Attendance Line: 403-777-6789 ext. 1.

If your child will be absent or late from school, please phone the school at the number above. The line is available 24 hours a day, including weekends.

When leaving an absence message, we request that you :

• speak slowly and clearly
• provide your child’s first and last names, spelling each name if required
• provide their grade and teacher
• provide the reason for your child’s absence as well as the anticipated length

 If we have not heard from you and your child is absent, we will take the time to contact you to assure the safety of your child.

Absences

Excused Absences

• Illness, mental health condition or medical/dental appointment. If these are frequent or excessive you may want to request a medical note to excuse these absences.
• Family emergency, death or illness in the family
• Public Health quarantine
• Religious or cultural observance 
• Court
• Extreme weather, transportation cancellations
• An absence directly related to homeless status
• Suspension from School
• Expulsion from a school with no permission to re-enroll

Unexcused Absences

• Any absence from school for a day or a portion there of that does not meet the above criteria 

Lates

When your child is late, the student must report to the main office first to collect a late attendance card to give to their teacher. They will be asked as they arrive as to the reason. We will be reviewing all punctuality records. If you would like to meet to discuss attendance/punctuality please contact the classroom teacher/office.

Every Day Counts

The CBE believes there is a strong positive correlation between attendance and a student’s success in school. Early identification and communication of attendance concerns with students and families is critical. Regular attendance at school maximizes student learning, school attachment and the potential for high school completion. Research indicates students who have frequent absences as early as kindergarten are the students at risk of dropping out of school.

• The Alberta School Act section 13 and CBE Policy 6020 – Attendance of Students, states:
• An individual who at September 1 in a year is 6 years of age or older, and is younger than 16 years of age shall attend school.
• A board shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that a student who is enrolled in a school attends regularly and punctually.
• It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to ensure compliance with this requirement and the responsibility of schools to ensure parents/guardians are informed promptly when the attendance of students is not satisfactory.
• Absenteeism is not the problem, it is an indicator of other problems, and should be treated as a symptom. When students are not in school we need to understand why they stay away before we can generate solutions.
• When a student feels an attachment to school through a web of relationships with other students, teachers, or a caring adult, it can help overcome many of the causes of truancy (Jenkins 1995).
• Students who miss 15 days of school per year will miss a year of school before Grade 12.
• A student with 90% attendance will miss 4 weeks of school per year.
• Being 10 minutes late for class every day means the student will miss 6 days of instruction over the year.

At QES we are here to support all families where attendance and punctuality is an issue. We care about your child’s learning. Classroom teachers will be initiating conversations with families if there appears to be an early concern. If necessary the resource team will get involved to help establish an Attendance Improvement Plan.