Student Attendance

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High School Attendance Policy

Attendance is a critical factor in academic success and school completion for students. Consistent school attendance is part of the self-discipline we expect of students to enable them to act as responsible members of the community.

The educational process requires continuity of instruction; students need to experience classroom discussions, debate, and independent study in order to increase achievement, critical thinking, communication skills, and responsibility.

Any absence, tardy, or early dismissal must be accounted for. If it is not, the absence will be considered unexcused and could require follow up with an Administrator.

The administration and Attendance Officer want to work closely with parents to ensure consistent attendance for all students. Attendance will be taken during each class period and compiled by the Attendance Officer. Each absence, tardy, and early dismissal will be recorded and updates shared regularly with the family.

Attendance Expectations

  1. Daily attendance in every scheduled class is expected of each student.
  2. The school day begins at 8.35 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. Students are expected to be in their seat in the classroom at the scheduled start time for each class. 
  3. Attendance is taken at the beginning of each class period and in Pastoral Care/ Homeroom Group (PCHG).
  4. In addition to classes and PCHG, students are expected to attend all Community Gatherings and Assemblies.
  5. Students may be required to attend meetings with faculty before school and after school, or have co-curricular activities that extend beyond the regular school day.
  6. To earn credit for semester and yearlong courses, a student must complete the course in good standing, earning a passing grade and meet attendance expectations.
  7. Students are expected to attend classes until the official last day of school. Therefore, final assessments are rarely given early and credit may be denied for partial completion of a semester.
  8. Students missing more than one class on a particular day will not be permitted to participate in extracurricular events on that day.
  9. If a student misses an assessment due to unexpected absence from school, the student is responsible for contacting their teacher immediately so that a make-up assessment can be scheduled. If a student knows they will be absent, they should contact the teacher in advance to try and complete the assessment, prior to their absence.
  10. For absences of more than 3 consecutive days, an official note from a qualified medical practitioner should be submitted to the HS Attendance Office.

Absences and Assessment
A pattern of late or missed assessments will lead to administrative contact with parents and a phone call for a conference with the administration and counselor.

Planned Absences - High School
If a student is planning to be away from school for more than 3 consecutive school days, a planned absence form (available here) must be completed so a plan for keeping up with schoolwork can be created.

Missed Assessment - Illness
If a student misses an in-class assessment the student must follow up with the teachers upon their return to school and make a plan to complete the assessment. On the day of the absence, the student should email the teacher, if well enough.

Missed Summative
Students who miss 3 summative assessments will be asked to speak to the divisional leadership team and parents will be contacted. Repeated patterns of missing assessment will result in a behavior contract.

Consequences for Inconsistent Attendance Patterns
When appropriate, the administration may use the following list of consequences to discourage inconsistent attendance:

  • Loss of free periods and off campus privileges (if in G12)
  • Loss of the privilege to represent HKIS in co-curricular sports and activities
  • Loss of the privilege to participate in co-curricular activities at school.
  • Loss of the privilege to travel on school-sponsored trips.

Communication with High School Attendance Officer

It is the parents’ responsibility to notify the school if a student is absent from school.
It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that the school receives this written communication.

In the case of a missed summative, the student is responsible for contacting the teacher as soon as possible to reschedule the assessment.

Email address for the HS Attendance Office: hsattendance@hkis.edu.hk
Phone number for the High School Attendance Officer: 3149-7106

The written communication should be sent from the parent/guardian's email address registered on PowerSchool and should include:

  • Student's name
  • Date(s) of absence
  • Reason for absence

All absences will be recorded as Absent/No reason given until written notification is received from the parent.

Parents must ensure all contact information, including their email address is up-to-date in PowerSchool throughout the school year. 

School Sponsored Activity
Students may miss an additional six (6) classes for any one course in one semester for school sponsored activities including if they are representing a national team. This includes any classes missed – for school sponsored events both in and out of Hong Kong (i.e. APAC, local field trips, AP Exam days, service projects, Model United Nations, HKSSF meets, China Cup tournaments, etc.).

In order to be eligible to represent HKIS in athletics and activities, students are expected to be in good standing with the school. Any student arriving at school after 12pm (noon) is not eligible to participate in games or practices. Any student with 4 or more absences in a class may not be eligible for overseas travel. Eligibility checks will be conducted throughout each athletics and activities season and students are encouraged to monitor their attendance carefully.

Please note that absence when representing a national team is in reference to competition only and does not include training or try outs to represent a national team. Students requesting permission to miss school to represent their national team are expected to provide supporting documentation from the relevant body.

Grace Period for excused absences due to school sponsored events
If a student misses class as the result of a school sponsored event (China Cup, APAC, MUN Conferences, Forensics, Humanities in Action trips, national teams, music clinics/ exchanges), ONE (1) CLASS PERIOD FOR EACH CLASS PERIOD MISSED will be granted for getting missed work turned in and assessments completed.

Teachers are to be informed by the student AT LEAST 1 CYCLE before the absence to discuss missed work and make arrangements for completion. If this is not followed, missing work/assessments will be recorded as “IE - Insufficient Evidence” and the timing and nature of the make-up will be at the teacher’s discretion.
In addition, IF a student has made prior arrangements with their teacher, SUMMATIVE assessments occurring the day after completion of the event (usually Monday) will be postponed. Ideally, the assessment would be completed before the absence.
Note: This policy does not apply to projects/presentations that have been assigned for TWO or more cycles (for example, something that has been worked on in class for at least two cycles before the absence would still be due upon return).

