Blandford Attendance Policy
Dear Parents and Families:
As we all know, every minute of each school day is very important. When students are absent from the classroom – even for a few minutes – they miss out on important instructional and social opportunities that have been carefully designed by the teacher. Teachers will all agree that the beginning of the school day is vital: class meetings, read-alouds, math activities, etc.
In addition to missing out on important “beginning of the day” learning, tardiness also affects the work of other students, not to mention disrupts the teacher. Of course, there are times when a lateness or absence is unavoidable; this is to be expected. However, when students miss significant amounts of school time due to being late or absent, the consequences become more significant. It is the expectation that all students at Blandford – regardless of their grade level – arrive each morning on time and that absences are kept to a minimum.
In an effort to clarify the expectations regarding lateness and absences, I am asking that everyone carefully review the following bullet points:
- School begins promptly at 8:00am for all students. Students who arrive after these times will be considered late.
- Late students must enter the building through the main office where they will be marked tardy by office staff.
- Two warning bells will ring in the morning: the first at 7:50 and the second at 7:58. The purpose of the second bell is to notify everyone to get to class.
- Even if a child has a doctor’s note to explain an absence, he or she will still be considered absent. A doctor’s note can only be used as documentation to excuse the absence. However, the absence will still be noted on the child's record.
Thank you all for your cooperation. Please remember that the spirit of this policy is to ensure that all students get the most out of each school day. All of us at Blandford want all students to develop good habits of being at school on time from TK to 6th grade.
Should you any any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
June Sakaue