UPDATE (3:00 p.m.): All public schools, early childhood and after school programs will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 22, the School District of Philadelphia announced this afternoon.

All School District of Philadelphia schools and early childhood programs had early dismissal today (Tuesday, Jan 21) due to the severe weather forecast. Students were dismissed at 12:30 p.m.

Weather people are predicting between 7 inches and a foot of snow from this thing. The snow keeps falling and the temperatures are expected to drop below 10 overnight.

Here’s a heads up for parents looking for school registration information for next year at two neighborhood schools.

The registration lottery period for the Penn Alexander School (43rd & Locust) begins next Tuesday, Jan. 21, and runs through Friday, Feb. 28, according to the School District of Philadelphia. The registration is open to students who live within the school’s catchment area. Proof of residence will be required for registration. Applications can be submitted at the school between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The lottery will be conducted on March 5 and parents will be notified by letter during the week of March 10.

Kindergarten enrollment at the Henry C. Lea School (47th & Locust) also begins on Jan. 21. The Lea School will host an open house on Thursday, Jan. 16 from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. The open house will start in the school’s auditorium (the entrance is through the small playground on Locust Street). If you are interested in Lea but don’t live in the catchment the deadline for the voluntary transfer process is this Friday, Jan. 17. Get more information here.

As snow continues to fall this evening, the School District of Philadelphia has posted an announcement that all public schools will be closed on Friday, Jan. 3 due to the severe weather forecast. All early childhood and after school programs will also be closed.

A decision regarding the closure of administrative offices is pending and will be posted by 5 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 3. The public is urged to monitor the District Web site at www.philasd.org for any updates. Updated information will also be posted on the District’s Information Hotline at 215-400-INFO (4636).

Due to the severe weather forecast, all School District of Philadelphia schools are closed for Tuesday, December 10. Early childhood and after school programs are also closed, the district announced. Administrative offices are open.

The general public and media are urged to monitor the District Web site at www.philasd.org for any updates. Updated information will also be posted on the District’s Information Hotline at 215-400-INFO (4636).

The University of Pennsylvania’s community outreach office is hosting a community meeting on Thursday morning, Dec. 5, to discuss public school initiatives, including its program at the Henry C. Lea School (47th and Locust).

The meeting will run from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut). Representatives of Penn’s Graduate School of Education, Lea School University Partnership and Netter Center for Community Partnerships will be there to talk about their programs.

Thursday’s meeting is part of the regular First Thursday Community Meeting series that Penn routinely hosts.

Play On, Philly! (POP), the acclaimed innovative educational music program which began in 2011 at West Philly’s St. Francis de Sales School, is inviting neighbors to their first collaborative concert tonight at 7 p.m. at West Catholic Preparatory High School (45th & Chestnut). Admission is FREE.

This season, POP has been focusing on collaboration, creativity and composition, as part of a new program, POP Creates. All of their concerts this season will be collaborations, including Orchestra 2001 and Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera, Messiah College, and Ranaan Meyer of Time for Three, to name a few. The impressive guest artist list includes: Trio Cavatina, Joseph Lin, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, the Takacs Quartet and Time for Three.

Tonight’s concert is a collaboration between St. Francis de Sales Firebird String Orchestra and Junior String Philharmonic of Lehigh Valley (JSP). The highlight of the concert will be a joint performance of Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite and selections from The Nutracker Suite. Pieces by Bach and Pachelbel will also be featured. The concert will be conducted by Kenneth Bean, Music Director/Conductor of JSP and Naomi Gonzalez, Conductor at POP.

To read more about Play On, Philly! and to check the schedule of their upcoming events, visit: http://www.playonphilly.org/

(Photo courtesy of Play On, Philly!)