Quotes
Below are a few quotes from Mill Creek's attendance AP concerning education and attendance that he has said during meetings and to students
Students zone out when they are taught and learn when they are engaged. ~Jim Kay
It’s never too late to cut ties with friends you don’t like. ~Jim Kay
Your attendance in High School is not a goal achieved, but rather the first step to achieving your dreams.~Jim Kay
Attendance Procedures
Absences and Tardies
Tardies to school and absences are treated in the same way. If a student is tardy to school or absent, they are to present a note to the Attendance Office. The note will need to be from a parent or guardian listing the student's name, ID number, date of tardy to school or absence, parent/guardian's signature with contact phone number, and one of the below reasons.
By state mandate, the following reasons are the only reasons Mill Creek High School can accept/excuse a student from being tardy to school, absent, or to check out early.
State Attendance Rule 160-5-1-10 states that students will be excused from school under the following circumstances
1. Personal illness or attendance in school endangers a student’s health or the health of others. (i)
Local boards of education may request students to present appropriate medical documentation upon the return to school for the purpose of validating that the absence is an excused absence
2. A serious illness or death in the student’s immediate family necessitating absence from school.
(i) In the event of a serious illness in a student’s immediate family, local boards of education may request students to present appropriate medical documentation regarding the family member upon return to school for the purpose of validating that the absence is an excused absence.
3. A court order or an order by a government agency, including preinduction physical examinations for service in the armed forces, mandating absence from school.
4. Observing religious holidays, necessitating absence from school.
5. Conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazardous to student health or safety. (For Gwinnett County Public Schools, the closure of schools for hazardous conditions may only be made by the Superintendent for the purposes of excused absences.)
6. A period not to exceed one day is allowed at the discretion of the local unit of administration for registering to vote or voting in a public election.
7. Local boards of education shall count students present when they are serving as pages for the Georgia General Assembly.
8. Public school students visiting with a parent or legal guardian prior to or during leave from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the
National Guard are allowed five excused absences per school year.
9. Students will be counted present when they are serving as pages of the Georgia General Assembly.
10. Students who are in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care system under the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services will be counted present for any day, portion of a day, or days missed from school when attending court proceedings related to that student’s foster care.
11. A student who participates in the Student Teen Election Participant (STEP) program will be counted as present and given full credit for the school day during which he or she served in the STEP program.
All notes must be received within two days. The tardy to school or absence will be unexcused if the note does not arrive in time or does not fit one of the state requirements.
See the student's agenda book for all attendance related concerns.
Early Check Outs
If a student knows they are being checked out, the student is to bring in a parent note to the attendance office before school. The last check out is 1:30PM
Prearranged Absences
Students who anticipate being absent can fill out a prearranged absence form, see below. This form needs to be turned in to the attendance office for final approval.
College Visits
It is best for students to choose to visit colleges during the weekend or summer and not to miss a school day for a college visit. If a senior must go to a college during a school day they will need to present the below .pdf College Visit form to the attendance office upon their return from the college. The form will take a couple of days to fill out. Parents need to fill out a portion, then it is presented to each teacher, upon the actual visit to the college, a signature from a college official is needed to verify that the senior attended the visitation. Once the form is complete, it will be turned in to the school's attendance office.
Articles
Dr. Jim Kay writes an advice column in a local magazine. Below are some attachments of some of the articles he has written.
 Addicted to the Cell Phone.pdf | [Does your child use the cell phone too much?] |
| Bullied.pdf | [What to do if you are being bullied] |
| College Visit form.pdf | [ ] |
| Distressed Anxiety.pdf | [How to get over Anxiety] |
| Encourage Reading.pdf | [How to encourage your child to read] |
 Excuse Note.doc | [Form for parents to fill out for absences] |
| Excuse Note.pdf | [Excuse note form for parents to fill out for an absence] |
| Guide2RisingFreshmen.pdf | [Help your rising 9th grader start high school the right way] |
| PossibleDrugProblem.pdf | [What to do if I suspect a problem with drugs] |
| Prearranged absence form.doc | [ ] |
| Too Many Absences.pdf | [How to prevent too many absences] |