Family Vacation Protocol – Immaculate Heart of Mary School

Click here for a printable Family Vacation Protocol Form

The school recognizes that upon rare occasions families take trips / vacations during school time. IHMS also recognizes that regular attendance is a necessary condition for success at school and that students who attend school on a regular basis generally achieve greater results. Students who miss a significant number of days are at risk for lower achievement in the classroom. Many teachers begin new material each week, and the instruction and classroom discussion cannot be duplicated with make up work.

As a faculty, IHMS is devoted to academic excellence, accordingly families are requested to not schedule vacations / trips during class time. Each spring IHMS approves its Annual School Calendar for the following year; this calendar should be consulted before planning an extended vacation. This calendar is available from the IHMS web site (www.ihms.mb.ca), or by contacting the IHMS office either by telephone (582-5698), or by by e-mail (ihms@ihms.mb.ca). All work missed during an absence for a trip / vacation is the student’s and parent’s responsibility – not the teacher’s. Parents are responsible for instructing the concepts and skills that were taught in school during their child’s absence.

Should an IHMS student be away from school for a trip / vacation while school is in session, the following protocol applies:

1. Since each school in Manitoba is responsible for the attendance of their students while school is in session, it is the responsibility of the student’s parent/guardian to inform the school of the dates that their child will be away from school on trip / vacation. A parent/guardian is responsible for completing and signing the “ABSENCE REQUEST FORM FOR FAMILY TRIP / VACATION” at least two weeks prior to the student departing for a trip / vacation. The form must be completed for an extended absence of more than three school days for trips / vacations, and must be filed with the principal two weeks prior to the absence. One extended vacation will be permitted in a school year. Any other vacation will be taken without the principal’s permission and the student may not be able to make up missed work, assignments, and tests which would be graded as a zero.

2. When the student is away on a trip / vacation while school is in session, the student will be marked as absent in the school’s Attendance Register.

3. Missed school work:

……..	All school work missed during an absence for a trip / vacation is the student’s and parent’s responsibility – not the teacher’s.
	Arrangements to make-up for missed school work shall be at the initiative of the student and/or parent. These arrangements should be made prior to the student leaving on a family trip. Teachers will provide up to three days of school work prior to a student’s absence due to vacation. Alternative assignments may be an option in some situations. Parents are responsible for teaching their children the concepts and skills that were taught in school during their child’s absence for a trip / vacation. The student is not entitled to additional tutoring either before or after the trip / vacation.
	School work may be given ahead of time, and some may be given upon return. The student shall agree to have any pre-assigned work completed upon their first day back to school. Students are responsible for collecting their missed work the first day they return to class.
	Full credit can be earned for missed assignments as long as the work is turned in within the allotted time given by the teacher.
	.

Tests

1. If a test was scheduled prior to the student’s departure for vacation, the student will be required to write the test upon returning, regardless of how soon the test is scheduled relative to returning from vacation. The student may also write the test prior to departure.

2. If a test was not scheduled prior to the student’s departure for vacation and the test date occurs beyond three (3) days of the student’s return to school, the student will be required to write the test. (For example, a student who notifies the school that (s)he will return from vacation on Monday will be required to write a test which is scheduled for Thursday.)

3, If a test was not scheduled prior to the student’s departure for vacation, and the test date occurs within three (3) days of the student returning to school, the student will not be required to write the test.