NACKAWIC HIGH SCHOOL’S ATTENDANCE POLICY
A copy of this Attendance policy (excluding the Guidelines and recommendations at the end) will be included in the information packet sent home at the beginning of the year. Parents must sign to acknowledge that they have read and understand the policy.
Student Attendance and the Education Act
The Education Act states that a child is not required to attend school if the child:
1. is unable to attend school by reason of the child’s sickness or other unavoidable cause. Medical documentation could be required.
2. is officially excluded from attendance under the Act or the regulations (i.e. suspension)
3. is absent on a day regarded as a holy day by the religious denomination of the child or the parent of the child, or
4. in circumstances considered exceptional by the Minister, is exempted from attendance in writing by the Minister (ex. Home Schooling).
No consequences will be given for absences considered as school-sanctioned activities.
A school-sanctioned activity is one approved by the school administration and/or Superintendent. It is to be recorded as excused.
In addition, the Act states that a parent’s role is to cause his or her child to attend school [13 (1C)] and it is the duty of all students to attend school regularly and punctually [14(1h)].
Rationale: The Education Act refers to regular attendance as both a duty of the pupil and an expectation on the part of parents to cause attendance to take place. Regular attendance is positively related to academic success. Attendance records become an important part of a student’s file, permanently available to prospective employers and post-secondary learning institutions. Attendance records reflect habits of responsibility and state of health. Learning experiences that take place in the classroom environment are a meaningful and essential part of a student’s education. Time lost from class cannot be recovered, especially in the interaction and exchange of ideas between students and student and teacher. Academic success can be jeopardized as a natural consequence of non-attendance. Students who continue to be absent and make no effort to complete work or pass courses are exhausting the efforts of teachers and administration. These students are interfering with instruction because they are constantly behind, thus inhibiting the learning of other students.
All students are expected to attend all of their classes. For the purposes of this policy, all missed classes are considered absences, except for school sponsored activities.
School Responsibilities:
It is the responsibility of the school to do everything it can to provide a learning environment which will encourage students to attend. It is also the responsibility of the school to inform the parent/guardian of their child’s attendance record and cooperate with the home in fostering good attendance.
Teacher Responsibilities:
It is the responsibility of the advisor and subject teachers to:
a) Maintain accurate records and follow all steps of attendance tracking as outlined in “Policy Details” below.
b) Retain all written excuses (or emails or record phone conversations). Speak with the
student after each absence. Whenever an excuse is received, inform the administrative assistant (Dawn) by email, and she will upadate the student’s attendance for all teachers in Power School.
c) Insist that all excuses be written by a parent or guardian (emails or phone calls are acceptable)
d) Ensure that Advisory students are aware of and understand the policy.
Student Responsibilities
First and foremost, as stated in the Education Act, it is the responsibility of students to attend each of his/her classes, except in cases as outlined in the Act. Also stated in the Act is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to cause the child to attend. In all cases where a student is absent from Nackawic High School, he/she is to:
- Present a valid excuse from parent, guardian or health professional. Excuses may be handwritten, sent by email to the advisor, subject teachers, Mr. Newlands, Mr. Calder and/or Mrs. MacFarlane, or called into the school at 575-6020. All teachers and the advisor will be notified of the absence. The note, phone call or email should clearly state the reason for the absence and be presented within 3 days of the absence from school.
Parents of students are encouraged to contact the school if they know in advance that their child will be absent. It is also a good idea for students to have “buddies” in their classes to collect work and get it to them in the event of an absence from school.
- On the day of return to school make arrangements with the subject teacher to write any tests, which were missed during an absence. Failure to do so may result in an incomplete grade. Further, in order to write the test, the student must provide the subject teacher with a valid written excuse (or email or call from parent) for the illness or other acceptable reasons as outlined by the Act.
- A pupil who knows in advance they will be absent should get their assignments from their teachers and try, in so far as possible, to complete them before returning to school. In this way they will be more ready to carry on the work when they return to classes.
