Hello families,
It was nice to meet you last night at ‘Back to School Night’. There were questions regarding the consequences for tardiness and absences. To clarify, below is an excerpt from the school’s handbook regarding the policy on attendance. (The number of absences however is omitted , but will be clarified in a future addendum.) Please reach out to me with any questions.
ATTENDANCE
Prompt regular attendance is absolutely essential to academic success. The parent/guardian is
expected to foster these good habits in the student, both for the benefit of the student’s
current academic achievement and to encourage mature adult behavior in the future. We
strongly recommend that doctor and dental appointments should be scheduled for days or
times when school is not in session.
● After 5 times late each trimester, the student may not receive a perfect attendance
award.
● After 15 times late, parents will be notified and warned that lateness could affect their
promotion to the next grade.
● After 20 late notices there will be consequences:
– The student will not be permitted to go on the class trip.
– The student will not receive any perfect attendance award.
● After 25 or more late notices, the student must attend a Summer Program before being
promoted to the next grade.
POLICY REGARDING STUDENT ABSENCE
A parent/guardian must call the school no later than 9:00 am to report a student’s absence. If
no call has been received by 9:00 am, the school will make a reasonable effort to reach a
parent/guardian by phone to verify the legitimacy of the absence. These procedures represent a
mutual effort to account for the presence of the student during school hours.
SACRED HEART SCHOOL
PARENT/STUDENT HANDBOOK 2023-2024
When the child returns to school, a written excuse from a parent/guardian stating the student’s
name together with the dates and reason for the absence must be presented. An absence of
three (3) consecutive days or after a communicable disease requires a doctor’s note. Parents
requesting permission to take a child on trips, vacations, etc. during school time must know the
child is considered absent. The procedure regarding vacations during school time is:
● A note stating the reason and the travel date must be sent to the student’s homeroom.
● Specific advance assignments will not be given to any student prior to the vacation.
It is the parents’ responsibility to see that the student completes all class-work and assignments
missed during the absence. Absence without the parents’ knowledge is a serious offense. The
student will not be admitted back to school until a conference has taken place between the
parents or guardian and the principal. A child who is chronically ill may be eligible for home
instruction. Please contact the principal for information.
MAKE-UP WORK DUE TO ILLNESS
Students are required to make up all work missed due to absence. Students have one school
day to make up work for each day they are absent. (A student who was absent three days would
have three school days, including his or her first day back at school, to complete all missed
assignments.) It is the student’s responsibility, not the teacher’s, to obtain makeup work. Any
parent of a student in Grades K–4 who wants to pick up work on the day a student is absent
may call the school office by noon. If called in later in the day, we cannot guarantee that the
work will be ready for that day. Work may be picked up after dismissal at the Aftercare desk in
the Big Room. Students in Grades 5–8 need to get missed work from their teachers when they
return to school. Some assignments are posted in Google Classroom which is available online.
EMERGENCY CONTACT FORMS
Great care should be taken to complete emergency cards thoroughly and accurately. If contacts
or phone numbers/addresses change, the parent must notify the school office immediately.
Failure to include or change emergency numbers could result in a very unfortunate situation
should an emergency arise involving your child.
