A well-planned class provides a learning opportunity for the students every day.  Students who are absent are the ones who lose the educational benefits of a class. Often, it is impossible to make up the "missed" experience - at least in its entirety - and to gain from this learning experience to the same degree that students would through group involvement in regular classes.                         

For safety reasons, it is important for us to know where students are at all times. 

Expectations & Protocols

• It is expected that students will attend full classes every school day.
• All teachers will take attendance and keep a record of absences and lateness in MyEducationBC. 
• It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian of an absent student to contact the school for all absences.  This is best done by emailing our secretary at clerical.jvh@sd8.bc.ca and including the specific teachers of all missed classes.  (Teachers’ email addresses are listed at the beginning of this handbook.)
• For K-7 students, if the school does not receive a message regarding an absence, parents/guardians will be contacted that day by our secretary.
• For grades 8-12 students, teachers may contact a parent/guardian in the event of a questionable absence.  Administration will also become involved if there is concern about an unexcused absence and if a trend in absences is developing for a student.
• For an absence of three or more days, a parent/guardian is expected to contact the teacher, academic counsellor, and/or administration to develop a plan to support the student to complete missed work.  During the planning for an absence, parents/guardians and students should understand that teachers likely cannot pre-teach the lessons, nor provide make-up assignments to cover all the learning that will be missed.
• Teachers will, within reason, attempt to provide make-up work for excused absences.
• Students who arrive late to school are expected to report to the main office to sign in.  Students who are excused to leave early must report to the office to sign out.
• Students who are absent from any of their scheduled classes on the day of a co-curricular or extra-curricular activity (eg: a field trip, a sports practice or game, etc.) in which they are scheduled to take part may not be allowed to participate in that activity. Exceptions may be made for excused absences communicated through the office.
• Teachers will indicate due dates for work. The responsibility for timely completion of all make-up requirements rests with the student, with family support.
• If a school-related activity requires that students miss class time, students must inform the teachers of the classes they will miss in advance.