Please help me with school excuse letter!

[pinkdragonfly]

Hi, all:
Please help me to write a school excuse letter for our upcoming trip. I felt bad about taking my kids out of school during this time but this is the only time of the year that my husband get to have vacation time from work.
I just couldn't come up with anything. Please help.

This is what I got so far

Dear Mrs. X:

 

[hubbard53]

my kid isnt school age yet but isnt it as simple as saying 'hey, joey wont be in school between these dates.'

 

[ValentineJulie]

Talk personally to the principal about the educational value of the places you will be visiting and the activities you will be doing

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[neg58]

I'm just planning on saying that my daughter was with me on a family matter. My other daughter will still be in school. I don't want to lie, so I'm being vague. I asked them if it would be excused or unexcused, and was basically told it doesn't matter, that once the child misses 10 days of school for any reason there is a report sent to the district and home, and once 15 days are missed there cannot be another day missed for any reason. I think after 15 days the child must be tutored at home or something. I'm not concerned.

My other daughter is missing next Friday afternoon for a sports trip (out of town, 6 hours away) and then the Monday after Thanksgiving. My kids are a lot more concerned about the misses than I am, or than their teachers are. We rarely miss school, and I even schedule all their appointments for after school or the summer. They miss more classes while IN school for things like special testing and blood drives than they miss because of me. I'm always getting notices that they have missed class and when I call it turns out the school pulled them from a class for something and failed to notify the teacher. that drives me crazy.

Nancy

Nancy

 

[Toria]

I agree with the previous poster. I would also stop by the teacher"s class and pick up any work that they will miss. That is what I did last year and I plan to do the same next month.

 

[MotherOf2Princesses]

I just got back from our first Disney cruise Halloween week. They had Monday off.

I wrote a simple letter explaining that they were going to be out the week of 10/29. And that they were going to be at Disney World and a Disney cruise. Can they please get any homework and class assignments early.

It was that simple and I was honest about why they were out.
Some work they got and some they did when they got back.
I saw it as a treat for them doing so well in school.
However next year we will not pull them out of school for a week. Too much work for my 6th grader to make up.

Have a great cruise. My kids are begging to go back asap.

 

[SweetMissy]

Our previous vacations were planned so half was during their break and half was during school, so they wouldn't be missing the whole week. I just simply sent in a note to my sons teacher....no big deal. I got a note back saying, "have fun" LOL Our daughter who was in preschool, I just let the teachers know.

 

[aliron682]

I just sent that note on Tuesday (actually an email to all her teachers and the attendance person) and simply stated: HI – just writing to let you all know that Laurin will be absent on Thursday 11/15 and Friday 11/16. Any work she can get ahead of time is great, but we fully understand she may have make up work when we all get back from Thanksgiving break.
Thanks for all you do!

It was precoded as excused about 3 minutes after I sent the email and most of her teachers have already let me know what she will miss (she will take one test early, have some handouts to take on the cruise and she will take a test on Monday after Thanksgiving break).

 

[darkwing818]

We always went with the truth for our 2 DDs, & it worked out fine , we got their assignments & we were off to the races.

 

[kcashner]

A lot depends on your school system. The public schools in my state get state money based on attendance, so they can get ugly if it hits one of the "tracking" periods.

I'd start with saying as little as possible. Dear Mrs. Jones: I just wanted to let you know that Johnny will be absent on XYZ dates. Any work that he can do in advance would be appreciated, but I do understand that there will be some make up work when he returns. Sincerely, Mrs. Smith

If they ask for details, answer honestly, but don't supply info that they don't require. If asked--we are going on a family vacation because this is the only time my husband can get off work. While Johhny's record demonstrates our commitment to school attendance, I feel that family time and out of school educational experiences are also variable. Some of the educational aspects of this trip will include (fill in as appropriate for your destinations) Seeing ruins, experiencing tropical fish and wildlife in their natural setting, traveling thru the Panama Canal including educational talks by the director of the visitor's center, or whatever.

 

[Kristibo42]

I didn't give them a reason. Just said we were going out of town. I have pulled my daughter out 6 times. 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th grades. I didn't care what the school said. Her grades were good and all homework was done.

 

[RedSox68]

We used to take my daughter out of school for two weeks every October to visit my in-laws in Memphis. I used to write a note explaining the reason and the dates she would be gone, then I would personally deliver it to her teacher(s) and the principal and guidance office and talk with them. They never gave us a problem and most of the time would send her homework assignments with her. One year they just told her to write a report about the trip! We did this all through elementary school and one year of middle school. BTW, I would also have the teachers sign a copy of the letter that they received it.

 

[realityland]

We just sent this to our son's teacher last week for his coming absence. We were truthfully and sincere. It was received very well.

The reason I am writing you tonight is to let you know that XXX will be absent from school on Monday, November 12th through Thursday, November 15th. My wife and I thought long and hard about the decision to remove XXX from school. As you know, we are very supportive of XXX and his education. Unfortunately, this was the only time that we could arrange travel. We had decided (after much discussion) that we would not travel b/c of school. We couldn't bring ourselves to remove XXX from school. But after considering it at length (and carefully weighing out everything,) we decided to move forward with our plans. This was not an easy decision for us to make. And since we have no family nearby, XXX and the baby must travel with us.

