Unavoidable Absences

Parents or Guardians (or students over the age of 18 with a signed permission form on record at the main office) are to contact the school each day a student is absent. Telephone calls should be made to the school prior to 8:00 a.m. at 788-3060 to inform us of the absence. After 3:30pm, please leave a message on our answering system.

If a phone-call is not possible, then the student must bring a note signed by a parent or guardian to the Attendance Secretary upon their return to school. FAILURE TO CLEAR ATTENDANCE PRIOR TO THE STUDENT’S FIRST CLASS WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC DETENTION(S).

A student will not be admitted to classes without a note from home or a telephone call from a parent or guardian. Students, who are absent, are responsible for any work, including tests and assignments, and must make arrangements with their teachers to catch up.

Truancy

Section 21 of the Education Act states:

A child is excused from attendance at school only if the child is unable to attend school by reason of sickness or other unavoidable cause.

Students with unexplained absences will be considered truant. Truancy will result in disciplinary action. A student is truant if he/she:

• does not sign in or out at the attendance office;
• returns to school without signing in;
• is absent from school without prior permission of a parent/guardian;
• becomes ill and stays in any room of the school instead of reporting to the attendance office;
• does not attend a scheduled class, school function, and/or assembly;
• receives permission to go to a certain place and does not report there.

Notre Dame does not condone absences resulting from days arbitrarily declared “recreational” by students or parents, i.e. beach days. Students are expected to attend school on all designated instructional days.

Truancy is a serious breach of school policy and the Education Act and students will be dealt with in the following manner:

• detentions and/or community service
• conference with parent/guardian
• attendance contract
• suspension
• withdrawal from Notre Dame College School

Students who show a pattern of missing assignments, quizzes, tests, etc., on their due date, will be required to produce a medical certificate on future absences.

Lates

Being late is an unfortunate habit since it causes delays and interruptions for those who arrive on time; lateness is disruptive and reduces the amount of class instruction. As a sign of respect for others in the school, every student is expected to arrive on time for each class.

The following is the procedure that ND will use for students who are late for class:

• first late - teacher warning
• second late - classroom detention and parental contact by teacher
• third late - office referral and assigned office detention
• fourth late – referral to V.P. and a double detention assigned (failure to attend detention will result in suspension)
• subsequent lates will result in a minimum 3 day suspension

Signing-In

Opening exercises begin at 8:00 a.m.; the teacher will mark students arriving after 8:00 a.m. late. A student who arrives at school after 8:30 a.m. must sign-in at the Attendance Office and receive an “Admit Stamp” before proceeding to class. Students who arrive after 8:30 a.m. will not be admitted to class without an admit slip.

Signing-Out

Student who must leave school for an appointment must bring a signed note to the attendance office before 8:00 a.m. on the day of the appointment. They will receive a dismissal stamp. This stamp is to be shown to the teacher in order to be excused from class. The student will then sign-out in the office before leaving.

Students who are ill must report to the main office to sign out. The washrooms are not intended as health rooms. A phone call home will be made to ensure the ill student can be picked up. FAILURE TO SIGN OUT AT THE MAIN OFFICE, EVEN IN THE EVENT THAT A PARENT HAS CALLED OR SUPPLIED A NOTE, WILL BE TREATED AS TRUANCY and will result in a detention and possible suspension if the problem continues.

Dismissal From Class

Dismissal from class is a serious problem and indicates that one’s behaviour has had a negative effect on classroom instruction. Students dismissed from class for any reason are to go directly to the Attendance Office and remain there until seen by a Vice-Principal. FAILURE TO REPORT TO THE MAIN OFFICE IN A PROMPT MANNER MAY RESULT IN AN IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION. Teachers are to contact the office when dismissing a student from class. Students will be refused admittance to that class until the problem is investigated and a commitment is made on their part to rectify the problem. This regulation also applies to other disciplinary situations that occur within the school.

Attendance for Students of Legal Age

While the school recognized that students who reach the age of 18 are adults, the school also recognizes its obligation to keep all educational partners (parents, students, staff) informed about school-related matters. It is policy for the school to conduct the same communication with parents of students 18 years and older, as with parents of younger students. Where students wish to withdraw from this policy, a letter must be sent to the school administration, and kept on file. Notes signed by students do not absolve them from consequences. At the discretion of the administration, notes signed by students of legal age may be deemed “inappropriate.”

Should a student utilize this privilege to absent himself/herself from a test/presentation without prior consultation with the subject teacher of administration, he/she will be considered truant resulting in a mark of “zero.”

Attendance and SOSSA Eligibility

The Ministry of Education now defines a full time student as one who has 210 minutes per day of class time scheduled. Therefore, all students must register as full time students unless the principal gives special permission. Only students with a full time status are eligible to compete in SOSSA events.