Excerpts from (various) HS Newsletters on attendance

Help! Please call the High School Office if Your Son or Daughter Will be Absent or Late!

I continue to seek your help in contacting Ms Kan (HS secretary) each morning at about 8:00am if your son or daughter is not coming to school. This also sends a clear message to your son or daughter that education is important. HS Office: 6470-0119 Email: hs@iss.edu.sg

More on attendance …

What I am trying to build is a sense of importance regarding education. Was your school experience anything like mine? – I never missed school. Snowstorms, sicknesses, toothaches, diarrhea, the plague, my parents sent me to school. There was even one day when I broke a tooth in half and my parents made me go - I was sure they would "let me off" for that. My guess is that yours did too.

I am also trying to build a sense of responsibility and accountability in our students. In several years they will be in the workforce and must understand that they have to show up for work. The building blocks of professionalism, accountability, and good habits are being formed now. There is no boss in the world that would accept an employee coming in ten times late in a four-month period. There is no boss in the world that would accept continual absences. Now is the time to foster these solid attitudes in your children – we look for your support in enforcing these routines with your sons and daughters.

And more on attendance …
Our attendance procedures are very clear. In the past, I have spent a lot of time determining what is Absent (excused) and (unexcused), and in justifying these decisions to parents who do not agree. Incidents I have had include (apologies in advance if some of these look familiar!):
“I cannot get flights on holidays, I want to take my son out four days early to start our break, can that be excused as there are no flights available – it isn’t my fault” (my view on this – we publish the calendar almost a year in advance – book your flights early!)

“My child is moving houses, and needs 2 days to make the move, please excuse him from school” (my view on this – move on the weekend)

“My daughter is tired from going away for Activity Week. It will take her two days to recover from jetlag” (my view on this – your child’s chaperone / teachers are tired too, as is almost everyone else on the trip, but they are still coming to work / school, teach your child to be responsible and send them to school)

“This holiday is a very important time for my family, my child won’t be in school three days before the holiday, and for the week after” (my view on this – school should be your child’s top priority)

“I couldn’t get flights to Singapore at the start of school, please excuse my son from the first week of classes” (my view on this – we published the start date almost a year before, this is very poor planning and a bad example for your son or daughter)

After wracking my brains with these excuses, trying to determine what is “excused” and what is not, I realized a while ago that … “if the student isn’t sitting in their chair, they are absent!” - simple and easy to apply. Students will be permitted to miss a maximum of eight days in any semester for valid and legitimate reasons (Absent – explained or Absent - unexplained category). Please note that three lates are considered to be one absent for the purpose of this calculation, and that any day missed before or after school trips will count as double absences.

Students who “fail on attendance” will fail the semester on attendance – this means that they will receive failing grades on their report cards and final transcripts, and will not receive credits for the semester. Eight days of work represents missing thirty-two classes, a great deal of class time.

Mr McCallum
Head of High School