Attendance Policy


  • All rehearsals and performances are required for all band members who want to participate in extra curricular activities.
  • Tardiness and absence from class will be dealt with as prescribed by school rules.
  • In addition, unexcused tardiness to extra rehearsal will result in the some loss of alternative credit. Unexcused absence from rehearsal will result in the loss of all alternative credit.
  • Absence or tardiness (excused or unexcused) from rehearsal may result in loss of chair placementand future participation.
  • Unexcused absence from a performance will result in the loss of alternative credit from the grade for that grading period and may result in removal from the band program.
  • An absence from a performance must be cleared with the directors well before the performance or immediately upon the student's return. Notification must be in the form of a note from parents.
  • The directors will determine whether an absence is excused. Their decision is final and an excused absence will be based largely upon the following three possible situations:
  • Serious personal illness
  • Family is out of town
  • Family emergency
  • School conflicts will be handled on an individual basis. However, band performances supersede other practices, meetings, etc. Conflicts involving athletic contests and other school group performances will require communication between you, the directors, and the sponsor or coach of the other group.
  • Non-school conflicts (hair appointments, Little League, etc.) are not considered excused. (Church conflicts should be nonexistent since band activities will almost never be scheduled on Wednesday nights or Sundays.) 
  • Please try to schedule doctor and dentist appointments around band activities. If this is not possible, notify the directors well in advance.
  • We will try very hard to let you know as far in advance as possible when events are scheduled. Please do your part in coordinating your schedules for the sake of the other students who depend on your attendance.



Eligibility


       Band activities outside the school day can be classified as either "co-curricular" or "extra-curricular". Co-curricular activities are considered an extension of what occurs during the school day and include concerts and outside of school rehearsals; everyone is always eligible and required to attend these no matter their eligibility status. Extracurricular activities are those that are competitive, related to a competition, or for which an admission is charged; ineligible students may not attend them.
       Band members must maintain their eligibility status at all times by always passing (or
surpassing) all classes. One of your top priorities as a student must be academic excellence. Failure to remain eligible to perform hurts not only the individual student, but the whole group. Students who are continually ineligible must consider the possibility that they should not be involved in activities that curtail the time they have to spend on academics.

If eligibility becomes an issue for a student, the following policy will be in effect:

A student may participate in extracurricular activities provided he/she has passed all of his//her classes. If a student receives a failing or an incomplete grade, he/she will be unable to participate for a period of three weeks. During this three week period, he/she will be required to attend all practices and other co-curricular activities, but will not be able to play or compete at football games, contests, or other extracurricular activities. At the end of three weeks, all grades will be checked and if the student is passing, he/she will return to full participation status at the end of the fourth week.

       Further information regarding eligibility issues may be found in §400 of the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules, §76 of the Texas Education Code, and especially in the Eligibility section of "TEA& UIL Side-by-Side".

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