Attendance Incentive Policy

In order for a student to benefit from the curricular objectives established in his/her classes, regular attendance is essential. Therefore Saint John High School has adopted the following Attendance Incentive Policy in order to encourage consistent attendance.

An attendance exemption is a privilege that must be earned based on the following criteria:

• A student who has perfect or near perfect attendance during a semester will be allowed to waive one of his/her final exams for that semester, subject to the following conditions: (Students taking courses in which there is an IB or AP exam will not be granted an exemption in their first semester course. i.e. (IB English 12 will not grant an exemption at the end of the first semester course.) Exemptions for Provincial or District exams will not be granted.
• A student cannot eliminate an exam in a course which he/she is failing.
• The student's mark on a course for which the final exam has been waived will be based on the student's class mark for the course. A student must take five (5) courses during a semester to be eligible for an exemption. A student may choose to exempt only one of two exams in year long courses.

Absence Defined: A student who has failed to attend class for any reason is deemed absent. It is the student’s responsibility to provide written excuses within three days of missing school in order to be considered for an exemption.

A student shall not miss more than five excused classes in a given course, nor more than an accumulation of twenty five classes for the semester, in order to qualify for an exemption.

Excused classes are defined as documented illness, religious holidays, or circumstances of a compassionate nature (New Brunswick Schools' Act). Absence for extra curricular activities will be excused but will still count towards the designated number of missed classes. It is the student's responsibility to advise the subject teacher before (if possible) or immediately after the absence if the absence is school related. Student absences, because of tasks or activities related to other classes, will be considered excused but none-the- less will be counted as “missed” classes. Students are also expected to be punctual. Tardiness in three classes will equal one absence.

In the event of a death in a student's immediate family, that student is to contact the Principal before or immediately after the absence. A note will be given to the student with a copy to each teacher concerned. A copy will be placed in the student's cumulative record. These absences will not count for this policy.

Absences because of school suspensions will count against the student because it is the student's behaviour that caused the suspension.

The student's behaviour must be deemed positive and acceptable by the teacher in whose subject the exemption is being granted. Also, all tests and projects must be satisfactorily completed. In the event of a discrepancy between the computer records and the teachers' records, the teachers' records will be considered the correct source of information.

Students must fill in the Request for an Exemption Form prior to being granted an exemption. The student must indicate on this form which course is being selected for the exemption. All subject teachers of the student must sign the request and indicate course mark and indicate the number of missed classes. The completed form will be submitted to the appropriate subject teacher. Once an exemption has been granted it is possible for the student to lose the exemption because of inappropriate behavior, failure to complete assigned work or lack of attendance.

If a student is refused an exemption it is possible to complete an appeal form which would be submitted to the Principal. A committee would assess the merit of the appeal prior to making a ruling. Should further judgement be required, the SJHS PSSC would establish a tribunal to consider the case and render the definitive decision.