Writing letter to school concerning childs absence.

[dixiegirl]

Ok so its that time of the year that I stress on writing a letter to my daughter's teacher and principal concerning her missing school due to our family vacation.. Does anyone have any tips on writing , last year we found a great letter to write concerning how it was going to be a learning vacation as well as a family one, but was curious if anyone had any tips on what they used...any help rather than the normal old standby ..
thanks guys, we leave next Fri 9/14 so I usually liketo get the letters out there early ..

 

[MinnieMommy]

Or, as I am working on, withdraw them from public school altogether and home school. I'm hoping this will be our last year of public school....

sweetpea, we home school our children and LOVE it. If you'd like any help or information, feel free to PM me! I love talking about home school with other parents!:wave:

Yes it is. Education. Attending school is not education. Learning is education. If attending school is education, how do so many people get away with educating their kids at home?

Thank you! I used to be a teacher and was so frustrated by the lack of emphasis on life-long learning. We home school and I am amazed how 2 hours of structured time at home can be more productive than 2 days in a classroom. Now, I'm not trying to say anything about teachers. Even the best teachers are restricted by large class size, standardized testing, and other problems with the school "structure" itself.

One of the side benefits of home school....WDW vacations anytime! :lol:

 

[kathleena]

All this fluff back and forth when the OP was just asking about a letter. I expect to read thru a thread and find out how people handle this with their school, and get a bunch of junk conversations and banter back and forth about everything but. :veryconfu

 

[Stellajack]

??? School letter ?????

All this fluff back and forth when the OP was just asking about a letter. I expect to read thru a thread and find out how people handle this with their school, and get a bunch of junk conversations and banter back and forth about everything but. :veryconfu

Uh huh. Seems like this now belongs in 'Chit Chat'.

 

[dixiegirl]

Well... Thanks for all the 'help' guys......lol...I sent the letters today with my daughter , one to teacher and the other to principal.... Her teacher so far did'nt say anything...and her principal ....smiled at my daughter and said well hello there "disney girl" when my daughter gave her the letter ..I found out today from my daughter that she had told her principal that she was going to disney last week.... Thats my girl...So no phone calls yet...Hopefully I won't get any either..I was honest with both teacher and principal about going on a family vacation...did'nt say where , Since by now they already know.....Asked her for any assignments if possible...and told her principal that I knew it was not an excused absence ( because here in RI its not if its a vacation and I rather be honest) and that my daughter would be making any work, tests or other assignments up ..I kept it short , sweet, and direct..
..

Once Again, thanks....For those who did help...for the rest..for the laughs...

 

[PhilharMagician]

All this fluff back and forth when the OP was just asking about a letter. I expect to read thru a thread and find out how people handle this with their school, and get a bunch of junk conversations and banter back and forth about everything but. :veryconfu

Uh huh. Seems like this now belongs in 'Chit Chat'.

Yeah, we don't want to see chatting on a chat forum.

 

[janni518]

Wow! Didn't realize so many school's were so strict about this.

We purposely scheduled our vacation with days included in a tentative recess. That means if snow days aren't used then the kids get those days off. They are traditionally "wasted" days here in Jersey.

I did that because I think school is important and I want them to miss as little as possible while still enjoying our family vacation which I feel is equally important.

I don't anticipate any problems as my children only miss school when they are sick and always get a doctor's note. (It helps that I work at the doctors office but I don't abuse the privilege.)They are allowed a certain number of unexcused (without medical clearance) absences.

I will call in and say they will be out so the school doesn't think they've been abducted, but that's it.

 

[Shere_Khan]

I would ask the teacher if it is possible that your child stay in at recesses until all made up assignments are finished.
Since it is a vacation I would not expect the teacher to bend over backwards to give all future assignments ahead of time, and if the recess thing was possible, I would tell the child that they get to go on this awesome vacation, so they have to sacrifice a couple recesses because of it to catch up on work.

