Have to Cancel ... Am in Tears

[allaboutmm]

My vote take them out of school.

 

[dgaston]

Well said, livingthedream!

 

[gigi1313]

perhaps you could switch your dates around a smidge or maybe come home a day sooner so they'd miss a little less school? what about going before Christmas so the days missed are at the end of a semester instead of the beginning? of course, you could do what i'd do... PRAY FOR SNOW! (so that school's closed anyway)

good luck whatever you decide...

 

[sbpuckett]

OK, I agree with everyone else... but... since your senior student doesn't want to miss I would also wait to cancel and do some talking first. These are some things i would consider before making a final decision:

1. Why are your children hesitant about missing school? Find out their reasons and address them. As a senior we had a policy about skippiing exams if you missed no school or something like only 2 days. This might be a big deal to your son.

2. Once school starts go in and personally discuss this with each of your child's teachers that they will have at that time. find out what the individual teachers think. I would include your child in these meetings if at all possible b/c this would help alleviate their worries if the teachers don't find it a big deal.

As a former HS English teacher (AP at that) I would not have had an issue if I was warned far enough ahead of time. If given forwarning most teachers will put the work together ahead of time and give the students time to make up any tests and such. Who knows, they might even be able to get some extra credit for completing extra fun assignments at Disney.

Good luck and I hope a lot of pixie dust comes your way!

 

[paintnolish]

If the kids are not having any problems in school, I would take them out. as kids, we went to WDW every year and missed a week of school. None of us turned into delinquents. Also, we had to make a sudden move this summer. The new school dist we are in starts earlier than our previous. Now, under ordinary circumstances, I would not let my kids miss the first 2 full days of school, but we are this time. I have discussed it with the teachers, and although I feel guilty about, we are still going as planned!

 

[JRawkSteady]

Personally I think the kids show more sense here then a lot of posters....

Wow, harsh...

No one's comparing high school to 1st grade here. I've been out of school sick and/or on vacation when I was in high school (back in the day) many times and never had a problem catching up. Teachers do not need to help...that's what textbooks are for. Get the "notes" if there are any for the last few days from a friend...

However, OP, if the kids don't want to go, that's up to them. But I wouldn't cancel my trip just because the school decided to change their dates at the last minute.

 

[Markstudy]

So far it looks like the vote is 20 to 1

 

[welovedis]

So sorry to hear that your plans may be waylaid at this point. I know how frustrating it can be to plan & plan for something & have to change it when you think things are all set.

I guess I'll be one of the dissenters and say that if your own children think they don't want to miss those 4 days, then perhaps postponing the trip would be better in the long run. Since the new semester would be starting that usually means different teachers (in some cases) for the new classes, so it would be more difficult to speak with someone in the near future unless your children's high school already has the class assignments for those.

Also, while I agree that waiting until June seems like a long time and would put you in another season as far as rates go, it might be worth it for the peace of mind for both you & your children. They are the ones who are going to have pick up the pieces if they miss out those 4 days. If your school district is anything like ours, they DO treat the upper levels HS students like college students, they have to do the work, ASK for the make-up work (if possible), get their own notes and lecture materials if school is missed for a non-excused absence. I don't have any idea if yours is the same.

Sorry if it isn't the popular answer, but as someone who has seen my nieces & nephews struggle when they spent time out of HS classes, it is what I would do in your situation.

And yes, BTW, I do pull my son out of elementary school for trips. But once he gets older OR says that he can't do the makeup work it will cease.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I missed an entire 2 month period of my senior year being really sick, so 4 days isn't too bad If the kids are starting new classes with the new semester, maybe they could talk to the new teachers a few days before Christmas break, explain the situation, and see if they could get the sylabus/any important info ahead of time, or set up a time to meet with the teacher when they get back- you can catch up on a lot of missed info in a quick 10 minute meeting with the teacher.

Maybe you could cut the trip a day short so they're only missing 3 days? Not a huge difference, but maybe enough to make everyone feel better about it? Not sure where you live, but here our winter break is often extended anywhere from a day to more than a week because of crazy snow, so it would be a shame to skip the trip only to have school closed due to weather anyway!

I think it's GREAT that your kids care enough about school to worry missing!! Sounds like they're very responsible! Most kids would just be happy to miss school, no worries about what they might miss.

Hope you find a way to work things out!

If you do end up having to reschedule, what about just pushing the trip a couple of weeks later? Still the low January crowds, but they wouldn't be missing that important semester transitional week?

 

[ransom]

If I were in your situation, I'd talk to the school principal about the situation. Certainly they should be understanding. You tried to plan it around the school year, then they changed the schedule, and now you're stuck.

There has to be a way around it. When I had surgery during my high school years, my teachers helped me plan it out in advance so I didn't fall behind. There's no reason I can see that the same couldn't be done for your children now.

Best wishes!

 

[Markstudy]

that if your own children think they don't want to miss those 4 days, then perhaps postponing the trip would be better in the long run. QUOTE]

I thought that might be a good reason to stay home.

But then I remembered when I was a kid, I always wanted to be with my friends until my parents dragged me to Disney, then I was glad they did!

My dad dragged me away from my friend many summers also to go to camp.
You all know kids...
"I don't want to go to camp!"

then two days later...
"I don't want to come home"

 

[I Love Pluto]

You didn't change the calendar, the school did. Normally, I would say to use the summer months for vacation so that there is no conflict with school. However, you made your plans before the calendar was changed.

I would suggest allowing the family to vote. This way, each person is responsible for the decision. If worse comes to worse, I'll see you at Disney in July. That's what we do each year so that there are no conflicts with school.