Advanced Placement Exams
Although students are encouraged to attend classes on days they have AP exams, they will be automatically excused from classes scheduled on the day of their AP exams. The school does not require a notification letter from a parent on days when their child has an AP exam scheduled. Students are not excused from classes on the day before or after an AP exam.

Late Arrival and Tardiness
Students are expected to arrive at school on time. First period begins at 8.35 this is the time students should be in their seats for first period. Students, with support from their families, should plan their departure time for school accordingly. 

Students arriving late to school must sign in with the Attendance Officer in the High School Main Office before going to class. If students are late to school more than once in any given cycle week, parents will be informed. Tardies will be monitored by the administration and if an issue persists, a parent conference may be required. Unexcused tardies exceeding 15 minutes are considered an absence.

HKIS gives students a 10 minute transition time between classes. As a result, students are expected to be on time to each class period.

Any student who demonstrates a pattern of tardiness or unexcused absences, will meet with administration and appropriate consequences will be applied. If a student is tardy for a class and the teacher has already marked him/her absent, it is the student’s responsibility to see that the electronic attendance is changed from “absent” to “tardy”.

Early Dismissal
Students can only leave the school premises with parental authorization (either by a telephone call or by a letter explaining reasons for the early dismissal), with permission from the school nurse, or if they have a study block last period. Students must sign out with the Attendance Officer in the High School office before leaving the school premises. Students seeking to leave campus must have a gate pass. Gate passes will not be issued 20 minutes or less from the end of the school day, ie gate passes will not be issued after 2.40pm on a regular school day.

Illness at School
Students who become ill during the school day must see the nurse in the Health Office.
Students may miss a class only if they are ill and in the care of the nurse. Teachers and parents will be notified if a class is missed. No student may leave campus due to illness without notifying the nurse and being given a gate pass.

The Health Office provides many services – one of them is to administer consented medication. Parents are required to report to the nurse if a student is to take any medication at school and to inform the nurse about any emergency medications that a student may require. The school nurse will keep this information confidential. The nurse may be reached at 3149-7135.

Minimum Attendance Requirements for Course Credit

(approved May 2006)
In order to earn academic credit for any course, a student must earn a passing grade in the course and meet the following attendance expectations.

Students may not receive independent course credit if absent more then:

  • Full year course: 7 class period each semester
  • Humanities I and II: 14 class periods each semester
  • Semester course: 7 class periods
  • Orchestra and PE: 7 class periods per year
  • Wellbeing block: 4 class periods per semester

In each course, when a student exceeds the maximum number of absences: 

  • The student could be withdrawn from the course and no credit will be granted. A letter of of appeal may be written to the Principal in cases with extenuating circumstances.
  • The transcript will reflect the withdrawal
  • Students who are not granted first semester credit for a full year course may not continue in the course.
  • Students who do not receive academic credit in the second half of a full year course may need to repeat the second half the next school year or take an additional half year course in order to receive academic credit for a full year course.

Applicability

  1. This policy applies to each course independently.
  2. In Full Year Courses, attendance records are counted each half of the year.
  3. Students who transfer from one class to another during the school year will have their class attendance transfer to the new class
  4. All absence from class, including illness, will be covered by this policy. No distinction will be made between types of absences when determining the total number of days absent from each course.
  5. Absences resulting from the student being assigned to in-school or out-of-school suspension are counted towards the minimum attendance requirements.

Appeals Process

For extenuating circumstances only, a student can write an appeal to the High School Principal. The Principal must receive the written appeal, including all supporting documentation, within three days of the date of the loss of credit letter. The Principal, in consultation with the students’ guidance counselors and teachers will then decide if the student will continue as a regular student in the class or be removed from the class. Any further absence during the appeals process may result in dismissal of appeal and loss of credit.

Come Late to School Privileges (Grades 9-12)

Students who are in good standing, academically and behaviorally, are permitted to take advantage of this privilege. Students can come late to school when their first class of the day is a free period.

  • Students must directly enter campus (no loitering outside of campus).
  • Students who are consistently tardy will lose this privilege.
  • Students may lose this privilege for misbehavior, poor attendance, or other reasons, at the discretion of the Administration or parents.

Off-campus Privileges (Grade 12)

“Senior Privileges” are annually proposed by the Senior Class Officers during the first quarter to the High School administration. The Senior Class Officers will present to the Senior Class how the privileges are earned, the guidelines, what is expected, and ways in which the privileges can be lost for individual seniors and the entire class. Once approved by the High School administration, seniors have the privilege to leave campus during their lunch and free periods.

  1. Seniors must carry their HKIS ID card and use it to enter and exit campus through the High School main gate.
  2. Seniors are expected to use their own HKIS ID cards only. Cards will not be shared with each other, or with students in other grades.
  3. If a Senior leaves their HKIS ID card at home, they will not be permitted to leave campus that day unless they have a free period at the end of the day.
  4. Seniors are expected to conduct themselves with maturity and integrity and not aid or support other students in leaving campus without permission.
  5. Seniors must follow school rules during the school day, even when not on campus.
  6. Seniors are discouraged from picking up items from the grocery store for other students.
  7. Seniors are expected to sign in and get a late pass if they arrive on campus tardy for a class.
  8. Seniors who are consistently tardy to class will lose this privilege and will need to improve their attendance in order to earn the privilege back.
  9. Seniors who are involved with any disciplinary issue may lose this privilege for the remainder of the school year.
  10. Seniors who are consistently tardy or have multiple unexplained absences may lose this privilege for the remainder of the school year.