Attendance

Consequences of Cutting a Class or Part of Class, including Study Hall:

Notre Dame Preparatory is a closed campus; therefore, students may not leave during the school day. Students are also reminded that they are not to go to their cars during the school day. Students who are present on campus but do not attend class are considered truant. Any truancy will result in a detention. 3 truancies may result in dismissal.

Tardies:

Students are expected to be punctual to all classes and school activities. Students arriving more than 20 minutes after the start of any class period are considered absent. Students arriving at school between 7:40 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. are tardy. Parents must call the Attendance Office at (480) 634-8250 by 8:00 a.m. if the student will be arriving late; a parent must state what time the student is expected to arrive. If a parent chooses to send a note with the student, it must include the following:

1. Student’s full name and grade.
2. Date student is late.
3. Reason for tardiness.
4. Parent’s printed name and telephone number where a parent may be contacted if the note needs to be verified.
5. Parent’s signature.

When a student has accumulated 3 tardies, he or she will be issued a Wednesday morning detention (6:30 AM-7:30 AM). Each additional tardy beyond the 3 tardies will result in an additional Wednesday morning detention. If a student is tardy 8 times, he or she may be required to sit for the Academic and Disciplinary Review Board. This may result in the loss of credit or other disciplinary action. Juniors who accumulate 8 tardies may risk jeopardizing the privilege of a free A or H period in their senior year. Seniors who accumulate 8 tardies and have a free period during H period will lose that privilege and will be required to enroll in an H period study hall.

At 10 tardies in one class, seniors with A period or H period free will be assigned a study hall during their free period and risk losing their free period second semester.

Unexcused Tardies include but are not limited to the following reasons:

• Oversleeping (including days after school and non-school events)
• Working on homework (including days after school and non-school events)
• Missing a ride to school
• Heavy traffic
• Carpool running late
• Socializing before school
• Printing materials in the library

Late Arrival:

A student must be on campus for a majority of the day and may not leave school before the end of the school day to be eligible to participate in that day’s activities. Exceptions are made exclusively at the discretion of the Dean’s Office and only when prior arrangements have been made with the families. Students must be in class by 9:30 am in order to participate in athletics/after school activities. It is the responsibility of the parents and students to check the various bell schedules listed in the official calendar/handbook to be certain of the starting time for the fourth period on any given day.

Note: If a student attends an evening event after failing to attend school 75% of the school day, he/she will not be allowed to participate in that event e.g. tryouts, auditions, athletic events.

Early Release/Late Arrival for Medical Appointments:

In the rare event that a student needs to be dismissed early from school or arrive late due to a medical appointment that could not be scheduled outside of school hours, he/she must present a note from his/her parent to the Attendance Office before 7:35 a.m. The student is also required to bring a signed doctor's note with them when they return to campus. The parent note must contain the following information:

1. Student’s full name and grade.

2. Date and time of the requested dismissal and when/if the student will return.

3. Specific reason for the dismissal.

4. The name of the person authorized to pick up the student, or if the student has permission to drive himself/herself.

5. Parent’s printed name and telephone number where he/she may be contacted if the note needs to be verified.

6. Parent’s signature.

It is the student’s responsibility to show the Early Dismissal Pass from the Attendance Office to the teacher prior to the class in which the student is to be dismissed and to report to Attendance at the specified time. The student must turn in all work that is due before the early release.

Early Release for Illness and Otherwise:

Students who become ill during the school day should ask permission to go to the Nurse’s Office. At the discretion of the nurse, the student may call his/her parent for permission to be picked up or to go home on his/her own. For the safety of our students, all telephone calls must be made from the Nurse’s Office. A parent or person previously designated on the Registration Form must sign the student out at the Nurse’s Office when he/she is picked up. Students may not then participate in or attend any after-school activities that day. If a parent calls/emails the Office and asks for a student to be released due to illness, that student must first visit the nurse. After 5 early releases or absences for an illness, the student may be asked to meet with the Deans and/or Guidance to discuss medical issues.

