Attendance Policy
We are in school 180 days each year. Please know your child is missed when absent! We encourage you to do all you can to ensure a high attendance rate. When a child is ill we ask you to call the office by 9:00 a.m. to inform the school of the child’s absence. Upon return to school, a note of excuse must be presented to the homeroom teacher.
If your child is absent and we have not received a phone call, the school office will attempt to call you at home or work to verify the absence.
A student who has been absent because of illness for five (5) days or more is required to present a doctor’s certificate attesting that the danger of conveying the illness has passed. The Administrator of the school will review cases of prolonged illness, attested to by a physician in writing, or excused absences. A student who has five (5) unexcused absences within any six (6) month period must be reported to the Attendance Supervisor of the local public school.
Frequent absences without permission will be reported to the Attendance Officer of the Public School Department and may result in a student being asked to withdraw from the school.
Make Up Work
Students who are absent are required to make up any work missed. The student is responsible for turning in missed assignments a day after his/her return to school. If a student is absent for an extended period of time, the work missed will be completed at the discretion of the teacher in a timely manner. Please do not contact the office for homework on the first day of your child’s absence. They will receive the assignments upon their return.
If student is absent for one day, please do not call in for missed homework assignments. Student can pick up that information when he/she returns to school.
Tardiness
Prompt arrival at school is expected of all students. Late arrivals disrupt opening prayer and cause a loss of instructional time. Any student who arrives at school after 9:00am is considered tardy. Three tardy arrivals in one semester will prompt a call to the student’s parents. Chronic tardiness will result in a detention after school.
In the event of tardiness (arriving to school after 9:00 a.m.) a student must report to the Main Office before going to class.
If your child is late for school, he/she must enter the school using the Main Entrance door. Late students may not use the Hammond Street entrance; this door is for Pre-School children only. All other doors are locked for security purposes and may not be opened to admit a late student.
Dismissal
In case of illness during school hours, parents will be notified to come for the child. The dismissal is considered an absence from school if the child is not present in their classroom for at least half the day. Dismissal of children from school during the school day will be conducted through the Main Office. Please do not enter the school and go to the classroom to pick up your children. When you arrive at the Main Office, notice will be sent to the classroom and your child will be summoned to the office.
Whenever possible, please see to it that appointments with doctors and dentists are made after school hours or during vacations. It is important that students remain in school for the full day.
Parents requesting early dismissal for their child must send a note to school the morning of the dismissal. Parents should use the Main Entrance and report to the Main Office. Notes will stay on file. Children will be called to the front office for dismissal when the parent arrives. Parental requests for early dismissal should be kept to a minimum so as to keep classes on task.
If, in an emergency, you need to alter a dismissal plan, we need that directive from you in writing that day. This procedure speaks to the safety of your child. Please don’t expect us to respond to a phone call directing release of a child to an adult unknown to us. Prepare us please for changes in routine!
Vacations
It is the school’s policy that scheduled school vacation periods are the normal times a child is out of school. If it is absolutely necessary to take your child on vacation during the school year, the parents should send written notification at least one (1) week prior to the vacation.
Depending upon the grade and subject area, projects or make-up work may need to be submitted. This work must be made up within two (2) weeks of returning to school, or the end of the marking period, whichever comes first. The student will be marked absent during this time away from school.
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