ATTENDANCE

Parents should make every effort to have students present whenever school is in session.  Leaving early for vacation or returning late is strongly discouraged since it is detrimental to the student’s progress and causes great difficulty for the instructor and the student due to the make-up homework involved. 

Excused Absences:  Absences for reasons of illness, family emergencies, visa requirements, or an activity approved in advance by the Principal are excused.  At the school’s discretion, a doctor’s note may be required to excuse absence for illness.  We expect routine medical and dental needs of the students to be taken care of by the parents on weekends or after school hours. 

Unexcused Absences:  Absences for any other reason will be unexcused, and therefore credit for make-up work will not be given.  However, missed work should be done (and may even be required by some teachers) to insure continuity of learning. 

Late Arrival and Early Departure:  Any student arriving to school late must report to the office for an admit slip before going to class.  Likewise, any student needing to leave school early must report to the office before leaving.  Students will not be permitted to leave without a parent or a note from a parent. 

Notification:  In order for any absence to be excused, a note or phone call from the parents is required.  For planned absences, parents must submit a written request for approval at least ONE WEEK in advance.  See the forms available from this menu.  In the event of illness or sudden family emergency, the student will be readmitted to classes with an explanatory note from the parents.  This note should be brought to the office immediately upon the student’s return to school.  An admit slip (either excused or unexcused) will be issued so that the student may enter class.  A student cannot be admitted to class without an admit slip.  If the student does not bring a note, an unexcused admit slip will be issued until the student brings an appropriate note. 

Make-up Work:  For excused absences, a student may ask for and submit make-up work.  It is the student’s responsibility to contact individual teachers to obtain make-up work whenever he is absent.  To receive credit for missed assignments, a student must make up all work by the dates set by the individual teacher.  In no cases should make-up work be accepted beyond these maximum limits:  for absences due to illness, twice the amount of time missed from class; for emergency absences, the same amount of time missed; and for planned absences, all work must be turned in before the student leaves unless the teacher permits the work to be handed in on the day of the student’s return.  It is the student’s responsibility to ask for make-up assignments and the due dates.

Participation in Extra-Curricular Activities:  Any student who is absent for any portion of the school day due to illness may not participate in any extra-curricular activity (including open gym, youth group, etc.) after school that day.  A student who misses the whole day due to illness or an unexcused absence may not attend any extra-curricular activity even as a spectator. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the event sponsor and the principal.

Semester Exams:  No student will be permitted to take exams early for any reason whatsoever.  In order to receive credit for exams missed due to an excused absence, the student must make up the exam at the earliest possible date after the semester has ended.

Minimum Attendance Requirement:  A student who misses more than fifteen school days in any given semester—regardless of the reason—puts his credit for that semester in jeopardy.  This may affect promotion or retention.  It is the parents’ responsibility to submit to the Principal in writing a request for a waiver of the attendance requirement.  This must be done within a week of the date of the fifteenth day absent.  The school will make every effort to notify parents when the number of absences is approaching the limit, but it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility.