Attendance

Also see: Behavior & Conduct || Discipline, Infractions, and Consequences

Attendance is the responsibility of the student, parents, and the school. Consistent, daily attendance is important as a basis for academic achievement. Duplication of the classroom experience can never be accomplished with after-school assignments. The regular contact of the students with one another in the classroom and their participation in a well-planned instructional activity under the guidance of a competent teacher are vital to this purpose.

Absences have a negative effect upon instructional continuity, regardless of the attempts to make up work.
Excessive absences can contribute to a student’s lack of motivation in completing make-up work on time.

School Hours

The school day begins at 8am and ends at 3pm (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) and 8:40am-3pm on Wednesdays. Students should arrive no earlier than 7:40am (8:20am on Wednesdays). Students should be in their classrooms and seated by 8am, or they will be marked tardy.

Student/Parent Responsibilities for School Attendance

Student attends school for all days of the established school calendar.
Student appears in class on time, prepared for academic endeavor.
It is the student’s responsibility to retrieve all work assigned during their absence. Students are responsible for taking the initiative in contacting teachers immediately upon return from absences to arrange for the completion of all makeup work assigned and to establish when this makeup work is due (see Make-Up Work for more).

Chapel Attendance

In light of the role that chapel plays in FRCS culture and discipleship, the school places a high priority on student attendance. The Junior/Senior High Chapel occurs directly after homeroom on Wednesdays. Student attendance for chapel is taken during homeroom. Any student who misses homeroom will be counted absent from chapel.

If a student has a current, documented Medical 504 on file with FRCS which addresses medical reasons for missing school, an exception will be made for excessive absences. Otherwise, the following applies:

Number of Chapel Absences (per semester)	Consequence
4 or more (excused and unexcused)	Watch recording of the 4th chapel and any subsequent missed chapels and submit written reflections to the Homeroom Teacher
6 or more (excused and unexcused)	Parent Meeting with School Administration. Potential further consequences (detention, etc.)

Excused Absences

Both excused and unexcused absences are included in the student’s total absences. An absence is considered excused if the parent calls in the student, however the make up work policy still applies.
Medical and dental appointments should be scheduled before or after school hours whenever possible.
College Visits: Senior high students may take up to five school days per year for college visits that will be counted as “college visit” and therefore do NOT count toward total absences. However, missed assignments must still be completed as for other excused absences (see Make-Up Work for more).
Family Vacations: If students will be absent from school for more than two days due to a family vacation, approval must be given by the principal at least two weeks before the vacation.
Students must be in attendance no later than 10:30am in order to attend or participate in extracurricular activities.

If your child is going to be absent, it is imperative that you notify the school office by 8:15am. If your child will be absent for an extended period of time, contact the school office, prior to the absence. If the office has not been informed of an absence, the student will be considered absent and an unexcused absence will be issued. Please note: A student must participate in his/her P.E. class unless he/she has a doctor’s note stating otherwise.

Make-Up Work

Please refer to Make-Up Work under the Academic Policy for information on making up work after an absence. Please refer to Suspensions for further information on make-up work for suspended students.

Unexcused Absences

An unexcused absence is recorded when there is a failure to contact the school in the morning on the day of the absence, a student is kept home for family convenience, or a student leaves the school without permission from the office. If the student is absent without a parental excuse, the parent will be called to determine the whereabouts of the student. The school reserves the right to call local authorities for students with unexcused absences.

Each unexcused absence shall be entered on the student’s record. The school will attempt to notify the parent/guardian when this occurs. Disciplinary action will be taken for unexcused absences including loss of credit for class work and homework missed as a result of the absence and detention. Continued unexcused absences will result in a conference and possible recommendation for expulsion from the school. For attendance purposes, an absence from school resulting from suspension will be considered “Unexcused.”

FRCS does not support or condone a “Senior Ditch Day.” Please refer to the Senior Policies for more information.

Excessive Absences

	Number of Absences: Core Classes	Number of Absences: Elective Classes	Consequence
Per quarter	More than 6 for any class	More than 3 for any class	May result in a lowered or failing grade, parent/teacher/principal conferences or dis-enrollment
Per semester	More than 20 for any class	More than 10 for any class	No credit will be earned for the class; may result in parent/teacher/principal conference or dis-enrollment

Early Dismissal of a Student

If a parent comes to the school to pick-up his/her child(ren) prior to school dismissal, the parent must first visit the office and sign the student out. In turn, the office will page the student over the intercom or, if needed, give a pass to the parent to give to the attending teacher. Parents should not go directly to the classroom without going to the office first. Students will not be dismissed without a pass. Parents should avoid asking the office to get their student ahead of time. Rather, they should plan ahead so that there is plenty of time to sign the student out and get him/her from class. Please remember some classes do leave campus from time to time.

Note: If your student drives and needs to leave early for an appointment, please send a note with ahead of time so that he/she can give it to the teacher and office before signing out.

Tardy Policy

Tardiness is defined as the appearance of a student after the scheduled time that any class begins. Because of the disruptive nature of tardiness and the detrimental effect upon the non-tardy students to uninterrupted learning, penalties are imposed for tardies. Excessive tardies may result in a lowered or failing grade and fines as shown below. We do not distinguish between excused and unexcused tardies. Please note the following:

If students are late to their first period class, class after lunch, or are off campus and return late to school for any reason, they (or their parents) are still required to sign in at the front desk.
Medical and dental appointments are not considered tardies, and if the doctor/dental office provides an appointment confirmation, it should be submitted to the office upon return to school. If a student signs him/herself in after an appointment, he/she must have a call or note from parent.
At the discretion of the school, exceptions may be made for hazardous road conditions, such as those that occur with inclement weather, and traffic accidents that cause travel delays.
Students riding in carpools are not exempt from tardies; the same rules apply, regardless of who is driving the car or how many students are in the carpool.
Students who miss half or more of a class period will be counted absent.
Students who have off-campus lunch privileges and are tardy after lunch will temporarily lose their off campus privileges on the third tardy and must serve detention.
Each student is allowed 7 tardies per quarter without consequence. On the 8th and all subsequent tardies, the following consequences apply:
- 8th tardy/quarter: detention and $15 fee
- 12th tardy/quarter: detention and $15 fee
- 16th tardy/quarter: detention and $15 fee
- Continued tardies: continued fines per schedule

NOTE: Students who report to detention late will be required to make up the time missed. Students who do not report for detention must serve 2 detentions and pay double the fee.