Greg Clamons Assistant Principal Athletic Director

As the end of the school year draws near, we are beginning to see more issues with students accumulating multiple tardies and absences. Tardy and attendance policies are located in the student handbook. I would like to take this opportunity to review these policies with you. These policies read as follows:

K-8 ATTENDANCE POLICY
Each regularly enrolled pupil at Goddard USD 265, grades K-8, shall attend school in accordance with the compulsory school attendance law (see JBD-R). Absences, which accompany valid excuses, (see JBD) will be excused. An absence is unexcused without a valid excuse. The principal or assistant principal(s) shall be responsible for determining the validity of offered excuses for absence from school. Unexcused absences may result in disciplinary action appropriate to each grade level, which includes, but is not limited to, detention, in-school suspension, or Saturday School. Unexcused absences may also result in a student being reported to appropriate authorities. Students with excessive absences may be required to provide additional documentation.

The following are deemed as valid excuses within the limits of the attendance policy: personal illness, death in the family, doctor or dental appointments, court proceedings, religious observances, school activities, and other absences which are deemed necessary by the parents and approved in advance by the administration.

Administrators will communicate with parents to ensure every effort is made to encourage regular school attendance by all students. Letters will be mailed, per compulsory school attendance law, when students receive three (3) consecutive unexcused absences or five (5) unexcused absences in a semester or seven (7) unexcused absences in a school year (see JBD-R and JBE). In addition, a letter will be mailed when any student accumulates 10 or more absences, excused or unexcused, in one semester.

TARDY POLICY
Students are expected to be in their assigned seats or location ready to work when the bell rings. Students arriving late to classes will be excused or unexcused by the classroom teacher.

• 1st Tardy - Teacher warning issued.
• 2nd Tardy - Teacher detention assigned. Student and parent notified by the teacher.
• 3rd Tardy - Office Referral - 1 hour of Saturday detention and letter sent home.
• 4th Tardy - Office Referral - 2 hours of Saturday detention and letter sent home.
• 5th Tardy - Office Referral - 3 hours of Saturday detention and letter sent home.
• 6th Tardy - Office Referral - 4 hours of Saturday detention and letter sent home. Each successive tardy will result in 4 hours of Saturday detention. Tardies will start over at the beginning of the second semester for all classes.

If students fail to serve an assigned Saturday detention, the time will be doubled for the following Saturday. Failure to serve the second Saturday detention will result in ISS.

Students who are not in their assigned classrooms at the beginning of homeroom are considered tardy. A student tardy remains unexcused without a valid excuse, and once unexcused tardies to homeroom exceed three or more, they must be made up in Saturday detention in accordance with the tardy policy. The main office will not assign a detention for the second tardy.

I thank you as parents for working with the administration at EMS to provide the best quality education for each every student in our school. Since this is the final newsletter for 2011-2012, I'd like to thank you for another great year and wish you all a fun and enjoyable summer!