ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL TIMES
At Westwood Elementary the day starts at 7:40 a.m. A student will be considered tardy after the 7:40 bell rings. The first minutes of each day are very important and every effort should be made to be punctual. Attendance is marked at 10:00 a.m. and any child not present at that time is marked absent for the day. Dismissal begins at 2:40 p.m. Once students have been dismissed, they are not to come back into the building.

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY
Regular attendance is required by Texas law and necessary if satisfactory schoolwork is to be done. Pupils should not stay out of school for trivial reasons. The education of youth is far too important to be put in second place. The school is held accountable for students residing within its district boundaries and must submit reports of attendance regularly to the Texas Education Agency.

Parents should notify the school when it is necessary for the student to be absent. If a student's absence is not reported the parents will be contacted by phone, at home or at work.

In addition to the phone notification, following any absence from school the student must bring a written statement from the parent explaining the absence. Such a statement can be required before the student is allowed to re-enter class on the day of the return to school. A note from the parent or guardian must be presented to the attendance office within three (3) days of the students return to school. If the written statement is not brought by the third day, the absence will be considered unexcused.

TARDY POLICY
The school regards punctuality as essential to the successful operation of a learning program. Persistent tardiness to school causes distractions and interruptions to the learning process, which are detrimental to the student involved and to his classmates. Parents will be notified of persistent tardies. Excessive tardies may result in a consequence.

ATENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
State compulsory attendance laws generally require all children between the ages of six and 18 to attend school each day that school is in session. A student who is younger than six and has ever been enrolled in the first grade is required to attend school. Once a parent enrolls a child in kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, the child is required to attend school that school year.
Regular attendance is critical to your child's success in school. It is also critical to the school district's success because it is a factor in the district and campus rating under the state accountability system and is a determining factor in the amount of state financial aid the district is entitled to receive. School officials enforce the state compulsory attendance laws.
There are times that children are sick or have other legitimate reasons for being absent from school. Whenever a child is absent from school for any reason, she or he should bring a note signed by you explaining the reason for the child's absence when she or he returns to school..

Doctor and Dental Appointments: Absences for appointments with doctors, dentists, orthodontists, physical therapists, and other health care professionals will be counted as having attended school if the student returns a note from the health care provider stating the date and time of the appointment.
Religious Holidays: Absences for religious holy days, including up to two days of travel time if necessary, will be classified as excused absences.
Perfect Attendance Awards: Certificates will be awarded each 9 weeks to students with perfect attendance and no unexcused tardies.

EXCUSED ABSENCES
A person required to attend school, may be excused for temporary absence resulting from any cause acceptable to the principal, teacher, or superintendent of the school in which the person is enrolled. A school district shall excuse a student from attending school for the purpose of observing religious holy days, including traveling for that purpose. A school district shall excuse a student for temporary absence resulting from health care professionals if that student commences classes or returns to school on the same day of the appointment.
The following are recognized by the school administration as proper reasons for an excused absence:
1. Sickness of the pupil
2. Sickness or death in the immediate family
3. Quarantine
4. Weather or road conditions making traveling dangerous
5. Religious holidays (make-up work in advance)
6. Assignment to other duties by the principal
7. Days of suspension
8. Imperative necessity as determined by the principal. This must be approved in advance of the absence.

REQUESTS FOR ASSIGNMENTS
When a student is ill and is absent two or more days, a request to pick up assignments may be made. Please call the school office before nine o'clock to make the request and allow a full day before picking up assignments. Students have one day for each day absence to make up work.

PROCEDURE FOR DOCUMENTING EXCUSED ABSENCES
Each time a student is absent for any part of a day, one, two, or three days, the student must bring a note signed by a parent or guardian and turn the note in to the Attendance office on the days he/she returns. If a note is not provided within three (3) days of the student's return to school, the absence will remain unexcused. If a student is absent for more than three consecutive days, the student must provide medical documentation from a health care professional stating the date and time of the appointment as well as a statement from the health care professional requesting that the student refrain from attending school for X days. This documentation must also be presented to the attendance office within 3 days of the student's return to school.

Notes turned in after the three (3) day time limit will be dated and kept on file, but the absence will remain unexcused unless the principal gives his/her approval to accept the excused note late because of extenuating circumstances.