Attendance Matters

Attendance Procedure

During the school day, special student pick-ups or departures must be arranged through the Main Office at 613-392-5461. As a necessary safety precaution, parents/guardians must contact the office when they arrive to pick up their child. Unless otherwise directed by office staff, all student pick-ups and drop-offs must take place through the Main Office.

Special Arrangements

Any changes to a student's pick-up or bussing arrangements must be communicated to the Main Office by 2:45 p.m. Due to the busy nature of end-of-day dismissal procedures, we may not be able to accommodate changes received after this time.

Extended Vacations

Families planning an extended absence from school should complete the Temporary Attendance Excusal Form 394-1. The form is available from the Main Office and should be completed and returned to the school prior to the absence. Families are encouraged to communicate with their child’s teacher in advance to support planning for the absence.

Attendance Matters!

School success goes hand in hand with good attendance. When students miss learning time they struggle with understanding, assignments and assessments. Your child(ren) will feel connected academically and socially when they have good attendance. Make a commitment to have your child(ren) attend every day and be on time. Children who attend every day are building positive habits that last a lifetime.

The Education Act requires that students attend classes "regularly and punctually." Safe Schools policy details our responding in confirming students' whereabouts when noted as "not present" at school. When a student is considered absent, the school will call home to confirm the whereabouts of the absent student unless the parent/guardian has already called the main office and informed us of the late arrival or absence. In the case of some lengthy absences, a medical certificate may also be required.

Being in school every day means your child won't miss out on learning.

Try to schedule appointments and family trips outside of school hours.
Set routines at home to help get to school on time. Even arriving to school a few minutes late means your child is missing out on learning and interrupting the learning of others when they arrive.

HPEDSB uses the Safe Arrival Student Absence Reporting System as our primary process. SafeArrival is affiliated with School Messenger, a system used by HPEDSB schools to send messages to families by email, SMS text, and telephone.

With SafeArrival, guardians can report a student absence in advance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, using their choice of a mobile app, the SafeArrival website, or an interactive toll-free phone number. Future absences can be reported anytime.

How does it work? If a student is marked absent and the absence hasn't been reported in advance, SafeArrival will attempt to reach the student's priority contact (the number you provided to the school) by email, SMS text and telephone to confirm the absence. If the system is unable to reach the designated contacts, the office staff will call to follow up.

To sign up for SafeArrival app or website reporting, care givers must use the primary email address associated with their child's records at the office. Families unsure of which email is their child's primary email, or who wish to change the primary email, are requested to contact the school office (613-392-5461).

No email address is required for absence reporting through the toll-free phone number (1-833-568-2535).