NAHS ATTENDANCE REFERENCE GUIDE
Reporting Student Absences
In most cases, an automated call, text, or email will be sent to parents/guardians from the school when their child has been marked absent for the day. Parents/guardians do not need to call the school to report a child's absence from school.
Parents/guardians must submit an absence excuse electronically through the Sapphire Community Portal, within three (3) days of their child’s absence or the absence will be considered unexcused/unlawful. Please allow at least two (2) days for the excuse note to be processed.
How to submit an excuse on the Sapphire Portal: Once you are logged into your Sapphire Community Portal Parent Account on a desktop computer, click on Student Data Forms in the left-hand column in your child’s backpack. Under On Demand Forms, click on the Absence Excuse Form, complete the form, and click submit. Medical notes can be attached to the form by using the Attach File link at the bottom. Cell phone users will click on the sandwich icon (3 horizontal lines stacked on top of one another inside a circle) at the bottom of the screen to access the Student Data Forms. Please contact the Guidance Office for Sapphire login assistance.
Appointment Procedure
The school realizes that there are occasions when parents/guardians will find it necessary to request permission for their child to leave the building to keep an urgent medical appointment during the school day. Most medical appointments can and should be made after school hours. However, if it is absolutely impossible to schedule an appointment for after-school hours, the following procedure must be followed:
Submit a written parent note the day of the appointment:
Parents/Guardians must send in a written parent note along with the child into school the morning of the appointment. The note should be taken to the main office immediately upon arrival to school by the student and an Appointment Pass will be given. When leaving for the appointment, the student will show the pass to their teacher at the designated time on the pass and go to the main office to scan out using their student ID. The student will be permitted to leave the building to meet the parent waiting outside or the student may drive themselves to the appointment.
When a parent note is NOT provided:
If a parent note is not provided to the main office prior to the appointment, the parent/guardian must come inside the building with their photo ID to sign their child out of school. Once ID has been verified, the student will be called out of class for dismissal. Only parents/guardians are allowed to pick up students without a written parental permission note.
Returning to school the same day:
If the student is returning to school after their appointment, the student must report immediately to the attendance office to receive a pass for admission to class.
Submit a medical note or documentation from appointment:
When the pass is for a doctor or dental appointment, a medical note must be submitted within three (3) days of the appointment or the time will be considered unexcused/unlawful. If the appointment is non-medical, documentation must be submitted from the appointment. Please submit excuse notes using the Sapphire Community Portal.
Tardy Procedure
When a student is coming into school tardy, they will immediately report to the attendance office to scan in using their student ID to receive a pass for admission to class.
Parents/guardians must submit an absence excuse for the tardiness electronically through the Sapphire Community Portal, within three (3) days of their child’s absence or the absence will be considered unexcused/unlawful.
Non-Illness Absence Educational Trips and College Visitation Forms
All trip days and college visits require forms to be completed and submitted to the Attendance Office several days prior to the first day of the trip/visit. The electronic version of these forms can be found on the NAHS Website under the Students and Families tab in Forms and Information. Submit all forms electronically using the Sapphire Community Portal.
Non-Illness Absence Educational Trip Form:
In any given school year, the amount of time allowed for educational trips shall not exceed 5 days, consecutively or cumulatively. Any additional educational trip days requested will be classified as unexcused/unlawful absences. Absences excused as Educational Trip days will be factored into the maximum of 10 days of cumulative lawful absences verified by parental notification during a school year. Once the form has been approved, the days will be reflected on your child’s attendance record under Attendance in the Sapphire Community Portal.
College Visitation Request Form - 11th and 12th Grade:
A college visit is a 2 part process. Both parts must be completed for the absence to be considered a non-absence and, therefore, not factored into the maximum 10 days of cumulative lawful absences verified by parental notification during a school year. In a given school year, the amount of time allowed for college visits shall not exceed a total of 5 days, consecutively and cumulatively. Additional college visit days may be classified as unexcused/unlawful.
Part 1 - Before the visit
Students in grades 11 and 12, who are visiting a college or university, must complete a College Visitation Request Form and submit the form to the Attendance Office several days prior to the visit.
Part 2 - After the visit
During your visit, please obtain signed documentation, on college letterhead, with the student’s name and date of the visit which must be submitted to the Attendance Office within three (3) days of the student’s return to school after the visit or the visit will be considered an unexcused/unlawful absence. Accepted Student Day visits will also require signed documentation.
Please contact the NAHS Attendance Office with any additional questions.
