Attendance Policy

Section 31 of the Education Act states that the “student shall attend school regularly and punctually”. To that end, Ohpaho Secondary School  has developed the following guidelines to deal with attendance issues:

1. Expectations Regarding Attendance and Punctuality

Achievement, attendance and punctuality are very closely linked: students who have irregular attendance and punctuality patterns dramatically increase their risk of failure. Students are expected to be on time and attend all classes.

2. Parental Responsibility

1. Parents/guardians have the primary responsibility to monitor attendance and impose consequences. Parents/guardians are encouraged to resist allowing absences for anything other than those reasons outlined in the Education Act (i.e. student’s health, religious holidays, extra-curricular activities). 
2. Parents/guardians are asked to please refrain from scheduling family vacations during school time, especially during the scheduled exam periods at the end of each semester. 
3. Catching Up on Missed Work

It is the student’s responsibility to catch up on any missed work after an absence. While teachers will strive to assist with missed work, they may not be able to provide additional help to students with unverified absences or chronic absenteeism. At the teacher’s discretion, a mark of 0% may be assigned for work or exams missed due to an unverified absence or for work not submitted within a reasonable time after a verified absence.

4. Chronic Absenteeism

To curtail chronic absenteeism and set our students up for success, the following steps will occur:

1. After each unverified absence, parents/guardians will be contacted via email or SMS (if enabled by the parent/guardian).

2. After 5 absences, the teacher will make contact with parents/guardians and note the contact in PowerSchool

3. After 10 absences:

For all students students – an administrator or counsellor will review the absences with the student and contact the parent if necessary.

4. After 20 absences:
   • For junior high students – if previous interventions have not had positive results, the student will be referred to Alberta Education’s Office of Student Attendance and Re-engagement (OSAR).
   • For high school students –  if previous interventions have not had positive results, the student will be removed from the class.
5. Exemptions

To be considered for an exemption from a particular course or activity (e.g. physical education) a student must bring a signed note from their parent or guardian. A medical certificate will be required if the exemption is for three or more days.

6. Punctuality

Students are expected to be on time and prepared for every class. Students are to be present in the classroom prior to announcements and the playing of the national anthem each morning. In order to minimize interruptions, students arriving late are to sign in to the office before going to class.