ATTENDANCE: FINAL WORD
On explaining his two D's and three F's: "We went for a week to Canada to visit relatives. Then I was sick for a couple of days." ~ Joe K., 7th grader
BE SURE TO:
1. Set a reasonable bedtime for your child and stick to it. Otherwise, you run the risk that s/he won’t want to go to school in the morning and, once there, will not be very alert.
2. Besides a good night’s sleep, a healthy diet helps ward off infections.
3. Schedule all dentist, orthodontist, and routine doctor appointments for after-school hours.
4. Don’t buy the line that your child is too tired to go to school—even if it’s because of that big science test s/he’s not ready for! Going to school every day is his/her job & is as important as your own!
5. Serve as a role model, going to work even when exhausted, behind on your to-do list, or starting with the sniffles.
6. If your child is truly too sick to go to school, make sure that s/he calls a classmate to gather all worksheets and assignments. If the child is a neighbor, these can then be dropped off. Otherwise, ask that they be left on the main office counter for you to pick up. (See next page for “buddy” sheet)
7. Most schools will do the gathering for you, but only after your child has missed three days of school. By that time, it’s too late!
8. Once that sick child of yours is feeling a bit better, get him/her started on all that collected school work.
9. Save trips and visits to out-of-town relatives for school holidays and vacations.
10. If you must take your child out of school for such a trip, insist that s/he collect work in advance from all teachers and make sure that it’s all completed by the time you return.
