Attendance

Attendance and Late Policy

Regular attendance is a necessary ingredient for success at school. Reasons for sickness or other unavoidable causes excuse a student from attendance. It is important for parents to cooperate with the school by insisting on regular attendance and phoning the school to report excusable absences. We track student attendance and punctuality daily. It is the responsibility of the student to catch up on work missed during an absence. All students are asked to select a “study buddy” from their math class. This person will act as an information source regarding core homework and assignments if you miss school for illness or appointments.

Procedures are as follows:

Twice daily, a record of student absences and lateness is forwarded to the office by the teacher advisors.
A record is kept by the secretarial staff.
Students are expected to be on time. Those who are late will be subject to these actions:
- Discussion with T.A. about punctuality.
- After-school detention at teacher or administrator’s discretion.
- Communication to parents by the T.A. or administration for excessive lates. Student participation in activities such as dances, teams, clubs and special days is contingent upon punctuality.
- Habitual lateness will be dealt with initially by the teacher advisor, with further follow-up by administration.
Students who arrive late:
- Must sign in at the office; otherwise they will be recorded as absent. Failure to sign in may result in detention.
- A phone call to advise the school of student illness, medical/dental appointments, etc. is required. Our secretaries will phone home or work to check with parents regarding students who are absent without prior notification.
- Parents: a telephone-recording device is activated after regular school hours; please call 460-3728 to record an excusable absence. Be sure to:

identify yourself
identify student (full name)
identify the student’s ID number
give details of the excusable absence

Awards are given for excellent attendance and punctuality (see A.P.P.L.E. explanation under the Academic section).

Students Leaving School During The Day

Often it is necessary for a student to leave school during the school day. Reasons such as medical appointments (doctor or dentist) should be accompanied by a note from the parents, to be shown to the teacher involved at the time of the student’s departure. The student should then “sign out” at the office and present this note to one of the office staff.

If a student becomes ill or sustains a more serious type of injury during the day, it is our policy to notify the parents that the student is being sent home (or if necessary, taken to a medical facility). If the parent cannot be reached, the student is asked to remain in the school infirmary until the parent is contacted.

Extended Vacations

Many families in St. Albert are taking holidays that result in loss of school time. This is particularly prevalent near Christmas, Easter or at year-end. While we believe that travel is an important part of one’s overall education, our feeling is that students are responsible for catching up on work missed when they return. In the event a student will miss exams special arrangements must be made well in advance. Only illness or bereavement (confirmed by parent) are acceptable reasons for missing final examinations in June: any such absences must be confirmed directly with the Principal. Please try not to schedule holidays during the last 10 school days.