Helpful Reminder from the Secondary Student-Parent Handbook

Attendance Policy
AISL has a commitment to ensuring that the school year is educationally valuable for each student. Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students. The educational program is based on the assumption that students will attend school regularly. Both research and experience suggest that regular school attendance is a critical factor in a student’s academic and social growth and development. Students who are chronically absent from school miss important instruction and educational activities. While learning is in no way confined to the school’s premises or times, we appreciate your efforts to minimize the number of absences for the student.

The school calendar is sent to all parents during the previous school year, and parents are expected to arrange vacations to coincide with the school breaks.  Families that leave Lusaka before school is closed or return to Lusaka after school has re-opened must do so with the clear understanding that the decision will affect a student’s education.  Teachers are not required to provide learning materials for unexcused absences, and students are responsible for acquiring and completing any missed work at the teacher’s discretion.

Early Departure or Late Return
If an early departure or late return is unavoidable, we ask that you please inform the Secondary School office in writing well in advance of your departure.  This will ensure that all necessary staff members are informed. Please keep in mind that teachers are not obligated to or may not be able to provide work or assignments for students to complete during their absence for reasons other than those listed below:

• Illness
• Family emergencies
• Religious observances
• School sponsored activities
• Other reasons than those listed above, which are beyond the control of the student or the family.

The value of a teacher’s planned lesson cannot easily be recreated with a take home assignment for a student to work on during an absence. For that reason, absences may have a negative effect on a student’s grades and academic progress.  Records of attendance are maintained by the school administration.

Student Absence
Parents are asked to report an absence on the day it occurs before 07:15. The best way to do so is via email to [email protected]. If no email was sent, when upon returning a student who has been absent must give a parent note to the Secondary Office staff explaining the reasons for the absence.  Students are expected to submit all missed assignments within two days of an absence.

Special arrangements can be made in the case of prolonged illness, contagious disease, or family emergency to help students stay up-to-date with their responsibilities.

Attendance is recorded each class period and students must be present for a minimum of 90% of the scheduled class periods for each course during a semester. Absences exceeding 10% of scheduled classes during a semester may result in loss of course credit for the semester as determined by the administration. Students will not be allowed to travel on school-sponsored trips if it will cause their total absent days from school (for whatever reason) to exceed 10% per semester.This travel restriction may be waived by the principal based on strong academic performance or extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control

Student Arrival and Dismissal
Parents are reminded that there is no scheduled adult supervision before 7:25 or after 14:35 unless students are involved in after-school activities. Students may remain on campus after the close of the school day (dismissal) only if participating in a school-sponsored, supervised activity. If students are habitually left unsupervised after school, a meeting will be arranged between parents and administration to make a plan for prompt pick-ups.

Parents are requested to schedule out-of-school appointments after school, whenever possible. Should a student need to depart from campus prior to the end of the school day, parents are asked to notify the Secondary Office by emailing [email protected]. All students leaving the campus must sign out with the Secondary Office staff. It is important that we have an accurate record of who is present in case of an emergency.
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Participation in Extracurricular Activities on Absent Days
A student may not participate in after-school activities or scheduled games or tournaments if they have been absent during the school day.