Letter to school...

[honeybee8200]

It has been a few months back but I remember someone posting a link or something to a letter that you can print out, sign, add your personalization to and give to the school in order for a kid to be able to get out of school to go to WDW.

My DD will only be in Kindergarten or 1st grade at our trip and the school already said that it wouldn't be a problem (small town). But I still have to go through the process.

If someone can post this I would be greatly appreciative.

 

[mjkacmom]

I've read the letter you're referring to, and there is NO way I'd send it to school!

 

[Fabinva]

Like previous poster there is no way I'd sending that letter to school. I plan to email my kid's teachers (that's how we communicate now) and let them know that we are taking a vacation and the dates, done that in the past without problems and really they do not need to know details.

 

[daleswife]

the only letter I know about is on mouseforless. Under for the kids or something like that. Hope that helps.

 

[lulugirl]

I've read the letter you're referring to, and there is NO way I'd send it to school!

I agree, that letter is absurd.
I just e-mail the teacher ahead of time and tell them the dates my child will be out. I've never had a problem.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

I agree, that letter is absurd.
I just e-mail the teacher ahead of time and tell them the dates my child will be out. I've never had a problem.

Well now curiosity is just killing me. Was the letter a joke or something? Now I want to see it

 

[lawone]

Here is the letter. I wouldn't use it, either!!!

School Excuse Sample Letter

DATE:

TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

* Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.

* American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.

* Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.

* Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.

* Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]

 

[lulugirl]

Well now curiosity is just killing me. Was the letter a joke or something? Now I want to see it

I'm sure it's a joke in the teacher's lounge
....but some parents take it seriously

 

[missj1975]

I'm sure it's a joke in the teacher's lounge
....but some parents take it seriously

Yeah I agree, I think the letter was intended as a joke but the humor flew over some parent's heads and they thought the letter was a good idea.

I personally don't believe you have to explain your vacation to the school. Just say the dates you will be gone and leave it at that.

 

[angelat]

I have seen and posted this letter for others to see. While I didn't use the letter, I did have to use some of the information in it for my son's school paperwork. His school has a form you MUST fill out 2 weeks ahead of the trip. If you want the trip to be excused it is required to be educational. With that said the letter that I have (which may be a little different then the one posted above) has some good info on what can be considered educational at WDW. I'm keeping it on hand for the next trip too. Too many unexcused absences and I'm the one who gets fined from the school district/court!!

My advice is to send a short note to the teacher either on paper or via email to let them know you are going and request any forms you may need to fill out from the school. Then take it from there as far as what they want from you. I'm amazed at the hoops that we have to jump through and then other people on here say that they just write a note to say they are going and it's fine with their kids' schools.

 

[mom2meiko]

while this letter may have been posted as a joke, i can actually see how it could be helpful in some circumstance. before you start laughing at me or rolling your eyes - let me explain.

my sister actually had to sign a contract when her kids entered elementary school (yes - public) agreeing that she would not take them out of school for anything other than illness, family emergencies, etc. i have been trying for several years now to convince her that i have an emergency in florida that only the boys can help me with (visiting mickey of course!) but it hasn't worked.

my point is - i could actually see how something with that ridiculous amount of detail could possibly help sway the school officials to let you off the hook. not saying it's a sure thing, but it might be better than saying "we want to go and we don't want to deal with the crowds" which is probably what i will be saying when my dd enters elementary school.

 

[LovinPooh]

My DS12 is in middle school. I was thinking of sending a note to each one of his teachers telling them he would be out for 6 days and any work would be appreciated and I will help all I can to get him caught up on our return. Does that sound okay. I plan on just going into the school office and telling the secretary my kids would be out. But thought it would be common courtesy to tell his teachers personally????

 

[tzolkin]

If your school doesn't have a big process for a child to miss school, I wouldn't send a detailed explanitory letter.

This is what we have done... Told the teacher well in advance that DD would be missing school for our trip, I met with the teacher about a week before to give them the details of when we would be gone and to discuss what they would like DD to do for homework, then after we returned I sent a note to the school that simply stated "DD was absent xday-yday because we were out of town."

