Why Attendance is so Important

Why Attendance is so Important
Posted on 11/20/2020
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The Kenora Catholic District School Board Mental Health Team held a Virtual Parent Night Presentation on attendance and why it’s so important. The team spoke to parents and caregivers about the importance of attending school, and how detrimental too many absences can be to academic performance.

Tips included giving yourself and your child more time to get ready in the morning, earlier bedtimes, and limiting screens at least an hour before bed.

“When we set the stage for good attendance, right from Kindergarten on, we have better outcomes throughout their school careers. “said Regulated Mental Health Worker and Attendance Counsellor Melissa King.

The team also encouraged parents to track their student’s attendance and be aware of how many missed days they were accumulating.

“What we would love to see is for you to keep track of attendance. To know when your child is attending and when your child isn’t, and that can be really hard. We would encourage you to take calls from the school and keep track of automated calls in the evening. Even just call the school yourself and ask for attendance records. It’s really important because if we don’t know about it we can’t fix it,” said Natasha Tsevende, the Regulated Mental Health Worker for École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys

Those in attendance also had the opportunity to ask questions. One person asked the Mental Health Team if they thought COVID-19 school shutdowns in the spring made it more difficult for students to get back into the school routine, and therefore impacting attendance.

“It really is individual,” said Mental Health Lead Sue Devlin. “For some kids absolutely. It was really hard for some kids to get back into the routine, transition back into school. There were attendance challenges in that area. Five to 6 months of being away from school made it hard for a lot of kids to come back. So yes absolutely, but also there were some kids who were ready to come back and were excited to be back in our hallways. It was really individual, and unique to each student. But that gap in being in our halls face to face with the sudden school closures definitely did make it hard for some kids to return.”'

If you’re struggling to ensure your child attends school every day contact your student’s teacher, principal, or the Mental Health Team directly at [email protected].
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