If a student does not follow this procedure and calls his/her parents from a cell phone asking to be released for illness, the student must still visit with the nurse.

Students will not be released for anything other than illness during the school day without a written note turned into the office prior to 7:40 AM. In the case of an emergency, parents must contact the Deans for permission to leave early without the written note.

Make-Up Work Due to Illness:

A student will have an amount of time equal to the length of the absence to make up missing work and exams. All formative assignments and summative assessments must be made up within two (2) weeks of the original date of the assignment, or the student will receive a zero (0). All missing assignments will become zeros after two weeks. If a student misses a summative exam, he or she will have the amount of time equal to the length of the absence to make up the exam. Summative exams should be made up in the testing center to ensure the exam is made up in an efficient and secure manner.

It is solely the student’s responsibility to know what assignment(s) or exam(s) are to be completed and to make appropriate arrangements with each teacher.

Any long-term assignments, such as essays, projects or group presentations, due during an absence, which the student knew of before being absent, must be turned in immediately upon his/her return.

Make-Up Work Due to Unexcused Absence:

If a student has an unexcused absence, he or she will be unable to make up any formative assignment. Please see above policy regarding making up summative assessments.

Make-Up Work Due to Field Trips, Sports, and Other Events:

Absences due to field trips, sporting events, or other pre-arranged events are known of by students in advance. Therefore, students do not receive the same extension as absences due to illness. Students are required to submit missing work and make up quizzes/exams on the day they return to class. No additional make up time will be granted because students were aware of these pre-arranged absences ahead of time. If the student leaves early for any pre-arranged absence, the work that was due for all classes during that day should be turned in to all teachers prior to leaving, or may be delayed only with the teachers’ approval. This excludes students representing NDP at school-sponsored events. Students at school-sponsored events must see teachers to make arrangements to make up work. Students participating in Kairos will be permitted one calendar week from the conclusion of their retreat to submit or complete any missing work, projects, tests, or assignments.

Make-Up Work Due to Suspension:

Missed exams or assignments may be made up at the discretion of the Administration. In-School suspension (ISS) Students may be given an in-school suspension if warranted for specific behavioral violations. ISS will be served at the discretion of the administration. Students will attend an all day study hall and be given assignments from their teachers. If a student is given a second ISS, students can be charged a substitute teacher fee of $125.00 for the day.

Missing Final Exams:

The dates for final exams for the 2019-2020 school year are as follows:

• Fall 2019
  • All exams: December 18-20, 2019
• Spring 2020
  • Senior exams: May 11-13, 2020
  • Underclassmen exams: May 20-22, 2020

These dates have been made public since January 2019. In order to prepare students for college, these exam dates are finalized and students must be present on the date of their exams to earn full credit, unless the absence is excused. Missing an exam due to illness will result in a make-up exam after the original exam date. Early final exams will only be permitted on a case-by-case basis, and must be approved by the Deans and the Assistant Principal for Academics.

On-Campus College Visits:

Students may not miss announced tests for “in-school” college presentations.

Attendance Eligibility for Co-Curricular Activities Participants:

The following can affect the eligibility of a student to participate in co-curricular activities.

1. School Absences: When students are absent from school, they are ineligible to attend or participate in co-curricular activities or official school functions on that day. This includes clubs, plays, meetings, athletic practices or contests and any official Notre Dame Preparatory school event. Students who violate this rule will face disciplinary consequences at the discretion of the Administration.

2. Late Arrival: A student must be on campus for 75% of the day, and may not leave school before the end of the school day to be eligible to participate in that day’s activities. (See late arrival information above.) Exceptions are made exclusively at the discretion of the Dean’s Office and only when prior arrangements have been made with the families. It is the responsibility of the parents and students to check the various bell schedules listed in the official calendar/handbook to be certain of the starting time for the fourth period on any given day. Note: If a student attends an evening event after failing to attend school 75% of the school day, he/she will not be allowed to participate in that event e.g. tryouts, auditions, athletic events