School Attendance

Maintaining regular school attendance is vital for student success and engagement. Attending school consistently ensures that students can fully participate in classroom activities, discussions, and learning experiences. It also helps them build important routines and time management skills.

 Late Arrival:  Students are expected to arrive to school no later than 7:15 am.  Students entering the classroom later than 7:30 am will be marked LATE and given a warning.  After three warnings, the student will not be allowed to enter the classroom if he/she arrives late. 

 Early dismissal:  Students will not be allowed to leave school early without a valid excuse such as a medical appointment slip, travel document, etc.

 Excessive absences:  Parents will be messaged if a student is marked absent.  In the event of excessive absences, the parent will be contacted by administration.  Daily attendance is now recorded in the Ministry of Education Noor system and will be a part of official Ministry records.

 The above attendance issues all contribute to students losing valuable classroom instruction.  Late arrivals are also disruptive to the class already in session.  Parent cooperation is highly important to insure your student regularly attends school and arrives on time.

Students are responsible for any missed classwork and explanation.

Students will take zero (0) on any test, quiz or activity conducted during the first period.

Excused Absences

A student can have a total of six excused absences without a doctor’s statement.  A valid written excuse must be submitted directly after the day of absence or the parent can message the floor supervisor before 8:00 a.m. on the day of the absence.

*While Al Faris holds strict attendance policies; we are always looking out for the health and wellbeing of our students and staff. Please do not send your child to school if he/she is ill. If a child has a temperature, he/she should be kept home for at least twenty-four hours after the temperature returns to normal.

*The school must be notified if the child has a communicable disease such as mumps, chicken pox, head lice etc. The child will be re-admitted to school with a release from the physician and must be cleared by the office before re-entering the classroom.

 Absences will be excused for the following reasons:

1- Personal illness with parent excuse

2- Personal illness with a doctor’s statement

3- Death in the immediate family

4- Weather preventing attendance (would endanger student’s health)

5- Prior permission by the principal at the request of parent

 After an accumulation of 6 excused absences for illness without a doctor’s statement, the student will receive unexcused absences for illness unless absences are documented with a doctor’s statement.

 Any exception to this policy will require a doctor’s documentation of a chronic illness which causes absences which may not comply with the attendance policy.

 A student will still receive excused absences for reasons 2, 3, 4, or 5 above.

 Absence on assessment days (including end-of-year assessments for primary grades) is not acceptable unless there is a valid emergency medical excuse with a signed doctor’s report.  An unexcused absence on an assessment day will result in a failing grade for the assessment. Travel is not an accepted excuse for a missed exam unless it is a travel emergency and prior Administration approval has been obtained through a written request sent to info@alfarisschool.edu.sa   Travel will not be accepted for exemption/re-take of final exams unless prior approval is obtained from the Ministry of Education.