Attendance

As regular attendance is highly correlated with academic success, Murdoch MacKay uses the following procedures to support student learning:

· Teacher advisors will contact a parent/guardian at a third absence in a course.
· On a sixth absence, a letter is mailed home.
· On reaching eight absences in a course, teacher advisors will again contact parents/guardians.
· On the ninth absence, another letter will be mailed home.
· On an 11th absence, teacher advisors will notify administration.
· Administration will contact the student and parent/guardian, and the student may be withdrawn from class and/or school.
· Students missing several days of school due to illness must produce a doctor's certificate.

For record-keeping purposes, absences will be categorized as follows:

· Au – unexplained (truancy)
· Ae – explained (note and/or telephone call from parents)
· E – excused (school-sponsored event)

Students are allowed to miss 10 classes without facing withdrawal. The 10 absences allowed include explained and/or unexplained absences. Excused absences are not counted, as they are considered school activities.

Extended School Absence

Extended absence is discouraged, as it affects school performance. Therefore, we encourage families to vacation during regular school break times. Students who need to be absent from class for an extended time must obtain a form available at the office entitled “Request to be Absent from Class.” The form must be signed by all subject teachers and approved by the principal. Students requesting special leave must have a good record of attendance.

Early Leaving

If you must leave before or during a regularly scheduled class, you must first obtain an early leaving slip from the office. Early leaving slips are given when the office has received a telephone call from a parent or guardian. This slip must be signed by office staff and given to your teacher before you are released from class.

FIPPA Regulations

Written permission from any student who reaches the age of majority during the school year is necessary prior to the release of information on their school progress. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) precludes schools from disclosing information on a child who has reached the age of majority.

Students and parents of students who will reach the age of majority during the school year will be contacted in the month of the student's birthday. Students must sign a waiver form authorizing the school to continue to contact parents with information about academic progress, attendance, and behaviour. Failure to sign the waver form results in restricted access to the information. (For example, teachers may not contact parents directly with academic concerns unless the student has waived the privacy restrictions in writing.)

Plagiarism

Plagiarism—an academic crime—is the representation of someone else’s ideas, writings, drawings, inventions, etc., as one’s own.

Penalties

Whether plagiarism is intentional or unintentional, penalties for plagiarism exist. Penalties in high school may include receiving a zero on the assignment in question, removal from the course and/or suspension from school.

Registration Fee Payment

A $45 registration fee is to be paid each year when a student is registered. Payments are given to the teacher advisors and are due on the first day of school. Adult students returning to school will be assessed $25 (no yearbook issued). Cheques are to be made payable to Murdoch MacKay Collegiate.

The student fee entitles you to a yearbook and a student card. The student card will identify you as a MMCI student, so that you may use the MMCI library and computer labs, as well as be admitted to movies, school dances, sporting events, and other activities at a reduced-admission price.