Attendance

Attendance is crucial for Victorian State School Education

Gisborne Secondary College is delighted to welcome back Stacey Holmes to her new role as Attendance Officer. Stacey has already set about her task of improving attendance through the implementation of new procedures and is being proactive in following up students who have been marked absent from classes.

The College values regular attendance as it helps students to develop important skills, achieve academic success, and contribute to a positive school culture. Gisborne Secondary College’s commitment to providing every student with the opportunity to succeed operates in line with the Victorian government guidance which implements measures to ensure regular attendance and expects parents and guardians to fulfill their legal obligations in this regard.

If you know your son / daughter is going to be away from school on a given day, then it is important that you provide a reason to the College on the day either via phone 5428 3691, by sending an email to gisborne.sc@education.vic.gov.au or logging the absence through the XUNO portal.

So you are aware of some general attendance monitoring practices, if you son/daughter is marked absent from Period 1 & 2 you will receive a text message from the College asking you to follow the above process and give a reason for the absence.

One of the attendance officer’s tasks is to check with teachers that rolls are marked promptly and accurately. If a student who has been present for periods in a day is suddenly marked absent, Stacey will go to that class to confirm that the classroom teacher has marked the roll correctly. If the student is not present, she will confirm with the Wellbeing space, First Aid, Careers area and the sub-school office that the student is not present in those places. If a student is still not located, then as a parent you can expect a phone call from the college making you aware that your son / daughter is not present. Longer term absences may result in letters being sent home and might also lead to meetings with the College to establish learning and attendance plans. 

It is essential that both the College and families work in partnership to follow all outlined steps above as students who attend school regularly are more likely to be engaged in the learning process, participate in class activities, and perform well academically. They also have a higher chance of graduating from school and pursuing further studies or career opportunities.