Attendance miscues at RHS

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE ISSUES FOR DEBATE--PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR PARENTS ASAP!

A number of parents got attendance calls from Roosevelt on Thursday and Friday regarding what were to have been pre-excused absences for the St. Mark's trip to Dallas. I did do my paperwork but there is a computer issue at Roosevelt involving the new student software system which lead to the calls. Below is the brief explanation I got from the attendance office this morning:

"Yes, I got it. The phonemaster system is not compatible with the new computer program. Its makes calls to those that shouldn’t get them. I’ll double check them all but I know I entered them."

Just so parents know, I do my very best to have attendace issues resolved prior to a trip. Once in a while, I forget in the rush to get things done. I have never had a situation which wasn't promptly resolved and I know Patricia will resolve any issues from the Dallas trip today.

Secondly, there were students lobbying for part of Monday excused by debate from this past weekend. Part, maybe even all, of those requests were just boredom on the bus.

Just so everyone knows: Our policy is very simple, we only add to the excused trip if there were circumstances which would lead to something unhealthy--such as a very, very late return or debaters who are completely wiped out from late out rounds leading to a much extended tournament. Students are expected to be in school after a debate trip and your coaches try very, very hard not to abuse the system.

So if your student came home whinning about not having all or part of Monday off, here is what they need to consider:

Because we can't control our destiny in out rounds of a tournament...We ask our students to always be on top of their work and to even take quizzes and tests in advance if need be so there aren't major issues of homework on their return. Time management is one of the skills learned thru debate.

Debaters should be taking homework with them--especially reading assignments. On a 12-14 hour bus trip to and from Dallas there are no excuses for being behind in homework. Yet some of our students brought NOTHING to study--many others did study on the bus.

Part of travel is to be current in your work. Part of travel is to be healthy enough to travel and handle the pressures of a tournament. This is why we emphasize eating properly and being well hydrated PRIOR to leaving on a tournament. Getting enough sleep prior to an event is important as well.

Novices might wonder why I harp about eating, sleeping and the like but it is because I know what lies ahead for them as they grow in the event. Learning NOW how to handle debate tournaments will empower their future in debate.

Debate is no different than playing a varsity sport...time management, eating, sleeping, lots of fluids and staying on top of one's school work are critical to success.

Coach Harry