letter for teacher

[sherreis]

DH sent an email to the middle school principal on Wednesday and we still haven't gotten a response. DS13 is in 7th grade and get's mostly As on his report card and does not routinely miss a lot of school. DH only said that DS would be missing school 10/16-10/21 and 1/2 day on 10/15 for a family vacation to DW to celebrate DH being 1 yr cancer free (going for the gullible factor) and for him not to say anything to DS because the trip was a surprise. Still waiting for an answer.

After I saw this thread, I called DH and reminded him to call the elementary school principal and let her know. Hopefully, she won't be a problem either.


OP- Thanks for the reminder.

 

[love2driveinct]

Funny, I just wrote my letters last night...

"Mickey" will not be in school for the week of October 6-10th. I understand that he will miss a great deal of schoolwork during this time, and he is more than willing to make it up. Anything you would like to send home beforehand would be greatly appreciated, so he can be working on it before he returns to school. However, I do understand that this is extra work for you, so it may not be possible. Either way, we are grateful for whatever you can do to help him out. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns or questions at 555-XXXX or xxx@xxx.net if that's easier. Thanks.

One's in 5th grade and one's in 2nd. They gave their teachers the letters today and both teachers said thank you for the advance notice and they would work on putting something together over the weekend.

We have a no-excuses policy in our schools, so these will be unexcused absences that we'll just have to live with. My kiddos are generally healthy and very good students, though, so I doubt it will have a lasting effect on their education.

 

[love2driveinct]

Okay, just to clarify, I didn't mean anything by saying my e-mail address was triple X @ triple X -- no hidden meanings intended! LOL

 

[SLK1]

Dear Teacher,

Our family is going to have FUN for a week in Florida. We will bring you back a nice souvenir.

From,
Our Family

Should work just great!

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Here's our letter for the current, autocratic, impossible to deal with school system:

Dear Totalitarian Blowhards:

Please excuse my daughters for being absent the last five days. They were ill.


Before the change in administration, I would go and talk to my kids' teachers about a month beforehand, because a face to face talk is always better received than an impersonal email. Also, I used to be at the school all the time volunteering and doing PTA stuff, so they knew me. My kids are both straight A students in the gifted classes, so really, there's no argument they could lob at me that would convince me that a Disney trip is doing them any academic harm.

Killing my pocketbook, yes, their scholarly future, nuh uh.

 

[koalababy]

If I was a teacher and received this letter, I would require this student to present a full report on each and every thing listed. You might want to be careful with that.

 

[J3nn78]

I am a teacher. If I got that letter I would be laughing all the way to the teachers room with it.
Let me first say that I do not have a problem with a family taking a week for Disney World. I am doing it myself in November-though with a long weekend I am only taking 3 days off.
I just think trying to sugar coat it with Education BS is funny. Give me a break. Yes, there are many educational things at Disney World and lots to learn from, but it is not the reason for the trip and it will not replace what will be missed in school.

Just say when you will be gone and ask for any work that will be missed. I usually limit the work I send with my students and ask for a daily journal entry for each day of missed school.

 

[ilisao]

I'm embarrassed just reading that letter. Teachers aren't stupid. They can see right through that bs. If I were a teacher, I'd want to ask the parent if they are so concerned about their kids learning about different cultures, why aren't they visiting another country? If they want their kid to learn about space, why aren't they visiting Kennedy Space Center? If they really want their kid to learn about history, why aren't they going to Washington, DC (where they can also learn far more about space than on Mission Space)?

Any teacher worth their degree would call bs on that letter.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

That letter is a hoot. It would be on our bulletin board.
Last year my kids missed the day before spring break. The note I sent said "(child's name) will miss the day before spring break. It saved me $300 to fly out a day early. Please send home any work she may need to make up. Thanks."
Why lie? This year they will miss the first day back--same reason. My own school is off that day. But I would never lie and say they were sick. And I hope I never deal with obnoxious, "we pay your salary" parents who think we are "totalitarian blowhards".
Robin M.

 

[mjkacmom]

That letter is hysterical, a parody! I sent teachers an email saying when the kids would be out, and if they could give them some work to do on the plane, great, and if not, they'd make it up when they got back. I was surprising the kids, so I had to sneak into school to get their work.

 

[churchpilot]

We have a no-excuses policy in our schools, so these will be unexcused absences that we'll just have to live with. My kiddos are generally healthy and very good students, though, so I doubt it will have a lasting effect on their education.

I doubt it will have a lasting effect on their education either, but I bet it will have a lasting effect on their happiness---they are going to DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a blast!

 

[Aristomommy]

That sample letter is too much detail and unless you plan on focusing that much on educational opportunities, I would keep the detail to a minimum.

DD9 missed 5 days in 3rd grade and 3 days in 4th grade. Each time I informed the teacher and had to fill out an excused absence form with the school. I just put "family function" as the reason. Each time DD got the missed school work after the fact, which was fine. In 4th grade she presented to the class her experience at the veterinary exhibit at Animal Kingdom. She saw a turtle being intubated and x-ray'd.

 

[disneyjunkie]

My kids have always been in private school, so I don't know about public ones. But, honestly, the teachers don't care where you're going! I'd let them know, short and to the point, that you will be gone X days.

Is it really their business WHY the kids will be gone? If it's the public school, what are they going to do? Arrest you? For goodness sake, many of us have to vacation at different times. If the child was sick, do they REALLY need a doctors note? My kids' old Catholic school said they did when they were sick, but I never sent a note even from me when they had been absent. And, when we missed the last week of school (yes we were in WDW) one year, I just called them in sick every day.

