Christian Schools Calgary: AKCS Principal Points

Principal Points

On Backpacks & Attendance

Backpacks: How much weight is your child carrying? The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that a child’s backpack should not exceed 10-20% of their body weight. Other experts suggest 15% should be the maximum. With children varying in size radically at any grade level, it isn’t possible to make a perfect match for everyone, of course, but you may wish to keep an eye on your child (and their luggage!) to make sure they are OK.

Studies indicate that our children are carrying far more weight around than they used to. Forty years ago, for example, the average textbook weighed two pounds. Now, with more pictures and diagrams on glossy stock, they may weigh as much as five pounds. (A sample of AKCS texts in grades 6-12 ranged from 1-4 lbs. with an average of 2.6 lbs.) Add a few subjects together, however, and it is easy to get a heavy pack.

We are fortunate that our children carpool and so very few actually walk far with their packs, so this is likely not a major concern. On the other hand, we know of students who routinely put all of their books and binders in their packs before they go home (so they won’t forget something!) If you have concerns about the weight they are carrying, it might be worth having a chat about their organizational skills! For our part, we will continue to monitor the homework assignments to make sure that we are assigning reasonable amounts. In fact, our annual survey is enclosed.

Where Have All the Children Gone? During the month of October, especially around Thanksgiving, it seems we have had an unusual number of children absent from school for family vacations. While we understand that some of this is truly unavoidable, it is very disruptive to a child’s education, and it puts a needless burden on our teachers.

On any given day there will already be numerous children absent due to sickness. Teachers are expected to do all they can to help these students catch up whatever work they missed. On the other hand, the Board has specifically stated in policy that teachers are not expected to help students catch up when the absence is Unexcused. The rationale is that teachers were hired to do their job and did so, but parents decided not to take advantage of the education offered (totally their choice, of course). It is therefore not the teachers’ responsibility to make up for that choice. The relevant passages from the Board policy are attached below for your information.

1. Some absences from school for all or part of the school day shall be recognized as unavoidable and therefore "Excused" upon receipt of note or phone call from the home. Teachers are expected to assist students in whatever way possible to make up work that was missed during their absence. Examples of Excused absences are the following:

a) Personal illness, injury, or doctor appointments which cannot be scheduled after school hours.

b) Illness in the immediate family which requires the student's presence.

c) Death in the family.

2. Some absences are avoidable and will be considered "Unexcused." Teachers are not expected to provide work for a student either prior to or after an unexcused absence. All assignments missed during an unexcused absence shall be given a grade of “zero.” Make-up work shall be done at the discretion of the teacher. Examples of unexcused absences include the following:

a) Shopping, haircuts, etc.

b) Baby-sitting, part-time jobs, helping at home.

c) Recreation.

d) Family vacation

3. Application to excuse an otherwise unexcused absence should be made in writing to the Principal at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the absence.

In practice parents do alert teachers to these absences (though I have been out of the loop myself), and teachers do try to ensure that every student gets caught up, but preparing materials in advance and setting aside extra time during lunch hour for students to write make-up tests, etc. is above and beyond the call of duty. Please understand that teachers cannot always do this, and Board policy does not require it. The result of an unexcused absence may be a zero, depending on what happened in class on those days. Furthermore, even if marks are not recorded, there are class activities that can never be duplicated, and so children always end up a bit behind somewhere and needing extra assistance. This becomes even more critical for a semestered high school subject, of course. We appreciate your understanding.

Brian Hazeltine, B.Ed., M.A.
Principal, Airdrie Koinonia Christian School