Excused Absence vs. Unexcused Absence
At this level the purpose of identifying excused absences and unexcused absences is to educate students and prepare them for the high school level. At Westwood Regional Middle School, if a student accumulates an excessive amount of absences it will require a meeting with the parent/guardian, student, an administrator, school counselor, and school nurse. An excessive amount of absence hinders the learning process; if a student misses classroom discussion repeatedly this form of instruction cannot be replicated nor replaced.
At the high school level if a student accumulated an excessive amount of absences he/she runs the risk of being denied credit in the course regardless of the earned grade. This can potentially become problematic for graduation purposes.
As explained in the Student Handbook, excused absences are as follows:
1. excused from school by the school nurse for that day only if a medical note is provided upon return to school
2. documented reasons by a responsible authority (i.e. physician)
3. suspension
4. authorized school field trips
5. religious holidays approved by the N.J. Commissioner of Education with prior written notice to the attendance office
6. official appointments with administrators, guidance counselors, child study team staff, or medical staff
7. other administratively excused reason
and unexcused absences are as follows:
1. occasional absences for sickness
2. truancies or cuts
3. late to class by more than four (4) minutes
4. leaving school without authorization from the nurse or an administrator
5. self-determined holidays, i.e. family vacations, etc.
Please be cognizant of how frequently your child is absent from school, as regardless of the reason, this will inevitable hinder his/her ability to be successful.
Homework Collection for Absence
For one or two day absences, please refer to teacher websites for assignments. If a student is going to be absent for more than two consecutive school days, please contact the School Counseling Office to arrange for homework to be collected. Reliance on the teacher websites is always preferable in any case, when possible.
Please be aware that collected homework needs to be picked up by a parent/guardian or it can be sent home with a fellow student (as long as arrangements are made ahead of time with the student).
To request the collection of homework spanning over more than two school days, please call 201.664.5560 ext 6005 (Mrs. Angie Mahan).
Reporting of Absences/Tardies
As a school, we are responsible for reporting absences to the State of New Jersey when students are not in school (no matter the reason). To this end, if a student misses more than the majority a class it is recorded as an absence and if a student misses a smaller portion of a class it is recorded as a tardy. While tardies traditionally represent lateness, they are also utilized to indicate a portion of the class being missed (i.e. an early release with a few minutes left in a class).
In order to report an absence or tardy, please call WRMS at 201.664.5560 and select option 1.