- While teachers will assist students with acceptable excused absences in getting caught up on missed work, they are not responsible for ensuring that truant students are provided with the work they missed when skipping class. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain that work.
Policy Details:
School attendance is compulsory in New Brunswick, as per the Education Act & Family Services Act. All high schools in the Woodstock Education Centre will be adopting this plan for the 2024-2025 school year.
| # of absences per class per semester | School Actions |
| 5+ | Communication from teacher through phone and/or email to parent/guardian at 5 absences. Teacher informs school administration of contact.Message needs to be one of information purposes, that regardless of absence reason, missing school affects student success.Share the attendance policy so next steps are clear.Invite parent to reach out if anything can be done at the school level to support the child or family. |
| 10+ | Teacher will inform administration via email or ESS Connect when a student in their class is absent 10 or more days, regardless of reason.Communication from school administrator (email, phone call and/or letter) to parent/guardian.Contact with other government agencies may also be considered at this point,Some students may have ongoing diagnosed health issues or other considerations that cause absences, that, while concerning, may not be avoidable.An academic support plan (arranged through EST-Resource) may be required to assist the child.Invite parent/guardian by phone, email or letter and advise them if they cannot be present, the meeting will take place in their absence.Parent/guardian may attend virtually,Parent/guardian will be asked to either attend a meeting or sign a copy of the agreed upon plan.Administration, with the support of EST-Guidance, EST-R and/or other relevant staff, in addition to the student and parent/guardian, will develop a student attendance intervention plan. |
| 15+ | If student continues to be absent after all appropriate interventions have been made, this student is, in effect, non-compliant with school rules.Student may remain home until meeting/case conference is held with parents/guardians.Members of school administration, guidance, resource, district) will explore further interventions.Interventions may include alternate education scheduling and/or programming options for the student. |
| 20+ | Teacher will inform school administration via email when a student in their class is absent 20 or more days.High School: at 20 days, there may be consequences that result in failure to obtain credit in any or all courses. |
If a student who is present at school, leaves the school without permission (skips class), disciplinary action such as detention, in-school suspension, or loss of bus privileges could be taken.
Extended Vacations for Students
Increasingly, over the past few years, a number of families/students have extended their vacations. If families are planning to take an extended vacation, a parent/guardian must inform the administration and the student is responsible for informing each of their teachers. Teachers are not responsible for or expected to provide work for students before, during or after their absence due to a vacation.
Since extended holidays are not listed as appropriate absences under the Education Act, they will be counted as unexcused absences (missed classes) for the purposes of our attendance policy. These absences must be approved by the office in order for students to be permitted to write tests and submit assignments that were due during their absence.
Throughout this process, School Messenger will send voice notifications home daily if students are missing classes and the Principal will ensure the regular review of attendance reports with the Education Support Services Team. All teachers will have access to class-by-class reports through Power School.
Early Departure
Any student who plans to leave at any time during the instructional day must present an excuse to the school for permission to be granted to leave. An excuse could be handwritten, emailed to the teacher/administration, or called into the school by a parent or guardian. Any time it is necessary that a student leave school, the student must sign out through the office.
**Students signing out must be picked up at the main doors of the school. Meeting a drive off of school property is prohibited.
Late Arrival
Students are required to sign in at the office to receive a late slip to be admitted to class. This also helps us keep accurate attendance records.
Extracurricular Activities
Any student participating in extracurricular activities must attend school for the entire day of the game or event and must also be present the entire day following the game or event unless a valid excuse is presented.
Permission must be obtained from the coach (or staff liaison)/staff facilitator if a student is to be absent for medical, dental or emergency reasons.
Absences During Exams or Final Assessments
Only extenuating circumstances will be considered to reschedule any exam or final assessment. Students must contact the subject teacher, prior to the time the exam is to be written, to make other arrangements. Approval must be granted by administration.
Travelling by bus at the end of the day
If a student is not in attendance in their afternoon classes, they will not be permitted to travel home on the bus without a valid excuse presented in advance from a parent or guardian.