From the Assistant Principal

The Anti-Ferris Bueller

I’ve got a book filled with stories that I’ve written about my childhood. Stories that are (mostly) true and about how foolish and impulsive I was when I was kid. Whenever I get the opportunity to read these stories to students, it is easy to relate our school values to whatever I was doing - don’t be like young Mat, use your brain a little more critically, kids.

One story that always gets the students laughing at my ludicrousness is about the time I tried to pull a sickie to get out of going to school. I made a fake-being-sick plan that ended with me ingesting a potion made from milk, orange juice, tomato sauce and toothpaste and then vomiting it back out. Hilarious and ridiculous. (I call myself the Anti-Ferris Bueller, but the kids don’t really get that reference. I keep it in the story for the one or two kids who inevitably have seen the movie and want to talk about it later.)

We all have days like that, right? Days where we just need a break from the regular grind. And sometimes that is how school feels to kids. Grade 4 Mat had been broken by the incessant reminders of how to write in beautiful cursive handwriting, which I just struggled to do. But fortunately for me, these days were few and far between. I was lucky to have parents who valued the importance of doing well at school, teachers who tried to connect and engage with their classes, and friends who made it all pretty bearable.

But attitudes towards school attendance have changed.

Through my time in Education, I can confidently split these expectations on attendance into three distinct slogans:

It’s not okay to be away (1993–2019)
Don’t send ’em with a sniffle (2020–2021)
Every day matters (2025)

COVID was a real circuit breaker. I don’t think that’s saying anything too outlandish. But supporting students’ mental health was the single biggest shift in educational thinking for 200 years (I’m saying that without any research backing, but it sounds pretty good). Wellbeing was always seen as secondary to learning, but now they are on an equal footing. Attendance, which tracks ‘engagement’, is a key data point in all educational research and policy. To move suddenly from Don’t send ’em with a sniffle to Every day matters was always going to be tough.

It’s tough because life is busy, families are stretched, and kids don’t always leap out of bed singing about how much they love school. But here is the truth: every single day matters.

Think about how much work you can accomplish in five weeks. Now imagine trying to do that same amount of work in just four weeks - you’d constantly be playing catch-up. That’s what it’s like for a student who misses one day of school each week. Over a year, that adds up to almost a full term of missed learning. And the impact isn’t just academic - it affects friendships, routines, and confidence too. When students are regularly absent, they miss those small, everyday moments that help them feel connected and capable. Ferris Bueller might have pulled it off on the big screen, but in real life, missing school doesn’t come with a Hollywood ending - just gaps that are harder to fill later.

Some recent advice from the department puts it pretty clearly:

Are there any good reasons to be away from school?

No. Unless you are so sick you can’t get out of bed or there is an event like a funeral, you should be at school. Every day you are away is a day of classes and social connection you miss out on. Taking a day off for your birthday or to go shopping isn’t a good reason to miss school.

Even medical and health appointments should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays. This includes family holidays. Your parents are encouraged not to plan holidays during the term but to organise these during the school holidays.

If you do have to be away for some reason, your parents need to contact the school and let them know what’s going on.

Now, of course, there are days when kids really do need a break. We get that. Wellbeing matters here just as much as learning. But one-off days should be the exception, not the routine. The best place for your child’s wellbeing and learning is usually right here at school - with their friends, with their teacher, and in the rhythm of school life.

So, I’ll be the Anti-Ferris Bueller again - but in a different context this time. The Anti-Ferris Bueller I called my 10-year-old self was because my plan to have a day off school ended with that potion of orange juice, milk, toothpaste and tomato sauce and me being violently ill, rather than dancing in parades, catching foul balls, or pretending to be the sausage king of Chicago.

This time, I’ll be the Anti-Ferris Bueller to encourage our students to attend school every day.

Because every day matters.

Mat Williamson

Assistant Principal (and has still never stolen a Ferrari)