I guess my point is, you are the ones paying the salaries. It is up to you what you do with your kids. Just don't give more information than necessary. Do what you want - it's your life, not the teachers.

My son has attended both public and private schools (currently attending a Catholic high school). They have all had the same policy about attendance. If you pull your kid out of school for vacation, the days are marked unexcused. I you have a certain number of unexcused days, you fail the class or risk being held back.

No one gives a hoot about how much taxes or tuition you pay. The rules are in place for everyone. The schools can't stop you from pulling your child out for vacation, but you will have to deal with the consequences.

 

[Green Tea]

I actually just used that letter this morning and got the prior approval that we needed. I changed a few things, but not much. It probably depends on your school system and what grade your kids are in. Our school system has some very strict rules and are only allowed 3 absences each semester. Approval will not be given for just a vacation. While students are absent, they must receive educational instruction equal to what they would receive in school. Getting our high schooler approval was a bear.

Even when we come back we have to fill out some more forms to get the absences as excused.

Amy

I kind of figure they are my kids, and I am either going to take them out of school, or I'm not. I can not imagine using that letter to try to convince my child's high school that this is anything other than what it is....A trip to Disney World. Would you not take them if it was unexcused? Would you take them regardless? Decide that up front, but don't try to call a trip to Disney World something akin to taking them to abroad to visit monuments and the cradles of civilization.

I HOPE my kid's high school teachers are smart enough to recognize a load of cr*p when they see it. That is kind of like the parental "my dog ate my homework" excuse.

 

[leebee]

Yeah, that letter's something else! If (student) is so busy being educated during the trip, how will s/he POSSIBLY have time to do homework also??

We used to take DD15 out of school to go to WDW, telling the teachers when she'd be gone, where we were going, and asking for the anticipated class and homework assignments for her absence. Usually teachers just said, "keep a daily journal". Of course, given the WDW plan, the journal was usually written on the plane during the trip home! The last time we took DD out of school was in 6th grade. No argument from the teachers, but SO MUCH WORK to take along with us. DD did it, and when she got back to school the class wasn't anywhere close to what DD had accomplished. Nice to have a couple of weeks with almost no homework, but it sure put a cramp in our trip.

We don't take DD out of school any more to go to WDW. She was sick and missed 7 days of school in late September of 8th grade, and it took her until Thanksgiving to get all of the work made up (and yes, she often skipped after-school lessons and activities to work on the make-up work). We came to realize that, for as much fun as a Disney trip is, it's a real hassle and drag to have to do homework each night when you are tired from WDW, to have to cram every "free" second with the work you need to do. Regardless of whether or not we think it's justified, the school sets up a series of hoops through which DD is required to jump, our opinions notwithstanding. She is the one who bears the brunt of our decisions and has to do the work, or suffer the consequences. We decided it's just not fair to her anymore, so we put up with the heat and crowds of June and August, or the crowds of February and April. Less touring, but more fun and more relaxing than coming back to a hotel and a pile of schoolwork.

 

[michael's mom]

How old is/are your child/ren? I am a gr. 1 teacher and in my school, parents just write a note to the teacher (which we send down to the office) saying that they will be out of school for a family vacation. They ask if there is any work that the child can take with them. Our policy is to not send work with the child. It is difficult to tell where we will be exactly in our schedule. I always tell my student's parents that they should keep a journal of the daily events, read EVERY DAY, and play some math games.

As a teacher, I do believe it is important for children not to miss too much school, esp. once they get into the standardized testing ages, however, with the family structures as they are (two working parents) kids don't get to spend enough time with their families and these vacations are very important. There isn't much that they will miss that is more important than being with family. They will be able to catch up with a little help from you and the teacher.

Most importantly though, I agree with some previous posts that that letter is bogus. Teachers don't have time to read through all of that. Just keep it short and sweet.

Dear Teacher,
My son/daughter will be out of school from (dates) for a family vacation. Please advise me on any work that he/she can do to keep caught up on his/her studies.

Sincerely,

 

[michael's mom]

My kids have always been in private school, so I don't know about public ones. But, honestly, the teachers don't care where you're going! I'd let them know, short and to the point, that you will be gone X days.

Is it really their business WHY the kids will be gone? If it's the public school, what are they going to do? Arrest you? For goodness sake, many of us have to vacation at different times. If the child was sick, do they REALLY need a doctors note? My kids' old Catholic school said they did when they were sick, but I never sent a note even from me when they had been absent. And, when we missed the last week of school (yes we were in WDW) one year, I just called them in sick every day.

I guess my point is, you are the ones paying the salaries. It is up to you what you do with your kids. Just don't give more information than necessary. Do what you want - it's your life, not the teachers.

Dear HappyMom,
I have to say, as a teacher, I am completely offended by your views of public school teacher. First off, we do care when kids miss school because we care about them. If too much school is missed, they fall behind and suffer because of it. Secondly, you can be taken to court if your child misses too many days of school (even elementary school). It is the law to send your child to school and too many unexcused absences can lead to retention depending on age of child. And as far as paying my salary...I don't see your signature at the bottom of my check! That is just plain old arrogance!


I agree that a letter should be short and too the point, but not for any of your reasons.

 

[Dizisfun]

Don't over think the situation. Have a good time. The memories your children take back home will be priceless and can not be taught in any class room. A Disney World vacation should be a requirement for graduation.