Experience with missing school?

[calena]

You guys have had a lot better luck than me. I pulled DD out last September, exacly the way you did. I too thought that she won't miss much as school had just started. Well, what do you know, the teacher told me at parents/teacher meeting that she thinks she that weak 'put her back'. BTW, DD is in grade 1. So now, my MIL is sick in Australia and we want to take a trip before it is too late. We have no choice but to go now as it is winter there during our summer break. I have booked this trip around March break, so DD is losing only 2 weeks. I say 'only' lightly, but I still had to sign the form that said that she will have to make up on her return in order to be 'promoted'. Again, this is all for Grade 1. We will have to do Disney in Summer from now on.

Enjoy your trip.

I'm glad you are going to Australia to see MIL and taking your daughter too.

Don't think that just because this year it has been tough means other years it will be. I know when DS was in Grade 1 he really struggled (three different teachers and no consistency) and now is at the top of his class in Grade 8. It clicked in Grade 7 for him. Back in those days Grade 1 was very important because that is when they really work on reading but I think the curriculum keeps changing and they are reading in SK and JK now. Each teacher is different when you approach them. All our teachers really support us taking the kids on trips and only one gave a lot of homework to DD. We got back from our trip - Family wedding in California combined with a bit of sightseeing for 10 days - and DD was about a week ahead of the class, so she just sat there. And we had lugged textbooks to California. Never again. This was for a child in Grade 4!!

DD is in Grade 9 now and we are going to Florida over March Break and then tagging on a few more days.

I do think it is much easier to take kids out of school in Canada from what I have seen on these boards. In the US they can fail a child for truancy for missing too many days.

P. S. if your daughter is struggling with reading - the book I used for DS was Reading Rescue 123, recommended by the school and really worked for me to work with him at home.

 

[dis_guy]

I certainly don't want to "mix it up" in this thread but as a teacher of 26 years I thought I'd throw some of my experiences out for sharing. Maybe a perspective from the other "side" might be interesting.

Ten days ago, I was home sick (ill enough to miss five days) when I got a call from a parent. They were going to BC for two weeks and wanted me to get their son's homework together since they were leaving the next morning.

Then last week, on the last afternoon before our annual conference (one that is a two hour drive from our school), another parent comes in and wants a week's worth of homework because they were flying to Mexico in the morning.

Today I got a note from yet another parent to have a week's worth of work ready tomorrow morning because mom and dad are going to the Dominican Republic and their daughter is going to stay with grandma and won't be attending while they are away. Grandma lives nearby and as far as I can tell she could come to school. This girl already has 24 days missed this year so the new total will be 29. We've been in school for 115 days or so, well you can do the math there.

Add to all this the fact that I work in Alberta where we have high stakes testing in my grade and if the kids don't perform, we'll hear about it from central office.

So when teachers don't seem thrilled about your vacation plans consider that our experiences may not have all been positive ones.

 

[Tinkermom76]

I certainly don't want to "mix it up" in this thread but as a teacher of 26 years I thought I'd throw some of my experiences out for sharing. Maybe a perspective from the other "side" might be interesting.

Ten days ago, I was home sick (ill enough to miss five days) when I got a call from a parent. They were going to BC for two weeks and wanted me to get their son's homework together since they were leaving the next morning.

Then last week, on the last afternoon before our annual conference (one that is a two hour drive from our school), another parent comes in and wants a week's worth of homework because they were flying to Mexico in the morning.

Today I got a note from yet another parent to have a week's worth of work ready tomorrow morning because mom and dad are going to the Dominican Republic and their daughter is going to stay with grandma and won't be attending while they are away. Grandma lives nearby and as far as I can tell she could come to school. This girl already has 24 days missed this year so the new total will be 29. We've been in school for 115 days or so, well you can do the math there.

Add to all this the fact that I work in Alberta where we have high stakes testing in my grade and if the kids don't perform, we'll hear about it from central office.

So when teachers don't seem thrilled about your vacation plans consider that our experiences may not have all been positive ones.

I don't think that is very fair of those parents to ask you for the work with little to no notice.
We went in December and I spoke with both teachers and the vice-principle in September. If parents want to take their kids out of school then I think they must do it in a responsible way.

