BMS Attendance
Attendance and Reporting
BMS asks all parents/guardians to report why their student is absent.
Please call the Main Office at 207-443-8270 or email the following to report why your student is absent.
Reminder: absences not reported to the school are marked unexcused.
School Attendance
Each student needs to be at school on time and in his/her assigned home base when the attendance bell rings (7:30 A.M. on M, T, Th, F and 8:30 A.M. on Wednesday). We encourage students to arrive at school by 7:15 A.M. on M, T, Th, F and 8:15 A.M. on Wednesday. Students not in their assigned homebase classrooms are considered tardy and MUST obtain a pass from the office before being admitted to class. A note or an appointment slip, stating why the student was late, should be presented at this time to office staff.
Absence
When it is necessary for a student to be absent from school, a parent must call the school the day of an absence to excuse his/her child and a written note from a parent or guardian must be presented upon the student’s return to school. Such notes must clearly state the cause of the absence as well as the exact dates that the student was absent. A medical excuse written by a physician is required for medical absences exceeding 5 days.
Any student planning to be absent from school more than 2 consecutive days must obtain a Planned Absence Request form from the main office.
Truancy applies to those students who have completed grade 6 and have the equivalent of 10 full days of unexcused absences or 7 consecutive school days of unexcused absences during a school year. A student who is at least seven years old, but has not completed grade 6 is habitually truant if he or she has the equivalent of 7 full days or 5 consecutive days of unexcused absences during a school year.
Chronic absenteeism is commonly defined as missing 10% or more of enrolled school days for any reason. That is 18 days a year and only 2 days a month.