September is Attendance Awareness Month in Coffee County Schools. We are emphasizing good attendance this month because it helps students with their achievement as well as their career readiness. Students who go to school regularly are more likely to feel connected to the school community, which means that they are more likely to get good grades, have a positive attitude about school, graduate from high school, and avoid risky behaviors, such as drug or alcohol use.
Frequent absences can cause a student to fall behind in school. He or she may get poor grades, have low self-esteem, and feel isolated from classmates. As a result, students may fail to pass a grade or even drop out of school.
Most employers look for employees who have graduated from high school, technical school, or college. As a result, people who drop out of high school are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as people with a high school diploma. People who drop out also earn almost 50% less on average each year than high school graduates, an average of over $600,000 less during their lifetime (Channing Bete, 2008).
Parents are the main influences in students’ lives, so you can set the tone for your child by showing your commitment to good attendance. Absences can add up quickly, so be sure to check the Parent Portal to keep track, since students are encouraged to miss no more than five days this year. Make sure your child gets enough sleep, and do your best to get your child to school on time and keep him or her there for the full day. Keep in touch with your child’s teachers/counselor, and stay involved in the school activities to show your child that school attendance is a priority in your family. With all of us working together for good attendance, your child has a great opportunity for lifelong success!
For the month of September, incentives are being offered to improve student attendance at Coffee Middle School. Our gracious sponsors are Dominos, Kmart, Elianos, Burger King, Sonic, and Wendy’s. We are very appreciative of their efforts to help our students. The information below will further explain this month’s attendance awareness incentive program.
Those who work hard, get to PLAY HARD!
1. Come to school every day during the month to help your homeroom win a pizza party! We will have a party for the top homeroom in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
2. Every Friday, we will have a drawing for Wendy’s frosty coupons, chips, Trojan tickets, and other things for students who are here – two winners per grade level. Prizes provided by Dominos, Kmart, Elianos, Burger King, Sonic, and Wendy’s
3. At the end of the month, we will have a drawing for students with perfect attendance during the month of September.
4. For the first time ever, CMS is offering an attendance incentive … a midterms and finals exemption OPTION (does not include benchmarks, GMAS, etc.): midterms: December 15-16, 90-100% cumulative GPA with 3 or fewer excused absences!
– Submitted