Attendance & After Care

Contact Student Life if your child is absent. Call 615-590-6037 or email.

Email Asst. to Student Life

Daily attendance is both a school and a state requirement, and the school must validate that students are not truant to grant course credits toward promotion to the next grade level and graduation requirements. Beyond legal requirements, regular class attendance is essential for student intellectual growth and managing the rigorous courses at JPII.

Excessive Absences

• At five (5) absences per class per semester (for any reason), the Student Life office will call the parent or guardian to inform them of the situation and reiterate attendance expectations.
• At seven (7) absences per class per semester (for any reason), the Dean of Students will notify the parent or guardian through email that the student is in danger of losing credit for the course, and a meeting with the Dean of Students may be warranted.
• At ten (10) or more absences per class per semester (for any reason), the administrative team will review the student’s information, and the parents will be notified of the decision regarding attendance consequences. Administrators may offer a buy-back alternative so the student may still earn credit.
• Students losing credit in a class due to attendance will remain in the class for the rest of the semester, and if the student is doing passing work, the student will receive “NC” instead of a failing grade.
• Extended illness or absence due to injury will be treated on an individual basis. Parents will be able to provide an explanation that includes proper documentation before the administrative team makes its final decision.

Unexcused Absences

If a student has an appointment with or diagnosis from a medical professional and brings documentation to school, the absence is excused. School trips, school-sponsored athletic contests, college visits (see below), and bereavement leave are also excused. All other absences are unexcused. The Administration realizes that other circumstances may arise where a student may need to be absent.  Parents / legal guardians will be allowed to excuse up to five (5) total absences per year for their student by providing a note (email) to the Student Life office.  Any further absences will be considered unexcused unless specifically approved by the Dean of Students and will be cause for a review by the Administration to determine the student's future at school.  

Student Life will consider additional circumstances on a case-by-case basis, e.g., a death in the family, a major family event, etc.  Please note that excused and unexcused absences count toward the total number of days a student is absent, and students who miss more than ten days per class per semester may lose credit for that class.

Absences During Exams

Absences during exams should only occur due to illness or extenuating circumstances.  Students missing exams for early travel or extended holidays will be required to take all their exams. To ensure student success, students may not take scheduled exams outside of the scheduled time unless one of the following occurs, and then only with the approval of the Principal: 

a) Death in the family,

b) Graduation of an immediate family member,

c) Illness (physician's note required)

Exam security, availability of personnel, as well as fairness to all students, requires adherence to the exam schedule. Family vacations do not qualify for rescheduling of exams. Students who must make up exams for reasons other than the three above will incur additional fees for exam administration and proctors. Students will make up exams for first-semester exams when they return for the second semester on the first Saturday. For second-semester exams, students will make up exams when they return.

School-Related Absences

Field trips for educational purposes enhance the learning process. For that reason, school-sponsored field trips, early dismissals, absences for athletic events, or other activities of rare circumstances that the school has pre-approved do not generally count toward days missed if the procedures below are correctly followed. If a student is not meeting their educational commitments in a class, the Administration reserves the right to veto this activity. Please note that if a student is academically ineligible, they are not permitted to travel or compete with their team or club for school-sponsored activities. Commitment to one's studies is a prerequisite for other activities. 

School Day Expectations

No student may leave the campus during the academic day without the permission of the Student Life office. Students who violate this policy are liable for suspension.

Students who drive to school may not return to their cars without permission from the Dean of Students or staff from the Student Life office during the academic day.

Students cannot enter the school building until 7:15 a.m. each morning. Students may not congregate in the parking lot but should enter the building as soon as they exit their cars.

High school students can have lunch and congregate in the courtyard directly in front of the school. All other outside areas of the campus are off-limits for students from 7:55 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. unless accompanied by faculty.

Definition of Tardy vs. Absence

An absence is defined as missing an entire day of school OR arriving after 11:00 a.m. on a given day. Tardy is arriving after 7:55 a.m. and but before 11:00 a.m. OR arriving late to the start of any class throughout the day.

Tardiness Procedure

If a tardy is due to a doctor's appointment, we require that students bring a note from the doctor to excuse a tardy. Students tardy for any other reason will be considered tardy unexcused and be issued a point. Parents may excuse up to three (3) tardies per year for their student with a tardy note (can also be a call or email).

Students arriving at school any time after 7:55 a.m. must check in with Student Life; they must have a note before going to class. Students not in their assigned location by 7:55 a.m. will be marked tardy unexcused and issued a point unless they present a physician’s note to the Student Life office the following day. Students will receive a Point for each unexcused tardy.

Any student who needs to leave school during the academic day for an appointment must submit a note to the Student Life office from the parent/legal guardian explaining the reason for early dismissal by 7:55 a.m. that day. Students should report to Student Life or the front office to sign out at the appointed dismissal time. If the student is leaving for a medical or dental appointment, they must bring a note from the healthcare provider the next day to account for the absence.

Students will not be dismissed from school during Mass. If a student needs to be dismissed from school during Mass time, the parent/legal guardian must ensure the student is dismissed before Mass begins. School personnel will not disrupt Mass to locate the student. Please refer to the daily schedule for Mass times.

If a student faces an illness during the school day, they must first see the nurse before leaving school. In balancing the health needs of students and prioritizing students’ class attendance, the school nurse must sign off on a student leaving school during the school day. If the issue relates to mental health, e.g., anxiety attacks, depression, self-harm, etc., the student should see a counselor before being signed out to leave during the school day.

Students missing school due to familial obligations, e.g., a sibling's graduation, a family wedding, etc., must seek prior approval for the absence/early dismissal at least 24 hours before the dismissal.

Failure to present proper documentation or gain prior approval for absences may result in Student Life consequences ranging from Loss of Privileges (LOPed), Saturday school, or being placed on the Academic Probation list, depending on the frequency and severity of the situation.

All middle school students who are not participating in an after-school club or sport are required to be picked up by 3:30 p.m. each day. Any middle school students not picked up by 3:30 p.m. and not involved in an after-school club or sport must report to the dining hall for after-school care. From 3:30-5:30 p.m. Monday -Thursday and until 4 p.m. on Friday, a faculty member will supervise students, allowing them to complete homework, prepare for upcoming tests, or simply unwind after school.   

We will have two faculty members present until 4:30 allowing for students to have the chance to stay in the dining hall or to go outside.  At 4:30 each day all students who are still on campus will remain in the dining hall until they are picked up.  Parents picking their children up from aftercare will use the faculty parking lot.  

Students who want to attend after-school athletic events must bring a parent permission note to attend these home athletic events. Parents should send an email to middleschoolaftercare@jp2prep.org with permission for their child to attend.  Students attending athletic events will not have direct adult supervision. Inappropriate behavior during the sporting event will result in loss of the privilege of being able to check out of aftercare for future events.  Aftercare  closes at 5:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 4:00 p.m. on Fridays. In all cases, students should be picked up before this time.

Students are permitted to stay on campus after school if they are involved in a school-sponsored activity, are waiting for a bus, or studying in the CIE (Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship). The CIE closes at 5:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 4:00 p.m. on Fridays. Students must leave campus if they are not participating in a school-sponsored activity.

Juniors and seniors may take two college visit days per year that do not count toward the absence policy. The School, however, encourages families to visit colleges during school breaks. Documentation of the visit must be provided to the Student Life office upon return.

Students must be in class no later than 11:00 a.m. to participate in an athletic practice or game. The only exception to this rule is if the student brings in an official medical note from their physician, dentist, or medical provider. Students arriving from a medical appointment must be in school before noon to be eligible to participate in a game or practice.