Attendance

Regular attendance helps students succeed academically and stay engaged in the life of our Trailblazer community. If your student will be absent or arrive late, please notify the school office as soon as possible so we can ensure their safety and maintain accurate attendance records.

Attendance Guidelines

Students are considered absent whenever they are away from school during school hours, except for school-sponsored or school-sanctioned co-curricular activities (e.g., school sports contests, field trips, and enrichment, etc.). Missing school may adversely impact a student’s academic achievement and ultimately his or her grade. Excessive absences can be a factor in determining a student’s continued enrollment in the school. If a student wants to achieve A+ certification, missing more than 8 days a school year can place their qualification in jeopardy. Students absent during the school day are prohibited from attending after school or evening functions that day unless given prior approval by the President/Principal.

The school day begins promptly at 7:55 a.m. with the student’s first period class. Students will be considered tardy to class if they are not in the classroom when the class bell rings. A student will be considered absent from a class if they miss half of the class period or more. If it is necessary for a student to be absent from school for a full or partial day, parents/guardians are asked to email the attendance email. If emailing is not possible, parents/guardians may call the office at 573-445-7700. If it is before office hours, please leave a voicemail message. Any absence without previous notice from a parent or guardian is followed up with a telephone call or email from the school office that day.
Parents, guardians, and students need to adhere to the following procedures when an early dismissal is required:

For appointments:

Parents/Guardians should notify the main office about the appointment and the required dismissal time.

A doctor's note is required to confirm the students' appointment. The doctor's note can be emailed to the attendance email, the doctor may fax the note to (573) 445-7703 or a student may bring a hard copy of the note to the office. The student’s attendance will be recorded as “A” (absent). Once a doctor’s note has been received, the attendance record will be changed to “APPT” (appointment).

Ill at school:

When a student is ill at school and feels that they need to leave, they must report to the main office. A parent or guardian will be contacted so that the student can be picked up or be given verbal permission to drive themselves home.

Students cannot be released from school without the approval of parents or another responsible adult listed in the school’s Student Information System. If parents/guardians will be out of town or otherwise out of contact for any length of time, please notify the office by email or phone as to who has temporary custody of the student.

Departure from school without permission of parents/guardians and the school administration is considered truancy.

Students must sign out in the office before leaving school and sign in when returning or arriving.
In cases of prolonged illnesses or hospitalization, parents/guardians should keep an open line of communication with the office. Medical documentation from the student’s physician may be necessary.

Before a student returns to school from a psychiatric hospitalization, a report from an attending medical doctor or health care case manager is required. The report should be turned in to the school’s

Social/Emotional Counselor.

Because daily attendance is crucial to a student’s academic success, we strongly discourage student absences for vacations, hunting/fishing trips, etc. However, when it becomes absolutely necessary for a parent to request an extended absence (one school week or more) from school for reasons other than illness, please contact the President/Principal to receive prior approval. Please note, even if approved, these days will be coded as a student absence from school; see the Excessive Absence section below for more information.
Our college counselor will provide students with many opportunities to learn about various colleges and universities and to visit with college representatives on site at Fr. Tolton Catholic High School. Students genuinely interested in visiting colleges are encouraged to do so on weekends, school holidays, or designated college visit days. However, if a student chooses to visit a college or university during a regular school day, the absence may be coded as a “College Visit” if the student provides documentation from the college or university visited. While the day a student spends on a college campus counts as a “College Visit,” additional travel days to and from the college will count as absences. The number of allotted college visit days is determined by grade level:

Juniors - 2 college visit days per year

Seniors - 3 college visit days per year

Special exceptions may be made with prior permission from the President/Principal.
Students must make up the work they have missed while absent. Students are responsible for contacting their teachers and checking Google Classroom to find out what was missed. When absent, the student will receive a one-day extension for each day missed. However, this policy may not apply to major class projects/papers that have been given two or more weeks for completion. These assignments may still need to be turned in on or before its due date, even if the student is absent; please direct specific questions to the classroom teacher.

