Attendance
The MGHS Attendance Policy is available on the school’s Sentral Parent Portal.
Absences from School
Every student should attend school every day unless they are ill. Appointments should be made out of school hours. When a student is irregular in attendance, it is difficult for her learning to progress. If a student is marked absent at roll call a SMS message will be sent out (by 10.30am each day) notifying parents/guardians of the student’s absence.
Every time a student is absent from school an explanation needs to be provided. This can be done via return SMS, Sentral Parent Portal or a written note from a parent/guardian, given to the student’s roll call teacher on the day of return to school. The note must have the student’s full name, year and roll class on top, and date(s) of absence with a reason for the absence. It must be written and signed by a parent or guardian.
If students are likely to be absent for several days, parents should ring the school. An official notification letter will automatically be sent home if students are absent for three or more days without explanation. All extended absences must be submitted to the Principal for approval.
Late to School
All students must arrive at school on time. Students arriving after 9.00am must go directly to Student Administration with their ID card and have their names recorded on the computer. Students who are late must produce a note from their parent/guardian explaining their lateness at the time of their arrival at school. A receipt will be given as proof of arrival time. Students arriving during Roll Call and PRIDE time must then report to Room 12B with their receipt, explaining their lateness. They will then be sent to their PRIDE lesson to complete the lesson activities. Students failing to follow school procedures and those with unacceptable and/or unexplained lateness will be placed on attendance monitoring cards and/or be required to attend school lunchtime detentions as well as after school detentions.
Early Leave
Students who wish to leave early must have a note from their parent/guardian requesting permission to leave at a stated time. Students take the note to their Stage Leader before school and/or recess to be signed and stamped. Students must then present the note to the Stage SAO to be provided with an “early leaver pass”. This pass is to be shown to the class teacher before leaving class. Students must report to Stage SAO with their pass, to be signed before they meet their parent/guardian in Reception. The pass must be carried by the student and can be required to be shown to the Police upon request. A student places herself at risk and beyond the duty of care of teachers if she leaves the school without permission. Failure to follow these procedures will be dealt with under the school discipline policy.
Appointments
It is expected that parents/guardians will make appointments (e.g. doctors, dentists, etc.) out of school hours to minimise disruption to learning. For interviews with school personnel, parents must contact the school on 9683 1866 to make appointments if they wish to discuss issues with staff.
Year 12 – Flexible time
Year 12 students who have finished their formal lessons earlier than the school finishing time of 3.15pm are given the privilege to undertake their study period(s) at home, following written approval being received by the school. All students are to register their departure at Student Administration using their ID card and select as their reason ‘Flexible Timetable’. This privilege may be withdrawn if students do not follow or comply with general school policy, procedures and rules. For students not undertaking their early leave/study period(s) at home they are to report to the school library as per policy for all study periods.
Out of Class
Any student who is out of class must have an ‘Out of Class’ Permission form signed by their teacher. Late arrival to class must be accompanied by a note of explanation from the staff member responsible for the delay. Failure to follow these procedures could result in a detention.
If students wish to access the bathroom during class time they are required to take the following steps:
1. Students need their teachers to sign and date an out of class note
2. Students must report to Student Administration with their ID card and the note
3. After students have used the bathroom, they report back to Student Administration for a return to class pass.
4. On returning to class, students must give their teacher this pass
5. Teacher should record the time the student returned
Sick Students
If feeling unwell in class, students are to notify their teacher who will complete the ‘Out of Class’ pass. Students are to go directly to Student Administration, from where they will be escorted to the sick bay and parents will be notified. Parents are reminded that the school does not have qualified medical staff. The school must be able to contact parents at any time, hence it is imperative that any changes to email addresses and mobile numbers are communicated to the school. Parents can update this information on the Sentral Parent Portal.
Holidays or extended leave during the school term
As part of the implementation of the National Standards, holidays taken by students outside of school vacation periods will now be included as absences. A Certificate of Exemption can no longer be granted for this purpose. Families are encouraged to holiday or travel during school vacations.
If travel outside of school vacation periods is necessary, the following considerations apply:
• If the principal accepts the reason for the absence, the absence will be marked as “L” and a Certificate of Extended Leave – Holiday issued.
• If the principal does not believe the absence is in the student’s best interests and does not accept the reason, the absence will be recorded as “A”. A Certificate of Extended Leave – Holiday will not be issued.
It should be noted that extended leave for a holiday is not an acceptable reason for a student to miss an assessment task in Years 11 - 12.
