Attendance

Taylors Lakes Secondary College believes that students need to attend school regularly in order to gain maximum benefit from their schooling. Regular attendance enables students to access a comprehensive education, enabling them to reach their full potential.

Did you know…?

Poor attendance makes it difficult for students to form positive relationships with their peers.
There is a direct link between students’ school attendance and their level of school achievement.
Once students form a pattern of absence and lateness from school, it often escalates through subsequent school years.

100% attendance

Like every school, we have a concern about ensuring that student attendance is as high as possible. We want all students to aim for 100% attendance. In saying that, it is understood, that students do get sick and it is necessary to be absent, but we genuinely seek parent support to ensure student attendance is as close to 100% as possible and that the school is made aware when a student is absent. In the later years there is an attendance component, which can result in a student receiving a ‘Not Satisfactory’ (N) result for a subject or multiple subjects if attendance requirements are not met.

Explaining absences – Procedures for all students

Every absence from school needs to be explained by a phone call to the attendance line, or an absence note. Parents are also able to log on to Compass and approve absences accordingly.

Lateness and Early leavers – procedures for all students

Our Attendance Officer, operates from the main office. Students arriving after 9 a.m. or who wish to leave early for any reason must report and sign in/out at the Attendance Office.

If leaving early, students must have a note from parent. They also need to see their Year Level Leader or Sub-school leader to obtain their permission and signature on the note. The student then brings the signed note to the attendance office
Parents wishing to collect a child for any reason should contact the Attendance Office prior to 12 noon, if possible.

If parents/guardians have any concerns regarding student attendance please contact the school and speak to one of the Year Level Leaders of Sub-school Leader for that particular year level.

Students will also have access to a Kiosk near the Study Room. Once students have their Student ID Cards they will be able to use this Kiosk to:

Sign in when late and print a late pass – A slip will be generated for the student to take home, have signed by a parent and return to the attendance office
Sign out and print early leavers passes (For year 12 students only who have permission to leave when they have study periods after lunch)

Note: Year 11 accelerated students cannot sign in late or sign out early if a year 12 class is cancelled. Students are to undertake study in the Library or Study Room.

Compass Program

Parents are able to access Compass to:

Easily check on their child's attendance at any time
See any excursions or events your child has coming up
Approve lateness and absences online
Pre-approve absences if your child has an appointment coming up
Contact teachers via email
View their child’s learning tasks
Access their child’s progress reports and semester reports

Frequently asked questions

What can I expect from the school?

Taylors Lakes Secondary College will:

Monitor student attendance and regularly review progress
Contact you if your child is absent from school without a valid reason
Alert you if your child’s attendance is putting them ‘at-risk’ of not meeting the attendance requirements of the College
Support you as a parent to encourage your child to go to school

What is my responsibility as a parent/guardian?

Make sure your child:

Attends school on ALL school days and is punctual. The school day begins at 8:50am (9:00am for year 12 students) and it is expected that students arrive at school at a time where they can prepare themselves to begin the school day on time.

Make sure you:

Provide the school with an explanation if your child is away
Contact the school if your child does not want to go to school
Arrange doctor and dentist appointments out of school hours (Where possible)
Arrange birthday or other celebrations out of school hours (Where possible)
Do not allow your child to stay at home for minor reasons.

Must I send my child to school every day?

Yes, unless:

Your child is too sick or injured to go to school
Your child has an infectious disease
The principal is provided with any other genuine and acceptable reason for absence.

There are multiple reasons I can select to approve my child’s absence. Which one should I select?

Select the most appropriate reason that will explain your child’s absence. For example, ‘medical/illness’ would be selected if the child has not attended school for a medical reason. PLEASE NOTE: Only select the option for ‘Truancy’ if you, the parent, do not approve of your child’s absence. In these instances, it is always a good idea to call the school and speak to the relevant Year Level Leader/Sub-school Leader.

What if my child is involved in sport or another school approved activity?

It is okay and will be recorded as an approved absence, provided that it is a part of the school program such as Inter-school sport or excursion and has been approved by Classroom Teachers/Year Level Leaders

Attendance Office Direct Line: 8390 9207

Please call at the start of the day before 8:30am if a student will be absent from school.

Alternatively, you can call the school on 93903130 and follow the prompts to be directed to the Attendance Office.

Mobile Phones/Electronic Devices

Students are not permitted to have their phones on them during school hours 8.50am-3.04pm. They are to be kept in students’ lockers at all times.

Students are not to use their mobile phone for checking the time, sending or receiving texts, making calls, using social media or other applications in class.
Students are not to use their mobile phone during transit to other classes, the Library, the bathroom etc. This includes checking the time, sending or receiving texts, making calls, using social media or other applications.
Recreational listening to music on any electronic device (including netbooks and laptops) during class time is prohibited.

Please note: a mobile phone or any other electronic device will be confiscated. No warnings will be issued. If a device is seen, it will be confiscated by the classroom teacher and handed in to the Student Wellbeing and Management Support Officer in the Year Level Leaders’ office for storage until the end of the day. Parents requiring to contact their child in an emergency can do so via the office.

Please reiterate to your child the expectations regarding mobile phones.

Uniform

It is an expectation that all students wear uniform correctly. Details on uniform expectations can be found under policies and documents on the college website. Failure to comply with the rules will lead to consequences. Please support our endeavours in this matter.

Please contact the relevant Sub School Leader if you have any concerns/questions.

Cathy Filardo: Junior School

Tim Williams: Middle School

Antoinette Massarotto: Senior School

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