Senior Skip Day - in the Fall?

<p>Today is Senior Skip Day – apparently to be followed by the traditional one in Spring.</p>

<p>How many of your children’s schools have a skip day in the Fall? This was a new one for me. I guess I’ll find out later today if this is simply something talked about but few participate in, or if in fact seniors skip (last year was our first graduating class of a new high school). Our school district places a premium on attendance – built in is the privilege of NOT taking finals if you miss a certain low number of days, or less, and have a certain grade – so the incentive is to go to school. </p>

<p>My S is at school today.</p>

<p>Never heard of this but I imagine that this is because your schools are closed tomorrow??</p>

<p>In NJ, this Thursday and Friday all public schools are closed; some of those same schools are closed tomorrow as well…you can take a guess as to the attendance figures for many of them for this entire week; </p>

<p>NJ’s loss is Orlando, Florida’s gain</p>

<p>There was a sr. skip day here too - mainly the seniors were ****ed that they didn’t win “spirit week” so it was a protest, but ds went dutifully to school because his “momma told him to”. Imagine his surprise when all the seniors that didn’t do the right thing and go to school that day (about 50% of his class), were given an “excused absence” (?!!!??) SOOOOOOO annoying.</p>

<p>an “excused absence”??? are you joking? our kids don’t even get an “excused absence” for accepted student days at colleges without special permission…</p>

<p>then again, they don’t get any “extra points” for homework/extra credit either…</p>

<p>That is crazy. The administration that gave the excused absence is sending the wrong message.</p>

<p>This is an ingrained tradition at some schools.</p>

<p>Yes, we have a senior skip day( not sanctioned by the school) and the parent’s have to call the child in as absent or else it is unexcused.</p>

<p>School is closed tomorrow so it did enable those kids to have a 4 day weekend and stay out late for Halloween.</p>

<p>Usually over 50% of our kids participate.</p>

<p>Well culminating end to spirit week involved some vandalism so there was a “stern talking to” by the administration and frankly, I believe the “excusing” was because our new principal doesn’t want to get hurt…literally.</p>

<p>I think Halloween should be one of those holidays that is ALWAYS on the weekend, for the benefit of the parents, especially with the small children. I guess the teenagers who are out of late can just suck it up. We usually go to a friend’s house in Burbank for a party and driving there is such a hassle during the week, because there’s no true “end” to the rush hour since everyone’s driving around to get to a party or what not, in addition to the work traffic. Driving their last night was a breeze.</p>

<p>As for senior skip day, my S didn’t do it. I forget why. He could have easily, especially since it was in the spring and by then he was 18 … although it fried him that, at 18, I would still have had to written the excuse note for him, lol.</p>

<p>We always have a spring senior skip day. It is not planned by the school, but by the kids. We don’t really have TRUE excused absenses here - even when you’re sick or visiting college. You can make up your work, but it still applies to the total 5 days per semester you’re allowed to miss. At 5 days, you’re reported to Division of Family Services for truancy. Even if you had notes from doctors, deaths in the family, chicken pox or surgery, etc. Unexcused would be skipping or no notes, I guess.</p>

<p>Last year, S did skip with the majority of the class. The seniors that DID attend school that day, were sent home at noon for ‘good behavior’ and were excused for the rest of the day.</p>

<p>D’s senior skip day was the Tuesday immediately after Columbus day. The seniors chose that day b/c they were also off on the Wed of that week when Soph/Jrs took PSAT, so they would have had a 5 day weekend. Great for anyone who had a college trip planned, or something. But just to skip?</p>

<p>I didn’t let D skip. And there wasn’t much participation anyway. I expect the issue will arise again in Spring for the “true senior skip day.”</p>

<p>I don’t remember mine doing a skip day in the fall but they both did it in the spring of senior yr.<br>
The sch. admin. got upset about it in S1’s senior year and said that anyone who did not bring in a excuse from their parents for the abscence would not be allowed into the Prom the following Sat. night.<br>
S1 graduated h.s. in 2005. From the beginning of sr. year the planned for their Skip day to be 05-05-05.</p>

<p>Who starts these ridiculous things?
Yes, it was supposedly senior skip day today, but since there is a championship soccer game tonight, the boys and girls on the team could not skip or they wouldn’t have been allowed to play. There is an idea - schools should always schedule games or important activities that as many seniors as possible do not want to miss on the day before or after a day off such as election day!
If my kid had skipped, I would never call in to get this excused!</p>

<p>^^our district already figured that out; senior cut day is ALWAYS the same day as senior awards assembly in June; if you don’t show up, no awards/no scholarships…(no idea if anyone has dared not to show up if they were receiving a scholarship though)</p>

<p>There was a skip day today, but a large portion of seniors attended school. Today was also “Senior Test Day”, which probably is the reason why many attended</p>

<p>Our hs has zero tolerance for any type of Skip days. Kids who are absent on those days without a doctor’s note take a zero for all classwork, and teachers are told not to give make-up quizzes or tests. The administration’s feeling is: if the taxpayers are paying for school to be open, and the teachers are showing up, and at least some of the kids are showing up, why should they all waste their time because half of one grade wants to party? There were supposed to be two senior skip days last spring, both fizzled. </p>

<p>We’ve had this issue when local pro sports teams win championships and the city gives them a big parade - on a weekday. Parents are fans, so they let the kids go to the parade. That leaves the teachers and 2/3 of the kids in school, while 1/3 of the kids are off partying. Our school said anyone absent on a parade day without a doctor’s note took a zero for all classwork and no makeup work would be given. Parents got ticked, they said they approved the absence and that’s all that matters, but why should the teachers and the kids who showed up waste their time repeating material for those who were at the parade?</p>

<p>School today</p>

<p>I’ve been begging my son to pick a day to skip school for the past couple of weeks. I’d like to sleep in (not kidding) and I’d also like to see the college essays finished. I told him I’d write a sick note.</p>

<p>He won’t do it because he thinks it’s wrong to lie and he hates to miss classes. He’s a better person than I am, I guess.</p>

<p>Thanks all for your perspectives.</p>

<p>So skip day happened and apparently a good portion of seniors chose to not go to school. S doesn’t feel too badly about going, however a few teachers did ask if everything was alright (not expecting him?) and the school newspaper came to interview him (and two other seniors) during last period (I’m not a fan of being singled out for doing the right thing -yet casting it in a nerdy light). </p>

<p>I understand the need for days off, for sickness, college visits, etc. but I just don’t get why seniors (aided by understanding faculty) as a group feel entitled to a free day so early in the school year. Wait until senioritis sets in, and acceptances are in hand, and the bulk of work is complete before checking out.</p>

<p>We only have senior skip day in the Spring. Some teachers make a big deal about how anyone skipping will get in trouble, but my experience was that the general culture is that it is acceptable and the teachers will let it slide. </p>

<p>Around here, it is used as an attendance incentive in the Spring when senioritis kicks in. We are only allowed a set number of absences before there are serious repercussions, and teachers will say, “now I know the weather is going to be really nice tomorrow, but remember if you use up all your absences you won’t be able to skip on skip day!” I’d gotten a nasty flu at the beginning of winter term and missed a lot of school, and I was a madwoman about making sure I had no absences after that so I could have skip day.</p>