Good luck in whatever decision you make.

 

[ssleblanc]

Personally I think the kids show more sense here then a lot of posters....

Wow, harsh...

No one's comparing high school to 1st grade here. I've been out of school sick and/or on vacation when I was in high school (back in the day) many times and never had a problem catching up. Teachers do not need to help...that's what textbooks are for. Get the "notes" if there are any for the last few days from a friend...

However, OP, if the kids don't want to go, that's up to them. But I wouldn't cancel my trip just because the school decided to change their dates at the last minute.

I agree that if the kids don't want to miss, than that changes my opinion. I also agree with JRawkSteady that I found the post she referred to as being harsh, I do have a lot of sense, and my opinion came not just from being the mother of two elementary school kids who are missing 4 days of school (with strong blessings from their school), but also as the daughter of two teachers, and the wife of a college professor. I agree that missing 4 days of high school is much different than missing 4 days of elementary school. But even at the college level I see a LOT of kids miss 4 days in a row (of college work anatomy/physiology - and I "see" it because I maintain spreadsheets for my husband with the rolls for him) - and still make A's & B's in their classes. If it is habitual, they fail, sure. But for conscience students, missing even 4 days of college work can be made up. It isn't unheard of, and while education is extremely important in my family (I'm still paying for my husband's law school, and nueroscience PhD) - shared family time and life lessons learned outside of school is also important. There can be a balance.

 

[BYC]

I would not cancel. My kids are missing a full week (both are in high school). They are decent students. We really feel they will do OK. We only vacation once every 6 years or so, so I am not feeling guilty. If your kids were ill for 4 days, they would manage, wouldn't they? I hope you haven't canceled yet....before you give it plenty of thought.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and advice. But when I asked my two about missing those four days of school they were both hesitant about doing it. As much as they want to go on the trip, they said those days would be difficult to have to miss, since they're the start of brand-new classes in the new semester, when they receive lots of important info. I was looking at the school year for any weeks other than Easter where they might have at least two days off, and that way they'd only have to miss three days, but there aren't any. My son is a senior so this year is very important to him. Oh, what to do, what to do. But thanks again to all of you for your support. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome to my world! If you look at my past trips, you'll see that they took place the first week of December. My oldest going into high school put a stop to that.

The problem isn't so much that they miss the school (in their eyes), it's that if they miss more than three days per semester, they have to take their finals. That's a fate worse than death for a highschooler.

You want to hear something worse? My youngest daughter (my step-daughter), attends another school district. To pull her out, they only get 50% of whatever grade that they make on their make-up work. Including any major tests. It doesn't take much to figure out that even if she made all 100's on everything, she'd get F's on all of her work. This is elementary school!

They're getting smarter and smarter on achieving ways to keep them in attendance.

 

[MINNIE OF TWO MICE]

I Agree With Everyone Else. Take Them Out!!! It Is Christmas Break Which Everyone Needs . Not To Mention The Fact, We Only Have Our Precious Children With Us For Family Vacations For A Short While. Next Thing You Know They Are In College. Go To The Greatest Place On Earth With Your Kids. I Pray All Goes Well With Your Situation.

 

[Corinne]

While I can completely understand your frustration, there is no way I could take my kids out of school. I have a son in college and another who is in high school. It is not just classes and teachers you have to consider. If your kids play varsity sports, they cannot just take a week off. At least not where we live. Besides, my boys would never want to miss that much school even for WDW. When they were younger, yes, I would agree but HS is very different. Just my .02.

 

[taxmom04]

I agree with the others! Take them out!!
Or what about the week before: Dec. 26-31
Steph-

 

[ssleblanc]

You want to hear something worse? My youngest daughter (my step-daughter), attends another school district. To pull her out, they only get 50% of whatever grade that they make on their make-up work. Including any major tests. It doesn't take much to figure out that even if she made all 100's on everything, she'd get F's on all of her work. This is elementary school!

They're getting smarter and smarter on achieving ways to keep them in attendance.

WOW!! That's just crazy. Do they do that if the child misses a week because they got the flu? Make up work is make up work. And on a school-wide level. (My husband has given only partial credit to students who habitually skipped out on class, missed tests, neglected homework assignments/etc - but it was at the professor level and only for habitual offenders). (Before anyone flames me - I'm not comparing a child getting the flu to someone who misses school for Disney).

I think my school is also viewing the situation in our school district lightly this year. Our school lost approximately 1/2 of it's students when so many people were displaced or had their homes destroyed. We missed 22 days of the school year last year, though they were able to make it up without using emergency days or teaching into the summer. The severly reduced student/teacher ratio meant highly individualized attention, and they made it through the material in record speed. Thankfully, the school system did not lay off teachers because of the reduced enrollment after the hurricane hit our city. As the principal told me yesterday, our kids have been through so much in the last year (my kids lost most of their belongings, and are still living in a FEMA trailer in our front yard, many of their friends are gone, and they were unfortunately exposed to much more than I would have like when the adults were all glued to 24 hour news coverage) ... that she said it is important for us to do this for our kids. However, I realize that our situation is a little different in that regards too, and it made our school system more lenient.

 

[mandy200587]

take them out. You had made these plans before the change happened and usually the teachers are understanding and will work with you. Just talk to the principal and explain the whole situation. I know that when I was in hs, you had to take finals no matter if you missed days or not. I say sit down and talk with the principal and that. You get the flu you could miss more than that and if they are seniors, use to be that the second semester never counted at my school till recently. But talk to the teachers and principal and find a compromise.