Her absences were considered unexcused, but we haven't had any problems. Just check the school policy before making your plans.

 

[ladulce]

I like the letter! LOL! I am, of course, over stated, but, I feel like I need the school to realize that I am not just running through a "Six Flags" with the kids. I even told my eldest's teacher that she will be doing a report on one of the Epcot countries on our way back. LOL.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Our school district has a form letter to use. It qualifies your trip as an excused abscence. If it's not approved ahead of time, the days missed could be considered unexcused. That's not really a problem if you don't miss alot of other days. But if you take a week for Disney, then your child get the flu you could find yourself in front of the school board begging for mercy. The form has to be approved by the child's teacher and then the principal..the teacher signs off that all work was made up for the days missed, then also gives a small project to do during. This year, my 3rd grader had to journal every day about her trip, focusing on "small moments" instead of laundry listing the events of the day. My 1st grader made a poster to share with his class w/ drawings and photos of Disney. The kids actually had a great time doing it, and I'll save the projects as great momentos of our trip.

 

[mjkacmom]

My DS12 is in middle school. I was thinking of sending a note to each one of his teachers telling them he would be out for 6 days and any work would be appreciated and I will help all I can to get him caught up on our return. Does that sound okay. I plan on just going into the school office and telling the secretary my kids would be out. But thought it would be common courtesy to tell his teachers personally????

I personally contacted all of my kids' teachers when I took them out, in elementary school. Dd12 would be hysterical if I told her I was going to take her out for a week - she'd never be able to make up the work. She still hasn't gotten over the day I took them out this year to go to Great Wolf Lodge!

 

[honeybee8200]

Thanks for posting that.

I don't plan on just sending it first, but if they want more then just "excuse DD from xday-yday" then I can have some good points to use.

I remember when I was in Elementary School my Mom had to write a letter kind of the same way stating what was so educational about going to the Cherokee Reservation. (This was before the Casino days).

So I just wanted to have this just in case. I'm sure that the fellow Dis'sers would help anyways if I need some educational points of WDW.

 

[DRS_Are_Best]

This whole thing to me is just UNBELIEVABLE! Travel is educational and vacations are necessary. I mean, I know my kids aren't old enough to NEED excused absences (my eldest is in nursery school and the other 2 are too young to attend THAT), but still, dh and I are well educated and are 100% confident that our kids will not fall significantly behind in school while we take a family vacation.

The letter is a great LOL, but the fact that anything LIKE this is needed in the first place -- parents should talk to the teacher(s) to learn what will be missed and determine the best ways to make sure that the kid(s) don't fall behind. That should suffice!

I guess I'm just in a rotten mood tonight -- this is my second venting post.....

 

[momofrrr]

As the parent you are certainly free to do as you wish but it has been my experience that at the elementary level it is not such a big deal, just get prior approval. Most school districts have a certain number of days that can be excused at the principals discretion. The issues could come up on the secondary level where credits are required to graduate. Credit could not be awarded for a class if they do not meet state attendance requirements. I am an attendance clerk in a public school and it can be and has been an issue. Like someone above said, you could find yourself in front of the school board begging for mercy.

95 off property
99 Ft Wilderness
01 Ft Wilderness
03 All Star Movies
05 PO French Quarter
07 PO Riverside
09 Not sure yet

 

[CountyMounty]

While the letter may seem kind of funny to most of us, I do not think it is a joke. Every area and school is different in what is required for absences. Here in my very rural area you just talk to the teachers and/or principal and make the appropriate arrangements for your child to make up for what they miss, there is no formal process do go through. In some places, as others have posted, there are specific things required to get an approved absence one of which may be showing that there will be some type of educational aspect to the trip. One person mentioned there child doing a report of some sort on their trip, I have known of some children around here who have done that as well, especially if they do something (such as visit a country in Epcot) that falls into something they are learning in class at that time. Of course you dont really need a schools approval to do what you wish with YOUR kids but the school certainly can hold unexcused absences against your child. Afterall there are X number of days they must attend school. I dont know but I'm sure there are some places that are very strict on unexcused absences. Me personally I would have no problem taking a younger child out of school for a few days, just make sure they stay caught up.