Tolton’s late work policy does not apply to Dual-Credit classes. Dual-Credit classes will follow the policy of the higher education facility administering the class.

If a student misses classes due to an extracurricular activity, they will not receive any additional time to make up missing homework or tests. All homework should be turned in the day they return to class. Any tests missed for an extracurricular activity should be taken the day the student returns to class.
Students must attend school in order to attend extracurricular activities, including practices, rehearsals, plays, games, etc. Any student not at school by 9:45am will not be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities that day, unless the absence has been pre-approved by the school administration. If a student leaves school early due to illness, they may not participate in any after school activity.

In the event that a student must miss school for a doctor’s appointment, physical therapy, etc., the student must return to school within 1 hour and 45 minutes from the time he/she leaves, or they cannot participate in practice or contests that day. Any rare exceptions or exemptions must be pre-approved by the Athletics and Activities department.

Further, the student will not be eligible to participate on any subsequent date until the student attends a full day of classes or is excused by the Athletics and Activities department. (See MSHSAA By-Law 2.2.3)

Additionally, Mass attendance at Fr. Tolton Catholic High School is an important part of how we build our school community for both our Catholic and non-Catholic students. If a student misses All-School Mass, they will not be able to participate in extracurricular activities that day. This includes athletic games and practices, choir and band activities, theater practice and productions, and club meetings. This rule does not apply to students returning from the Career Center, given they return within the allotted travel time. Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis with advance notice to the Athletics and Activities department
Tardiness is defined as arrival to class after the bell has rung. It is the responsibility of each student, with the support of parents/guardians, to be on time to school and to each class. All activities that take place during the school day are considered required school activities (class, Mass, House events, etc.). A school-sponsored night event is not an acceptable excuse for arriving late or missing school the following day. The consequences for being tardy to class and/or school (per semester) are as follows:

Num. of Tardies (per semester) - Consequence:

4 - Conference with principal

5-9 - Detention

10-14 - Saturday school

15-19 - Saturday school and other consequences as determined by administration.

20+ - Parent/guardian meeting with administration and other consequences as determined by administration.
Any student that arrives to school after their first class has started must report to the office to sign in. They will not be admitted to their class without a pass from the office. The student will be considered tardy. However, a student will be considered absent if they miss half of the class period or more. In these cases, the office must be notified by a parent/guardian.

Occasionally a parent/guardian may choose to notify the office if they determine that their student’s late arrival to school was not the student’s fault and therefore should not be considered a tardy. In those instances, a student’s attendance will be recorded as “LPP” (late per parent). An LPP designation does not count toward tardies. If a parent or guardian determines that the student’s late arrival to school should not be considered a tardy, the parent or guardian must contact the office within 24 hours of the student’s tardy, by calling 573-445-7700 or sending an email to the attendance email. After 24 hours, the tardy will remain in the system and parents/guardians will not be able to have the tardy changed to “Late Per Parent.”

Please note, an excessive amount of LPP’s will be addressed on a case by case basis.
Students will be considered tardy to class if they are not in the classroom when the class bell rings. A student who is tardy to a class should report directly to that class. If a student is more than five minutes late to class, the student may be considered truant and may be sent to the office for a re-admit slip. A student will be considered absent from a class if they miss half of the class period or more.
Earning credit in any course requires regular attendance and a passing grade. Any student with ten or more absences during the semester is considered to be excessively absent. Extended illnesses or other extenuating circumstances will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Absences will be dealt with according to the following chart:

Number of Absences (per class, per semester) - Consequence:

10 - Letter to the student and family regarding excessive absenteeism.

15 - Parent/guardian meeting with administration.

20 - Student and family meeting with administration. Potential loss of credit for the class and other consequences as determined by administration.
A student is truant if they are absent without the consent of the parent/guardian. It is a violation of the law for a student to be truant. Truancy will result in the student receiving a disciplinary consequence.