Family Handbook 2019-20

Extended Student Absences

There are two kinds of extended absences that can impact a student’s attendance record: (a) planned extended absences occur when a student knows in advance that she will miss three or more consecutive days of school, and (b) unplanned extended absences that occur quite unexpectedly throughout the school year for a myriad of reasons. Absenteeism from planned or unplanned extended absences can seriously jeopardize a student’s overall achievement in any subject and in every grade if too many classes are missed during the school year. What follows is a procedure that Havergal has developed to accommodate the learning needs of students who miss an extended period of time from school. Planned Extended Absences It is important that families think carefully before asking the school to approve a planned extended absence. Our faculty are not expected to re-teach the missed content of an entire lesson when students: (1) extend their family holidays outside of published school vacation dates, or (2) miss one, or more, weeks of classes because an international tournament or important training event happens to conflict with the school’s calendar. At Havergal, students cannot make up lost time by working to complete assignments in isolation or with an outside tutor. Our students are expected to participate in class activities and discussions, work collaboratively with their peers in small groups and complete assigned work throughout the year by established deadlines. Taken collectively, these experiences are used by teachers to assess student achievement in every subject and at every grade, which results in final marks being documented for subjects on report cards. Academic penalties may occur if students do not complete the required assessments in a timely manner. By year’s end, every student must show sufficient evidence of success on overall course expectations as they have been prescribed by the Ministry of Education. As well, it’s important to note that students who assume leadership roles within the school cannot fulfill their responsibilities in full when they miss extended periods of time throughout the school. However, Havergal makes every reasonable accommodation when students plan to miss extended periods of time from school. In such cases, parents must advise the school well in advance of anticipated absences when possible so that we may make appropriate arrangements for a

Last Edited: August 20, 2019 Havergal College Family Handbook 2019–20

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