Attendance Line | 403-817-3520 and press 1

Calling in an Absence

The most effective way that we know a child is not coming to school is through the absence line. Please call 403-817-3520, press 1 and leave a message. This line is open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Emails to teachers or to the general mailbox do not always reach the office in time to do accurate attendance and may result in you receiving a phone call or email advising that your child is absent. We ask that you clearly state the child’s name, grade, homeroom and reason for absence.

Extended Absences

When your child/ren will be away from school for an extended period of time,  the CBE mandated form called Extended Absence Notice will need to be completed, signed by a parent or legal guardian and returned to the office. Students may pick this form up from the office or it can be found on the side of this page. These forms are then filed in the student’s Official Student Record.

While it is recognized enrichment activities or travel present unique learning opportunities for students, excessive or frequent absences create gaps in student learning and social development. Consequently, it becomes the parent’s responsibility to ensure their child(ren) is meeting learning expectations during extended absences; the school is unable to provide learning support.

Late Arrivals

If students arrive late to school they must sign in at the office and receive a late slip. Should a student have chronic problems with punctuality, teachers or administrators may assign detention time and contact will be made with home to develop an Attendance Improvement Plan (AIP).

A letter to parents will be distributed early in the year outlining the CBE attendance policy (Administrative Regulation AR6020 - Attendance of Students). The responsibility for regular and punctual attendance, which is necessary for satisfactory school progress, is with the student and parents. Exceptional cases of unsatisfactory punctuality will result in a letter being sent home, a meeting with parent(s)/guardian(s) and/or a suspension.

Note: Student Dismissal is at 2:30 PM Monday – Thursday; 12:00 noon on Friday

Permission to be excused from school can only be granted by the office upon request by a parent/guardian. Under no circumstances shall a student leave the school grounds during school hours without first obtaining permission from the office. Parents needing further explanation of the Attendance Policy can be directed to the office.

Attendance Line – parents call in their student’s absences and/or lates on 403-817-3520 and press 1

Checking in or out during the day – If students must leave the school due to illness, appointments or for other reasons, they are to be signed out at the office by a parent/guardian or other person identified on our contact list for that child. Identification may be requested. Students will not be released to anyone not listed on the contact list without expressed consent from parents.

Late arrivals - If students arrive late to school they must sign in at the office and receive a late slip. Should a student have chronic problems with punctuality, teachers or administrators may assign detention time and contact will be made with home to develop an Attendance Improvement Plan (AIP).

Student illness at school - From time to time students become ill at school. Please see our Illness & Medical page.

Returning from an illness - Parents are asked to be sure that students are well before returning to school. Please see our Illness & Medical page.

Attendance Policy

Every Day Counts

The Calgary Board of Education believes there is a strong positive correlation between attendance and a student’s success in school. 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. Other facts about attendance include:

• 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.

The Alberta School Act section 13 and CBE Policy 6020 indicate:

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.

Excused vs Unexcused Absences

CBE guidelines regarding which absences/lates are considered excused and which are considered unexcused is the following:

The school principal has the authority to determine if an absence is excused or unexcused.

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
• Principal and parent/guardian mutually agreed approved activity
• Extreme weather, transportation cancellations
• An absence directly related to homeless status 

Unexcused Absences
Any absence from school for a day or a portion there of that does not meet the above criteria (please note that this includes family holidays and vacations taken during days schools are operational).