 

[GenerationX]

For future letters to the school, you should keep them direct and honest:

<Teacher's Name>

I believe you accomplish so little in one week that I am taking my child on vacation from <start date> to <end date>. We could go when school is not in session, but everyone knows that it may be hotter, more crowded, or more expensive to go during school breaks. That comfort trumps any sense of responsibility our family has. Also, my child will remember the great family times we have on our vacation much more if we go when school is in session rather than during a break.

Our vacation is to a highly educational destination. Well, okay, maybe it's not highly educational, but it's sort of educational. Regardless, I'm only mentioning it because it helps me rationalize what we are doing. If I really valued the educational aspects, I would go when school is out!

<Your name>

The spelling and grammar in the example above need a little work to be authentic, but I'm sure future letter writers will improvise and fix that.

 

[mary219]

I think it depends on how your kids are doing in school.If they struggle,then don't do it.If they really have no problems and manage to get decent grades and understand the material,then a few days off is not going to make a big difference in the big picture.Kids are way to stressed and not allowed to be children anymore,in my opinion.And really,here in NY,so much time that was in the past used for learning real material,is now used to pass the TESTS,so much emphasis is placed on the passing state and city tests that I really feel they are learning test taking techniques more than anything else.just my opinion.And yes,my kids did miss the first two days of school and will start tomorrow,and came home from disney last night from a really great trip.Heck,even test track showed them an assembly line and the basics of how a car is assembled,:ROFLOL: ,so they learned something.

 

[Hakunamatata]

For future letters to the school, you should keep them direct and honest:

<Teacher's Name>

I believe you accomplish so little in one week that I am taking my child on vacation from <start date> to <end date>. We could go when school is not in session, but everyone knows that it may be hotter, more crowded, or more expensive to go during school breaks. That comfort trumps any sense of responsibility our family has. Also, my child will remember the great family times we have on our vacation much more if we go when school is in session rather than during a break.

Our vacation is to a highly educational destination. Well, okay, maybe it's not highly educational, but it's sort of educational. Regardless, I'm only mentioning it because it helps me rationalize what we are doing. If I really valued the educational aspects, I would go when school is out!

<Your name>

The spelling and grammar in the example above need a little work to be authentic, but I'm sure future letter writers will improvise and fix that.

I really much prefer:

Dear School Administrator,

Im taking my child out of school from ____________ to ______________. Since it would be an unexcused absence even if you bless it, it really doesnt matter what we are doing or where we are going. So, feel free to notify the cafateria to make one less lunch each day during those days, notify the school district transportation system that there will be an empty seat on the bus, and notify my attorney should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Taxpaying Parent

Thanks.

 

[DISMOM]

I really much prefer:

Dear School Administrator,

Im taking my child out of school from ____________ to ______________. Since it would be an unexcused absence even if you bless it, it really doesnt matter what we are doing or where we are going. So, feel free to notify the cafateria to make one less lunch each day during those days, notify the school district transportation system that there will be an empty seat on the bus, and notify my attorney should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Taxpaying Parent

Thanks.

Love it.

 

[dixiegirl]

I really much prefer:

Dear School Administrator,

Im taking my child out of school from ____________ to ______________. Since it would be an unexcused absence even if you bless it, it really doesnt matter what we are doing or where we are going. So, feel free to notify the cafateria to make one less lunch each day during those days, notify the school district transportation system that there will be an empty seat on the bus, and notify my attorney should you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Taxpaying Parent

Thanks.

Ohh I like that!!! I'll have to save that for next September!!!...lol

 

[Timmay]

Band trips and cheerleader trips are usually scheduled by the school when nothing else is going on and the teachers know not to go into new material because a good chunk of their classes are missing.

Simply not true...sorry. These events are scheduled by the people holding the event...not schools. Many bands, sports teams and other groups go to these events regardless of what the work load for students is at that time of year.

 

[devoy1701]

Simply not true...sorry. These events are scheduled by the people holding the event...not schools. Many bands, sports teams and other groups go to these events regardless of what the work load for students is at that time of year.

