Attendance Reporting

Ways to Report Attendance

Please report attendance using one of the following methods:

When Reporting a Student’s Absence:

  1. Provide the student’s name, your relationship to the student, the date/time, and the reason for the absence.
  2. If the student is sick, please include symptoms, especially if they have a fever, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, and/or cough. If your student has a diagnosis from a healthcare provider, please include that information.
  3. If the student will be absent for more than one day, you must notify the school each day unless a pre-arranged absence form has been submitted.
  4. Students should check Schoology for each of their classes for any assignments they miss while they are absent.

Pre-Arranged Absences:

  1. For planned absences of 3 or more days, parents should fill out and sign the top half of the  Pre-Arranged Thoreau Absence Form . Then the student should talk to each of their teachers to find out the homework they will need to do, and to obtain the teachers’ signatures on the form. Once the form is complete and before the absence, the student should submit the form to the office. The office will give the student a copy of the completed form if they would like.
  2. It is not necessary to report daily attendance for a pre-arranged absence if the form has been submitted ahead of time.
  3. Please note that the submission of a pre-arranged absence form does not make the absence excused.  Thoreau follows FCPS attendance guidelines when determining if absences are excused or unexcused.  Excused reasons include illness, medical treatment, funerals, and family emergencies.  Unexcused reasons include family travel, sports, etc.

Late Arrival to School:

The school day is from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. The warning bell will ring at 7:25 a.m. Students are tardy to school if they are not in their first period class at 7:30 a.m.  

  1. Students who arrive late to school must report directly to the main office to check in and get a tardy pass.
  2. An excused tardy is given for things like illness, a medical/dental appointment, a late school bus, or a family emergency, if a parent/guardian notifies the office.
  3. An unexcused tardy is given for a missed bus, traffic issues, oversleeping, or a reason that is unconfirmed by the parent/guardian.

Early Release from School: 

  1. When it is necessary for a student to leave school before 2:15 p.m., the parent should give their student a note to give to the office. Or the parent can send an email to  @email .
  2. Once notified, the office will give the student a pink pass so they can be excused from class and wait in the office at the designated time.
  3. When the parent arrives at the pick up time, they should ring the bell at Door 1 and tell the main office they are here to pick up the student. The office will buzz the parent into the building and the parent will need to show their photo ID before leaving with the student.
  4. If the student returns to school later in the day, they can ring the bell and sign themselves in at the main office.

Tardy to Class:

Students are expected to be in each class when the bell rings to begin the class period. If they are late with a note/pass from a teacher or the office, they will be marked excused tardy. If they are late without a note/pass, they will be marked unexcused tardy. Excessive tardiness may result in detentions.

Attendance Policies:

  1. When a student accumulates 5 full-day unexcused absences, FCPS regulation requires a referral to the attendance office . Any further unexcused absences require intervention.
  2. If a student is absent for 10 or more full days, whether excused or unexcused, a letter will be sent home.

School Hours

The school day is from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.  The warning bell will ring at 7:25 a.m.  Students are tardy after 7:30 a.m. Four minutes are allowed between classes and students are expected to arrive at each class, be seated, and ready to begin on time.