Anonymous wrote:Anyone have a take on missing Tuesday pm and Wednesday half day, or only missing the Monday following Thanksgiving?

parents are not in agreement about missing school, but there are times we forced kid to go, with the result that so many kids were out, nothing happened anyway . Distant and aging family... Sigh.

We routinely take Wed off...It saves us hours on the highway.

Trust me, if the schools moved to the Tuesday off, students would start missing Monday. Think about it. People fly Tuesday because there's less demand so it is cheaper. If more people can leave Tuesday, the demand rises and so does the price. As a result, families will start leaving on Monday to save money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never do this with my children. What sort of example are you setting? That its ok to break the rules when it's inconvenient or when other people are doing it too? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

You're not breaking any rule.

FCPS Teacher

Well, it will be an unexcused absence, which isn't a big deal, but if you consider receiving unexcused an unexcused absence as breaking a rule, then you are doing that. It's fine, though. If your child is present during attendance, there is zero effect, so Tues. won't count against the student.

It will be considered an unexcused absence and that means teachers do not have to provide make opportunities. Most do, but they only have to if the absence was excused. My HS DC's have had tests on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but not the Wednesday.

Anonymous wrote:I would never do this with my children. What sort of example are you setting? That its ok to break the rules when it's inconvenient or when other people are doing it too? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

You're not breaking any rule.

FCPS Teacher

Are you all kidding? Many students take off for whatever reason for holidays/family - ESPECIALLY around major holidays. Depending on grade and child (though in general grade 3/4 and below I would not be worried), it isn't the end of the world. If your child would suffer academically then yes, hold them off. If it's worrying about what the school thinks- it's ES!

Anonymous wrote:I would never do this with my children. What sort of example are you setting? That its ok to break the rules when it's inconvenient or when other people are doing it too? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

The example you are setting is that sometimes it's ok to take time off, especially for family. My kids are in college now. In high school I always allowed one mental health day per semester assuming they hadn't missed school for illness. I also pulled my youngest out of school when his brother returned from Afganistan. It really is ok.

FCPS gets TWO weeks off over Christmas so no excuse to miss school.

Thanksgiving is a different story but I would not miss the Monday after.

I would never do this with my children. What sort of example are you setting? That its ok to break the rules when it's inconvenient or when other people are doing it too? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

My experience is that so many parents do this that you might as well tack an extra day or two onto spring break, Thanksgiving and winter break. The kids left behind often don't do anything on those days and tests right before breaks are rare. My daughter has known several kids who seem to go to Europe to ski if there's a 3 day weekend in winter.

Not a big deal at all.

Go spend the time with your family at the holidays. Give the teachers notice. Students miss school for all sorts of reasons and the responsible ones make arrangements to make up work. If there is a test, ask the teacher if they prefer your child take it early or when you get back. If they are in high school have them arrange this but make sure they do. Even as a teacher I have had to miss that Wednesday a couple of times to be with family out of town when we had family situations. It happens.

My students miss days for things like this. It's not uncommon. I just say "Travel safely. See you when you get back".

Can't speak for the school, but if your kid is there reliably and you don't do this frequently, there should be no problem. Since the schools do block scheduling, he will probably not miss any class more than once. However, you do need to be sure there are no exams.
Schools are usually pretty sympathetic to elderly grandparents.

Anyone have a take on missing Tuesday pm and Wednesday half day, or only missing the Monday following Thanksgiving?

parents are not in agreement about missing school, but there are times we forced kid to go, with the result that so many kids were out, nothing happened anyway . Distant and aging family... Sigh.