With spring break starting March 31 with the dismissal of school at 3:05, attendance specialist Mrs. Anna Lynn Houk says the school is expecting more students to miss school that day.

She said, “Generally we have an increased amount of absences the Friday before spring break.” According to Houk, in previous years the number of absences has ranged from 75 to 150. On a typical school day, 20 to 40 students are absent.

Houk also mentioned that the number of absences usually increases when this school’s spring break does not match up with other schools, but decreases when Cathedral’s break does correspond with other schools.

According to Houk, parents do not need to make up stories to try and get their child excused. Houk said whether student is sick or leaving early, as long as he or she is called in, the absence will be considered excused.

However, Houk cautioned that if a student has 10 absences, he is at risk of receiving academic penalties due to excessive absences, but this 10-absence limit usually affects only a small number of students. “We usually only have a few students who receive academic penalties for having 10 or more absences each year,” Houk said.