Handbook & Policies

A student must have a satisfactory record of attendance to receive credit for each course. The guideline for satisfactory attendance is a maximum of 8 absences per class per semester. Students who fail to meet this attendance requirement may, in extreme cases, lose credit for the semester regardless of their grade in their courses. If a student is absent for 3 consecutive school days, they will be required to provide a doctor’s note for their absences.  An internal review process will be conducted with the counseling and educational team to examine each case and determine next steps.   

A student absent for any part of the school day may not attend after-school activities without permission from an Associate Principal. 

Students who are absent from school must have one of the following: 

• A written explanation from a parent or guardian submitted via email (USAttendanceSecretary@tas.edu.tw),  

• An electronic absence form completed in the PowerSchool Parent Portal. 

• Parent or guardian communication with the upper school office via phone call (extension 211) between 7:15am and 7:45am.  

Parents and guardians must include the date and reason for the absence. If a student is absent for any part of the school day, they must report to the attendance secretary in the upper school office when arriving at school to check in and receive a pass to class. 

Planned absences for reasons other than illness or emergency must be reported to the upper school administration using the planned absence form available in the upper school office, on the student and parent portals, and in the upper school counseling office. The student is responsible for completing the form (by obtaining all necessary signatures) and submitting it to the upper school office at least three days before the absence. School holidays are published in advance on the school calendar; teachers are not expected to provide extra support for students who miss classes for additional family holidays.  

General Absences:

Students are expected to reach out to teachers to make arrangements regarding any missed work due to absence. In cases of extended absences due to special circumstances, students are encouraged to communicate with their grade level counselor for additional support. 

Students Missing Class Due to School Activities:

MUN, robotics, and other trips are considered similar to IASAS trips; however, the number of school days missed differs from trip to trip. The date that make-up work is due is based on the particulars of the given trip. This information is communicated through the Week Ahead email sent to students every Friday afternoon. Students are strongly encouraged to complete as many assignments, tests, or quizzes as possible prior to their departure or participation date. It is the responsibility of students to plan a make-up strategy with teachers. Grade-level counselors and teachers are available to assist students with these conversations, and students are encouraged to reach out if they need assistance in planning. 

IB/AP Study Leave for External Exams:  

In late April/early May, some students will begin to take their external IB/AP exams. These students are given study leave the calendar day prior to an exam and they are also provided study leave the day of an exam. Students on study leave are not required to attend class on these days, however, if they would like to attend class(es), they can come to school and sign in at the upper school office. Parents and guardians do not need to contact the school to arrange this study leave absence. Students' attendance information is automatically input into our system by our attendance secretary based on the child's course enrollment.  

Grade 12 full IB Diploma students are automatically placed on Study Leave for the entire external testing period, allowing for dedicated preparation time. Students and families will receive more detailed information from their AP/IB Coordinator as they approach this time.  

Arriving late to class impacts overall student learning and is disruptive to the classroom environment. When students are frequently late, they miss important information/routines at the beginning of their class(es), and they interrupt work in progress.

Students who arrive between 1 and 20 mins late to class are considered tardy. Students who arrive 21 mins or later to a class will be marked absent.

When a student is late to school due to an urgent family matter or illness their attendance record will be marked as “Sick/TE” or “Fam/TE”.

Tardies are tallied throughout each semester. If a student has 3 or fewer tardies, there are no detentions assigned*. Please see below for the interventions put in place should tardies accumulate in a semester.

• - 4-6 Tardies, 1 Detention, Automated email sent to Student, Counselor, Parent/Guardian
• - 7-9 Tardies, 2 Detentions, Automated email sent to Student, Counselor, and Parent/Guardian
• - 10 -12 Tardies, Automated email sent to Student, Counselor, and Parent/Guardian. Gr. 12 students lose off- campus Lunch Privileges for remainder of semester.
• - 13+ Tardies, Students are assigned 1 detention for every tardy accumulated 13 and over.

*Students in detention spend time in our upper school office study room during a free period on a school day. In the study room, students must work on academic coursework.

A student who is not present for any class, advisory meeting, required assembly, or class gathering, without permission will receive an unexcused absence. This may result in detention, in-school restriction, or other disciplinary action. Any pattern of unexcused absenteeism will result in a parent/guardian conference and more severe consequences, which may include loss of course credit.  Normally, a student will not receive credit for any missed tests, quizzes, or in-class assignments or assessments with an unexcused absence. 

Students who become ill at school should report to the health office. Before returning to class from the health office, students must present a note from the nurse to the attendance secretary and receive an “admit to class” slip. If a student is recommended to go home from the nurses’ office, a parent/guardian is called to provide information and to gather information about how the child will get home. If the parent chooses to send a child home independently (without a parent/guarding picking them up from school), the nurses’ office will notify the upper school office. If a child needs emergency care and must go to the hospital, a parent/guardian must pick up the child to take them to the proper health facility. In the case of an emergency, if a parent/guardian is not available and the child needs to be taken by ambulance to the hospital, a nursing staff member or administrator will accompany the child to the hospital and stay with them until a parent/guardian arrives. 

Truancy is defined as a student’s absence from school grounds that is unauthorized by a parent or guardian. Students may not make up work missed because of truancy. 

Students are expected to remain on the school campus for the duration of the school day. Students who must leave campus early may be excused by a phone call or written excuse from parents/guardians. The reasons should be presented to the attendance secretary before students report to their first class, and an exit pass must be obtained from the office before a student leaves school.  

Seniors have the special privilege of exiting campus during their designated lunch period. At the beginning of Grade 12, Associate Principals will provide information to Grade 12 students and their families about this special arrangement. If a family provides permission (via PowerSchool), the Grade 12 student can partake in off campus lunch periods. 

Because this is a privilege provided to Seniors, it needs to be managed with responsibility and care. Students who are consistently tardy in returning to campus, who exit campus at a time that is not their lunch period as assigned on their school schedule, or who have other violations of upper school policies may lose this off-campus lunch privilege for a designated period of time. 

Students begin their school day at the start of Period 1, whether or not they have a first period class. This means the school day begins at 7:45 AM for upper school students. Students who are free first period must sign in with the attendance secretary in the upper school office by 8:00 AM. Juniors and seniors with signed parental/guardian permission are not required to check in but can go directly to their second period class which begins promptly at 9:15 AM.