia Elementary School (Advanced Placement Program) and Licton Springs K-8 will serve about 1,700 students total, including students from Greenwood and Phinney Ridge. Many students will have to cross major streets, including Aurora, 85th, I-5 and Northgate Way. The purpose of the audits is to find safe routes for those students to get to school, and to suggest pedestrian improvements to the School Traffic Safety Committee, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police and City of Seattle.

Adults and children are welcome on the audits, which will be conducted by walking and biking. The walks will be between 1-1/2 and 2 hours long, followed by a review session. Food and refreshments will be supplied during the review session.

For more information or to RSVP to attend an audit, please email LictonHallerGreenways@gmail.com.

Update: The lockdown is over and students were sent home while police continue to search for the gun.

Update: From SPD Blotter:

Update: Police escorted students to the high school’s gymnasium as officers searched the campus to ensure the suspect had not hidden a firearm someone in the building. SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole and BHS Principal Keven Wynkoop met with students (pictured below) to discuss the day’s events and reassure them that police were conducting a search as a precautionary measure.

Earlier: Seattle Police arrested a teen today after reports the student brought a firearm to school. According to a friend whose son is texting her updates, the students were evacuated to the gym and are waiting to be led outside, while SWAT team members search the school for a weapon.

From the SPD Blotter:

Seattle police and school officials are investigating after a student was reportedly seen with a firearm Thursday at Ballard High School.

Officers and a SWAT team responded to the school and quickly located the student off campus. Officers took the teenage male into custody, but were not immediately able to locate a firearm.

Out of an abundance of caution, police have evacuated the school and are searching the campus to ensure the safety of students and faculty.

Our sister site, MyBallard, has continuous updates.

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Licton-Haller Greenways and Greenwood-Phinney Greenways are conducting audits of safe routes for children to get to the three new schools that will open in fall of 2017 on North 90th Street, one block east of Aurora.

Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, Cascadia Elementary School (Advanced Placement Program) and Licton Springs K-8 will serve about 1,700 students total, including many students from Greenwood and Phinney Ridge.

Adults and children are welcome on the audits of potential routes, which will be conducted by walking and biking. The walks will be between 1-1/2 and 2 hours long, followed by a review session. Food and refreshments will be supplied during the review session.

The audits will result in a report to the School Traffic Safety Committee, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Police, and City of Seattle to encourage the implementation of needed safety improvements prior to the schools’ opening.

Audits are currently scheduled for the afternoons of Wednesday Nov. 11 (Veterans Day, a school holiday), and Saturday, Nov. 14. A third day could possibly be added, depending on interest.

For more information or to RSVP to attend an audit, please email LictonHallerGreenways@gmail.com.