Any work that you are able to prepare for XXX in advance will be helpful. We will work with him to get him caught up.

We have not mentioned anything to XXX about traveling or being absent from school, and we will not be saying anything to him until this Saturday. With the baby, our plans could change or be cancelled at any time. So we figured that it would be best to just wait until the day before we leave to tell him. And secondly, as mentioned above, we did not take this decision lightly - and therefore don't want XXX going around school telling the other students that he will not be coming to school "b/c he is going away."

We hope that you are understanding of our decision.

 

[kistner5]

My kids missed 9 days of school last year for our cruise. I just called attendance and informed them we were going on vacation for those dates. Then several weeks in advance I coordinated with both of their teacher for a packet of some of the work they would miss while we were gone. My sons teacher also asked him to write a short report in his experience. It worked out great.

 

[HFred]

Does your district have a "Request for Vacation" protocol? Our district has a request form. I filled it out honestly explaining why (grandmother's 60th birthday and retirement celebration and our first trip to WDW) and where we were going, how much time we plan to spend at each park (in case the teacher's want my kids to do a "special" project centered on a specific park or idea) and the dates my kids were to be absent. My kids rarely miss school (my son did break his arm and require surgery for it in Sept which was an unforseen accident...but we were careful in how many days we allowed him to miss...only 3 for the initial ER visit., the surgery, and the first casting). Hurricane Sandy threw a wrench into our plans as we typically get the Mon. after Thanksgiving off but our district just took it away to make up a missed day. I made it a point of getting my request in over a month ago for the teacher's to be able to plan ahead for the absences. I had to amend the request from 4 to 5 days due to the added day but I was honest and polite and had no issue. Honesty is the best protocol!

 

[WicketsMom]

I took my son out of kindergarten for four days for our recent Disney cruise. The school system has a form you fill out, and as expected for this school it came back as unexcused. It doesn't matter what you put as the reason at our elementary school, unless they are sick it is unexcused - period. The intermediate, middle, and high schools will all excuse a family trip but not the elementary school.

 

[cruisecrasher]

School Excuse Sample Letter

DATE:

TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

* Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.

* American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.

* Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.

* Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.

* Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]

And they have a downloadable one here:
http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/SE.shtml
You'd have to tailor it a bit for the cruise, but it's the general idea.
Happy sails!

 

[neg58]

The reason I don't want it unexcused is because of the make up work grading. Unexcused absences are supposed to only get 50% credit, except for test. However, the teachers don't want to give bad grades because it makes them look bad, so many give full credit.

Vague, but honest. Family event, missing school. I'd leave Disney out of it!

Nancy

 

[kirkaliciasmom]

Our previous vacations were planned so half was during their break and half was during school, so they wouldn't be missing the whole week. I just simply sent in a note to my sons teacher....no big deal. I got a note back saying, "have fun" LOL Our daughter who was in preschool, I just let the teachers know.

Recently, I took my daughter out of school for a week. I wrote a note to the teacher letting him know Sierra was going on a 7 nt Disney cruise and if she could get her homework in advance. He had no problem giving her her homework assignments along with an email to me saying, "I'm jealous, have a great time!" Lol!

 

[Raspberry Beret]

School Excuse Sample Letter

DATE:

TO: [school official]

FROM:

RE: [students name and vacation dates]

Please be advised that [student] will be out of school during the week of [date]. We ask that his absences be excused.

The reason for [student]'s absence is that our family will be out of the state during this week. While we are gone, we will be visiting Walt Disney World. We believe that [student] will be learning many things during this trip and that his education will continue in his absence from school.

Some things [student] will learn about:

* Different cultures of the world, including architecture, language, diet, and dress, by visiting the different countries in the Epcot World Showcase (Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Canada, France, etc.) [student] will have the chance to explore the exhibits for each country and speak with natives from each country who work as cast members.

* American history by viewing the Hall of Presidents presentation in the Magic Kingdom and the American Adventure show in Epcot.

* Nature and conservation at Animal Kingdom.

* Science by exploring the Mission:Space ride in Epcot where he will have a chance to see and feel what it would be like to travel by rocket to Mars and by experiencing the Universe of Energy exhibit which teaches about fossil fuels, energy, and conservation.

* Economics by managing his own spending money and making budget decisions on how to spend his money.

[student] will also be learning about map reading by navigating in and to the different theme parks, as well as the resorts and water parks via the Disney bus system, sociological aspects of crowds including patterns and behavior, physics of the different rides, breakthroughs in technology at the Innoventions computer lab in Epcot, art and animation and the history of film, and mathematics.

We believe this will be a wonderful and educational experience for [student] and hope you agree not to charge him with unexcused absences as a result. If it is possible for [student] to take any assignments with him to be turned in when we return or to turn in before we leave any work that will be due while he is gone, please let us know as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions or need any further information, please feel free to contact me.

[Parent's Signture]

And they have a downloadable one here:
http://www.themouseforless.com/downloads/kids/SE.shtml
You'd have to tailor it a bit for the cruise, but it's the general idea.
Happy sails!

That letter has been around for years. I can't believe anyone would send that to their school with straight face.