Students need to be in school unless an illness or other emergency prevents it. While it is possible to make up some of the missed assignments, it is not possible to make up the missed classroom activities and discussions.
All students are required to be at school by 8:30 A.M.
When a student is absent from school, parents need to contact the school. Parents may call the secondary school office or send an email. Students will be permitted to make up work missed. If there is no phone call or excuse note, the absence will be considered unexcused. Students may not call themselves in sick.
Parents should see the Principal if they are absent due to extenuating circumstances.
For students missing two days or less, upon return to school, the student should see all teachers whose classes were missed, and to arrange a schedule for the completion of missed tasks.
Make-up work comes before other activities, so students may be expected to meet with teachers before or after school or after eating lunch to complete missed work.
Returning to School for Activities: Except in highly unusual circumstances approved by the principal, a student must be in school on the day of any after school event/activity in order to take part in the event/activity (practice, game, rehearsal or performance). For this purpose, the student must be in school no later than 20 minutes after first period begins to be considered present for the day. Additionally, if a student checks out of school sick during the school day the student will not be allowed to return for any after school event or activity.
Leaving School During the Day: Students must have permission from the Attendance Office if they are to leave school for any reason. A student who becomes ill at school must see the nurse and check out through the Attendance Office. For students who need to leave early for an appointment, a written note from home must be given to the Attendance Office at the beginning of the day. Leaving school without permission will be considered a truancy and no credit will be given for missed work.
Visitor's Attendance: Students may request permission from the Principal to have a friend, relative, or previous CA student spend a day with them at school. Permission to bring guests to school should be requested at least one day in advance. Permission will not be granted for such visits during the first two weeks of any semester.
HS Attendance Policy: The attendance policy is based on the number of classes missed in each course and not based on the number of school days missed. The maximum number of classes a student can miss in a course and still earn credit is ten during each semester. Any more than that, may result in a denial of credit, regardless of the grade earned. All extracurricular trips and absences, except those due to course required activities, are used to calculate whether a student has been in the course for the required time. Stated differently, unless due to a course requirement, all absences, including excused absences, are included in the overall calculation to ascertain if a student has met the attendance requirement. Students are therefore advised to carefully plan their extracurricular activities within the attendance requirement.
To help parents and students keep track of absences and potential loss of credit, the school will inform parents by mail when a student has accumulated seven absences in a semester in any course. Any student that then goes beyond the course absence limit for the semester will receive a notice of credit withdrawal.
Should the student wish to appeal for credit reinstatement, the student should continue attending classes and fulfilling all course requirements for the semester. Students may appeal for credit reinstatement near the end of the semester, at a time communicated by the Principal. Appeals should be addressed to the Academic Committee and submitted to the Principal’s office. The Academic Committee is composed of the Headmaster, Principal, Counsellor, and a Faculty Representative. The decision whether to reinstate credits will be based mostly on learning attitudes, as well as achievement levels, causes for absences, and other factors.
The attendance policy recognizes extenuating circumstances such as chronic medical problems, hospitalisation, surgery and extraordinary circumstances. In reviewing appeals, the Academic Committee may look favourably on cases where the student involved is passing the course, is normally well motivated, has taken the initiative to complete assignments, has not accumulated further absences after being informed of the withdrawal of credit, and whose record of absences only show a minimal number of avoidable and unexcused absences.
If, due to unavoidable absences, it is necessary to record an incomplete grade on a report card, the student, teacher, and principal must agree to a time frame in which the work will be completed. If the work is not made up by the agreed upon time, the grade will be changed to “failing”.
If it is known in advance that an absence from school will be required, students should talk to the principal to review the situation as far in advance as possible. Students also need to complete a "Planned Absence" form which entails documentation of discussions with teachers regarding missed work. Students with planned excused absences may be required to complete assignments ahead of time. Students with unplanned absences may receive reasonable extensions to make up any assignments missed and receive full credit for work made up.
Families are asked not to begin or extend a holiday beyond the established vacation days. Families are also advised to plan travel well in advance to ensure there is no loss of school due to travel conflicts. In the event of an absence due to a travel conflict no excused absences will be given.
Excused Absences are granted for extracurricular travel, verified illnesses, medical procedures, hospitalisation, important religious obligations, or family emergencies. Although medical appointments may be excused, parents should try whenever possible to schedule these appointments outside of school hours.
Irregular Absences may be granted for purposes other than those that warrant an excused absence. Examples are important family events, business, and all non-school related activities. Students should consult with their teachers well in advance of such absences, using the "Planned Absence" form available from the secondary school office. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with the class and make up any missed assignments. Teachers may insist that assignments be completed before the planned irregular absence and are under no obligation to provide extensions for work due.
Unexcused Absences are assigned for truancy, skipping classes, out of school suspensions, and all absences not considered excused or irregular. Students will not gain credit for any of the assignments or tests missed or due on that day.
Planned Absences. Students are strongly encouraged not to miss class time. If parents know in advance that an absence from school is necessary for personal affairs, then application to leave must be made in advance to the principal by using a planned absence form. The principal will decide whether the absence should be an excused or unexcused absence.
To receive full credit, students must remain in school through the end of the semester and take all scheduled examinations. Only in the most unusual of circumstances (e.g. hospitalization, major illness) can exceptions be made. Please also refer to the attendance requirements for exams at the end of semester 2, and the expected attendance during IB examinations.
Planned Absences for School Trips: Coaches and Activity Advisors will notify teachers when students will be missing school for a class or extracurricular trip. Teachers who feel that a student should not be allowed to go due to academic or attendance concerns should notify the sponsor and principal of their concerns.
Tardies: The intention of having consequences for lateness are to develop positive habits for personal organisation and recognition that we have a responsibility to follow through on all commitments - including being on time.
Verified public transport delays or emergencies, and genuine medical reasons are recognised as Excused tardies. Students who arrive tardy to class without a valid reason will be marked "Tardy Unexcused" in Powerschool by the teacher for that period. If a student is more than 20 minutes late for a class, the tardy will be considered an absence for purposes of the attendance policy.
Students who arrive at school later than 8:30am must collect an admit slip from the Secondary School Office. Students who are already at school, but late to a particular lesson, do not need to collect admit slip from the attendance office. The teacher will mark the student tardy online. If the student has been with their previous teacher, a counselor, administrator, or the nurse, students should ask for a note to present to their next teacher.
A detention will be assigned if a student misses most or all of a class due to unexcused late arrival at school. After the third unexcused tardy in a week, a detention will be assigned by the principal. Additional tardies will result in further detentions or other consequences, which could eventually include expulsion for a pattern of chronic tardiness.