Upon being asked, Chuck Ferguson at the attendance desk explained that the student day off of choice has tended to be Mondays and Fridays during an average week, and any given day during the holidays.
“Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are pretty good—unless it’s a holiday,” Ferguson explained.
However a factor frequently ignored by the Darien High School student body is the attendance policy and how that “necessary” day of relaxation and cartoons can affect their grade.
As the attendance policy states: Status as an enrolled student in the Darien Public Schools carries with it an obligation to attend school continuously on all scheduled school days …
Absences will be excused for the following reasons:
- Personal illness
- Serious family matters
- Other valid reasons
Only with prior notification will the following reasons be acceptable for excused absences:
- School Field Trips
- Interscholastic Athletic Events
- Limited college visitations
Mental health days are nowhere on the list of valid excuses. Therefore, many times students, unless excused for other reasons, may find themselves at risk for “X”ing out of a class. As dictated by the attendance policy,
“A student who accumulates three unexcused absences in a given course within one quarter, will lose credit for that quarter and receive an X on their report card. If a student X’s a quarter, he or she must remain in the class to receive future academic credit.
Students may also receive an “X” if they are absent (excused or unexcused) for more than 20% of total class time in a marking period with the exception of documented long-term illness, medical problems or mandated academic absences, such as an AP exam or school related field trip.”
So as hard as it is for all of us to resist the urge to smash our alarm clocks and just get out of bed, continued illegitimate absences will result in the loss of class credit and inability to graduate and in today’s competitive job market, without a high school diploma, our lives may become recurring “mental health days.”
Are DHS Students "Sick"?
A look into the legitimate, and "Mental Health" sick days of Darien High School Students.
By Chrissy Wiegand - 09/12
So it’s 6AM and your alarm clock is going off. You are presented with two options: get up and prepare for school as per usual, or “call in sick.” While some may call these sporadic days off “sick days,” they are also frequently called a “mental health day.”
A mental health day, as defined by Urban Dictionary, is “a quasi-legitimate excuse to take a day off from school or work. Although the person who takes the day off claims he needs it to finish up some work and regain sanity from the rat race, he usually ends up sleeping in and accomplishing less than nothing.”
On days when the concept of crawling out of the comfort of a warm bed seems unimaginable these aforementioned “mental health days” are the only escape. “I haven't been legitimately sick since the 6th grade,” senior Sarah Nielsen said. “So when I tell my mom I want a sick day, she lets me have it. I sleep in till noon, eat cereal and watch old cartoons on Boomerang.”Senior Alex Leinroth agreed. “What I do on a sick day is lie in my bed and watch movies and sleep,” she said.
Sometimes, a student’s workload is to blame for a spontaneous day off. “To be honest I usually don’t take sick days for actually being sick. I usually don't get sick very often,” senior Andrea Smelser said. “I usually claim sickness to get extra time for work. If I’m really sick I’ll just sleep a lot and watch TV in bed. But if I’m not that sick I’ll redecorate my room or do some sort of project to keep myself busy. I hate sick days because I get so bored at home.” While these seniors seem to have lackluster vacations from the normal day to day routine, many athletes take the mental health day to a whole new level.
While maybe not a full day off, many athletes miss school due to travel for various sporting events. “Normally when we miss school we’re just on the bus, sometimes by the time we leave schools just getting out but its nice to get out of class and change your mindset and be with the team… get PSYCHED!” junior swim team member Amy Sanborn explained. “But after the swim team’s State Finals last year I missed school because the meet ran so late, so I got to sleep in, do homework that I couldn’t do while I was at the meet, chill out for the day, and run errands for the day with my mom.”
A student’s least favorite class to miss? “Calc. Other classes you can learn outside through reading the textbook or through homework and notes, but for calc I really need to be in the class to gain full understanding,” senior Liz Calby said.
Common items found in the winter time to keep students healty
The Nurses Office has all the supplies necessary to treat DHS Students
DHS Student Sick Note
