Attendance Office

Students are expected to be seated in class by 7:45 a.m.

We suggest that each student arrive at school between 7:25 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. in order to give themselves plenty of time to place their personal items in their lockers and take care of any school business prior to the start of class. The regular school day concludes at 2:55 p.m. Throughout the school year there are many days with an adjusted schedule. Please refer to the school calendar for a list of these days.

Attendance Office
Hours: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
email: attendance@bishopoconnell.org

Student IDs - All students are required to wear their student issued identification card (ID) on a lanyard every day. Lost ID cards are replaced in Student Life. The first ID replacement is free. Any additional will be for a fee.

Arriving Late - A student who arrives at school after 7:45 a.m. is tardy. All students must check in at the Attendance window (right next to Security by the main entrance/exit) when arriving late to school.

Tardy Documentation - Students arriving tardy without proper documentation will have an unexcused absence for the classes they missed.

If a student is arriving after 8:20 a.m., a parent email is required.
A student arriving after 10:30 a.m. must present proper documentation (e.g., a doctor’s note, court summons, etc.) or obtain written permission from Student Life to participate in extracurricular activities (athletics, fine arts, clubs).
With proper documentation, (e.g. doctor’s note, court summons) or written approval from the Student Life office, a student may be admitted to school up until 1:00 p.m.

Early Release/Off Campus Permits - For early release/off campus permits, parents must email the Attendance Office in the morning with: 1) Student name & Grade, 2) Departure time and reason for early release, and 3) Whether the student will be returning to school that day.

Students must pick up their off-campus permit in the morning and come to attendance to check out before leaving the building. If they are returning, they must check back in at attendance with proper documentation (doctor’s /court note). Students who are dismissed early and have practice after school won’t be allowed to participate in sports without a doctor/court note.

Please note - Students following the concussion protocol are not allowed to participate in or leave early for their sport.

Absences - A parent/guardian must report an absence no later than 10:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Attendance must receive an email containing 1) the student’s full name and grade, 2) date of absence, and 3) reason for absence. If the student is ill, describe the symptoms.

For anticipated absence, advance notice should be provided to the Attendance Office. Anticipated absence for three (3) days or more may be excused only when advance approval has been granted by the Dean of Academics, Sister Catherine Hill (scatherine@bishopoconnell.org).

For absences due to illness lasting more than three (3) days, students must provide a signed note from a licensed health care provider who has evaluated the student.

Contacting the Attendance Office

An email from an authorized parent/guardian sent to attendance@bishopoconnell.org.
In an emergency, call the Attendance Office at (703) 237-1408.

More Information on Tardy and Absence Procedures
Off-Campus Permit Procedures

More Information on Tardy and Absence Procedures

Absence Procedures

Any attendance request must be made in advance to the Attendance Office, as follows:

Online using the attendance application, VisitU.
An email from an authorized parent/guardian sent to attendance@bishopoconnell.org.
In an emergency, call the Attendance Office at 703-237-1408 to report a student absence by 10:00 a.m. if possible and anytime after if necessary - messages are checked all day. When leaving messages please SPELL the student's last name, identify yourself, provide contact telephone number and give the reason for absence.

Students with a medical absence of five (5) or more days must provide a doctor's note upon return to school.

Absence Descriptions

Students absent all day due to illness, medical appointments, college visits, or pre-approved absences through the Studies Office (Sr. Catherine Hill) are excused;
Absences due to vacations are subject to prior approval by the Studies Office (Sr. Catherine Hill) or will be unexcused;
Exceptions are made rarely and on a case-by-case basis.

Tardy Procedures

Students arriving after 7:45 a.m. from a Doctor Appointment, Court Appointment or other approved meeting must bring documentation from that appointment or meeting in order to have an Excused Tardy for the day;
Students arriving after 7:45 a.m. but before 8:20 a.m. must obtain a "Tardy Pass" to gain entrance into class. If they do not obtain the Tardy Pass, then an after school detention will be assigned;
Students arriving after 8:20 a.m. must have a note or call into the Attendance Office from a parent before they will be admitted to class. Please see below for the distinction between excused and unexcused absences.

Tardy Descriptions

Students arriving after 7:45 a.m. with a note from their Parent, Doctor, Attorney, or the Court will be excused.
Students arriving after 8:20 a.m. without one of the above will be unexcused in all classes missed.
Exceptions are made rarely and on a case-by-case basis.

Off-Campus Permit Procedures

Students may be released from school with prior written (hand or email) permission from parent or guardian.

Written requests must include the reason for early release and the specific time the student will be leaving. A form letter is provided here for your convenience.

All notes should be hand delivered to the Attendance Office by the student (preferably in the morning) and an Off Campus Permit will be issued to the student.

Students are responsible for leaving class at the specified time to meet their ride or drive themselves to the approved appointment or event.

Students must have the Off Campus Permit with them to be excused from class and leave the school building and premises during the school day.

Parents do not need to come into the building to sign their students out if the above procedures have been followed.

If an appointment is scheduled after the student has left home for school, then the parent may phone the request in as soon as the appointment has been made. The parent or guardian must still provide a written or emailed request with all of the aforementioned information to the Attendance Office before a student may be released.

Students returning to school from an appointment must report to the Attendance Office with their Off Campus Permit to be placed back into the Attendance system for the school day.

For further information, please consult the Bishop O'Connell student handbook.