Attendance Expectations

To provide quality educational opportunities for all students, parents, students in collaboration with the school must work closely in supporting regular daily attendance. If students are absent, parents are asked to call the school and report the absence on the attendance line at 403-886-4390. In addition it would be best to advise your child’s teacher directly by email. The Administrative Team will be sending home letters for students who miss more than 10% of the school year. These letters will come home several times a year. Tardy and Lateness letters will also be sent out informing parents and guardians of the amount of learning missed. 

The most significant factors that impact student punctuality are individual sleeping patterns and nighttime/morning routines. It is essential for all students to have uninterrupted sleep: research tells us that our brains need adequate sleep in order to allow us to function well. Adolescents need 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. What researchers have found is that while many adolescents go to bed at a reasonable time, their sleep is interrupted by text messages throughout the night. It is highly recommended that Parents/Guardians remove all electronic devices from their adolescent’s bedroom so that the child can have an uninterrupted sleep. We also encourage families to establish routines at night and in the morning so students are able to get to school on time. The positive benefits to learning, behaviour, and household procedures will be dramatic.

We expect that all students will be in class and prepared to begin work at the beginning of each class. Students without legitimate reasons who come late to class lose valuable instruction time and being late interferes with the learning of others. We wish to promote the best conditions for learning and teaching and to foster habits that prepare students well for the world of work and a successful transition to high school. Students are expected to move quickly between classes.

Students who report to school after 8:30 am are considered late. If a student arrives after the first class has started in the morning, he/she must report to the office. Students' attendance will be taken at the beginning of each block of the day. Students who are late for class may be expected to make up the time with the classroom teacher, and parents will be contacted. If this is a repeated problem, attendance issues will be referred to administration and attendance procedures will be followed.

In the event of any extended absence, other than illness, parents/guardians must provide communication to the office and the teachers indicating the nature and duration of this absence. Extended, “during the school year holidays” affects student performance. Please consider this carefully when planning holidays. Teachers are not obligated to provide instructional materials for students due to extended family holidays.

Students will not be allowed to leave the school for any reason unless the parent/guardian has communicated with the school. When students are leaving the school, they must always stop at the office to be signed out by one of our staff.  

Students are only allowed to leave with a parent/guardian or one of the emergency contacts designated on their registration form to ensure our students safety. A parent must inform us before they will be allowed to leave with any other person. 

Students who are absent without an acceptable reason (truant), or who leave the school without permission, will be subject to disciplinary action from the Administration.