SITUATION CLEARED: Hold and Secure and Evacuation at St. Mary CSS – Update #2

April 13, 2026

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Further to our earlier communications, we are writing to provide a final update regarding today’s incident.

As previously shared, the school was placed into a Hold and Secure following a report of a potential threat. Out of an abundance of caution and in direct coordination with the Cobourg Police Service, the decision was made to evacuate the building. 

Following our established safety protocols, students and staff walked to our designated evacuation site, the Cobourg Community Centre (CCC).

We would like to thank those parents and guardians who were able to meet us at the CCC to pick up their children this afternoon. Your patience during the sign-out process was greatly appreciated.

For students who remained at the CCC, we successfully coordinated with Student Transportation Services of Central Ontario (STSCO) to ensure they will be bused home directly from the community centre at the conclusion of the school day.

The Cobourg Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have since completed a thorough sweep of St. Mary CSS and have officially cleared the building. They have determined that there is no threat to the school.

St. Mary CSS will be open and it will be “business as usual” tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14.

The Crisis Support Team will be available at the school.

We want to commend our staff and students. Their cooperation, calm demeanor, and adherence to our evacuation protocols during a challenging situation were exemplary.

We also extend our thanks to the staff at the CCC for their hospitality and to the Cobourg Police and OPP for their diligent work in keeping our community safe.