I second this. Because I went on 4 trips with my school orchestra. Teachers do not know ahead of time what the dates for the trips will be. A couple years the Conductors were not even exactly sure. Teachers have no sympathy for students involved with the music trips and usually just gave us the workload to teach ourselves while on our trip. We tried so many times to tell our teacher that with the exception of our trip to Gatlinburg, we hardly got any downtime to work on homework while on the trip. Our days were pretty much always booked solid.

so glad high school was over.

and I think it's stupid that you have to get approval from the school board to take your kid on vacation.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Simply not true...sorry. These events are scheduled by the people holding the event...not schools. Many bands, sports teams and other groups go to these events regardless of what the work load for students is at that time of year.

I couldnt agree more. My sophmore year in highschool our band went to a "competition" in orlando. We also spent a day at MK, a day at Epcot, and a day at another water park offsite. Add the day to and from and you are looking at a full week. Our band was 365+ in size. We had to complete our work just as we were attending class, and it was not considered an unexcused absence. So you tell me the what the difference is between me taking my child out and a school sponsered trip? NADA!!!!

 

[hcswingfield]

For future letters to the school, you should keep them direct and honest:

<Teacher's Name>

I believe you accomplish so little in one week that I am taking my child on vacation from <start date> to <end date>. We could go when school is not in session, but everyone knows that it may be hotter, more crowded, or more expensive to go during school breaks. That comfort trumps any sense of responsibility our family has. Also, my child will remember the great family times we have on our vacation much more if we go when school is in session rather than during a break.

Our vacation is to a highly educational destination. Well, okay, maybe it's not highly educational, but it's sort of educational. Regardless, I'm only mentioning it because it helps me rationalize what we are doing. If I really valued the educational aspects, I would go when school is out!

<Your name>

The spelling and grammar in the example above need a little work to be authentic, but I'm sure future letter writers will improvise and fix that.

Maybe you could add that the real educational value in the trip is preparing your kids for the real world, where bosses really don't care if you show up for work or not, and you can take as many vacations as you want, whether you have accrued the vacation time or not.

 

[ConstanceIrene]

Simply not true...sorry. These events are scheduled by the people holding the event...not schools. Many bands, sports teams and other groups go to these events regardless of what the work load for students is at that time of year.

Good point and I stand corrected. Schools, however, are well aware of the schedule for these group events and trips. There is a difference between the lesson plan on a day when 1 student is missing because he or she has gone to learn about Test Track and a day when 20 students are absent for a school trip or special event.

I don't think this thread is going to change anybody's mind so it should be closed. Some parents will remove their children from school for family vacations and some will not. All the parents who have posted on this thread have given their reasons for the timing of their vacations and that, as they say, is that.

 

[Waldo.Pepper]

Am I getting this right...

Our school system just started with the forms that you fill out, this year. I'm glad they are doing that now. I have already turned ours in and been approved for our Oct. trip.

Am I getting this right...we have people actually asking their school districts/authorities for permission to vacation with THEIR children?

If this is the case, then school districts are once again trumping liberties, it is a sad situation. While I have stern feelings about the school priorities, and the end of the day, family still trumps any the school board, principals, and the classroom.

Finally, when this trend towards the ever expanding school year and the economics of traveling off peak, schools have to take a deep breath and realize that more and more families are going to have take vacations during the course of the academic year. So...it should be about asking permission, it should simply being telling them that your children are going to be adbsent, deal with it. (Then again dealing with progressives isn't always that simple.)

 

[The Mom]

The OP asked for some ideas on how to word a letter to her child's school concerning the fact that her child would be missing a few days of school, and what would be the best way to cover missed work.

She did not want to know whether or not you agreed with her decision, but whether anyone else had written a similar letter, and if so, what was in the letter.

I believe that she has gotten a couple of very good examples of effective letters, a couple of examples of sarcastic or humorous ones, and a lot more argument than she ever wanted or expected.

IMO, anything else posted would just continue the "children should NEVER miss school unless they're dying" vs the "I'll take my children out of school whenever and for however long I wish because I'm the parent and my kid is already too smart for his britches" with most of us falling somewhere in the middle.