 

[Alderbrook]

I don't think that is very fair of those parents to ask you for the work with little to no notice.
We went in December and I spoke with both teachers and the vice-principle in September. If parents want to take their kids out of school then I think they must do it in a responsible way.

I agree, that's not fair to give no notice. My parents always gave tons of notice so the teacher had time to prepare.

I also agree, lots of kids miss school because they're sick, what's the difference? I was super sick as a kid & missed weeks at a time, didn't stop me from passing school. I always made up the missed work.

 

[Sheribo]

I have taken my kids out of school for vacation but the last time was overwhelming for my daughter. Getting classroom work ahead of time with proper notice is a courtesy that most teachers will accommodate. The tough part is the instructional time missed to teach the child HOW to do the work. When they're in elementary school, parents are usually able to teach them what they need to know to complete the missed assignments. As they get older, it gets much harder. It is not fair to ask the teacher to give up her lunch to catch up your child. It's extremely kind of them to offer but you should assume that you'll be taking on that job at home until the student is caught up.

All in all, it's a personal choice based on you and your child. We have some of the best memories from those vacations but no more.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Hey ...we are in the kawartha pine ridge board also and I got to say.....they really don't care.

This is my experience with the KPR board as well.
My DD and I have been going to Disney for a week every year since she was 14 (last Nov. was 2 weeks). And as long as they have a note and make up the work on their own time, it's never been a problem. We bribe a child in each of her classes (always a good friend) with a small trinket from Disney and they collect all the work she misses while we are away.

 

[DaniB]

Hey ...we are in the kawartha pine ridge board also and I got to say.....they really don't care.

Ohh, lets not get me started there!

We are thinking of pulling her out of KPR and going into another school for fall...

You're right though. The more I thought about it over the past couple of days, I don't think they will care.

 

[DaniB]

P. S. if your daughter is struggling with reading - the book I used for DS was Reading Rescue 123, recommended by the school and really worked for me to work with him at home.

Thanks! I'll look that up.

 

[DaniB]

I certainly don't want to "mix it up" in this thread but as a teacher of 26 years I thought I'd throw some of my experiences out for sharing. Maybe a perspective from the other "side" might be interesting.

Ten days ago, I was home sick (ill enough to miss five days) when I got a call from a parent. They were going to BC for two weeks and wanted me to get their son's homework together since they were leaving the next morning.

Then last week, on the last afternoon before our annual conference (one that is a two hour drive from our school), another parent comes in and wants a week's worth of homework because they were flying to Mexico in the morning.

Today I got a note from yet another parent to have a week's worth of work ready tomorrow morning because mom and dad are going to the Dominican Republic and their daughter is going to stay with grandma and won't be attending while they are away. Grandma lives nearby and as far as I can tell she could come to school. This girl already has 24 days missed this year so the new total will be 29. We've been in school for 115 days or so, well you can do the math there.

Add to all this the fact that I work in Alberta where we have high stakes testing in my grade and if the kids don't perform, we'll hear about it from central office.

So when teachers don't seem thrilled about your vacation plans consider that our experiences may not have all been positive ones.

I have to say that's pretty RUDE of the parents to give you last minute notice and EXPECT you to provide homework on the drop-of-the-hat!

I'm going to let the school know in June, and remind them again when school starts up. Since we're going to work on a lot of remedial homework at home over summer, and reading every day - I'm not going to ask for catch-up homework after-all. Especially if it's all review anyways in the first week or two.

Dani

 

[Cdn Gal]

 

[Channyn]

As a teacher, I always tell the families in my class to have a great time! I feel family time is very important and the experience of a vacation is fantastic. I teach elementary school and all my students have been able to get caught up. I am teaching grade 5 this year and have 2 students away right now on vacation. I asked them both to prepare a speech about their vacation. I have some work for them to do when they get back, and they can work on that at home. I do not give work ahead of time - as I don't always know how far we'll get when they are away.

Have fun!

 

[Sheribo]

This whole thread is making me smile. I wish my kids were still little!! They're teens now and high school/university isn't the time to miss class.

Have a wonderful time! I'm so envious.

 

[xipetotec]

Well we typically go on 10-day stays. So we take them out for a couple of days. Granted, it's not a whole week, but they've always taken it well as long as I warn them in advance.