Regular school attendance and established routines are important for students to build knowledge, skills and confidence.  Attendance in class is an essential component for staff as they collect a body of evidence to assess students.  

Our attendance auto-dialer will contact you daily if your child misses a class without a valid reason. If you are concerned that your child has been missing school and you have not been getting an automated phone call, please reach out to our office staff at 519-653-2367 and we can ensure that the first phone number for the first contact is set up properly.

Please make sure to always call in and validate your student’s absences when you are aware that they are away. We will be following up with students who have lates and unexplained absences with conversations and consequences, as necessary.

Reporting a Student Absence

Students who are not feeling well, or are experiencing symptoms of illness, have appointments or who will be on vacation for 5 days or less can have their absence validated by a guardian in one of three ways.  Please use one of the following options to communicate the student’s first and last name, the date(s) of the absence, the reason for absence and the name of the person validating.

Call 519-653-2367, Press 1 – Voicemail option is available 24/7.

Email phs-attendance@wrdsb.ca – Email option is available 24/7.

Send in a note with the student to be shown to the office upon arrival or sign out time.

 

Late Arrivals – Students are expected to be in class before the bell rings.  Any student arriving after the bell rings is considered “late” for class. Students arriving late will proceed directly to their classroom to sign-in with their teacher.  The late arrival will be recorded by the teacher. If a teacher has concerns about the nature or frequency of a student’s late arrival to class, a student’s vice-principal will be informed and parents will be contacted by the teacher.

Exam Attendance – Senior level students are expected to write exams at the end of each term and according to the schedule. Exam schedules will be posted in advance of the end of the semester. Medically documented illness and bereavement are the only acceptable reasons for missing an exam.

Temporary Withdrawal – anticipated absence exceeding 5 days but less than 15 days: The student requests an appointment with their respective Vice Principal to complete the Temporary Withdrawal form.

Temporary Withdrawal – anticipated absence exceeding 15 days:  If the absence is more than 15 days then the student requests an appointment with their respective Vice-Principal to discuss the long term absence.

School-sponsored activities: These absences do not absolve students from completing work assigned in class.  Students on a field trip or other school activity are marked absent from other classes for the duration of the school-sponsored activity.  Participation in these activities is a privilege.

Students excused during the day: The student informs the main office before 8:05 am by a) bringing a note from a parent stating the reason and time for dismissal or b) by having a parent call/email. The teacher allows the student to leave class if the student has been excused. In the case of illness, the student is sent to the office where staff contacts a parent. If the student returns to school on the same day and arrives in the middle of a period, the teacher will record attendance and ask the student to confirm with the office they have returned to school.

Truancy – Regular attendance is a legal requirement, as such the teacher must keep a record of absence for each class. Students frequently absent may be interviewed by the appropriate Vice-Principal. Letter(s) and/or phone calls may be directed home and parents asked to attend a meeting. Severe attendance problems may be referred to the Social Worker, and on rare occasions, to the courts.