Dean of Students
School Procedures
Click here for a printable copy of the Absentee Note.
Absentee Note (PDF format)
Absentee Note (MS Word format)
Click here for a printable copy of the School Health Forms.
2009-2010 Health form pg1.
2009-2010 Health form pg2.
Flu Infomation
A message about H1N1 flu
Flu Information Sheet
Center for Disease Control
Message From the Dean of Students
August 2009
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope this letter finds you well. Fortunately, plenty of time remains in the summer vacation for Xavier families to relax and enjoy time together. While I don’t wish for time to pass too quickly, I am conscious of the fact that most of you are beginning to plan for the upcoming academic year at Xavier High School. As you begin to make preparations with your son, please allow me to highlight some important expectations and ask for your support with issues of dress code, attendance, electronic communication devices and the like.
All students are expected to be in “summer dress code” when they arrive for orientation in September. This consists of dress pants, dress shoes, dress belt, socks that cover the ankle and either a white dress shirt with a properly knotted tie or a Xavier polo shirt. In addition, your son’s hair should be neat, clean and cut short. It should not hang over his eyebrows in the front, his collar in the back, or cover his ears. Xavier students are expected to be in dress code while traveling to and from school each day.
In terms of attendance, Xavier’s ability to educate your son is diminished when he is not present on a regular basis. For this reason, and because the school calendar has sufficient vacation days for students to rest, travel and visit with family, you are asked to discourage your son from missing school for any reason other than illness. Days missed so as to extend an existing holiday are of particular concern to the faculty and administration, because they make it more challenging for teachers to transition their classes and administer assessments. In short, our expectation is that every effort be made to schedule appointments, college visits and family trips during non-school days.
Of course, there are times when circumstances beyond your control necessitate his absence from school. When these situations arise, we ask that you submit a written request to the Dean of Students at least one week prior to the expected absence. This will give me sufficient time to review your son’s records and ask his teachers for an evaluation about how the planned absence will impact his progress in the course. On the day of an absence a parent or guardian must call the Dean of Students’ Office and report the absence by 9:00 AM. When your son returns to school after an absence, he must bring a note from you on the official absentee form provided by the Dean of Students’ Office, or a note from his doctor. If the absence occurs on the day before or after any school vacation, it must be explained through a doctor’s note.
Another important expectation that I would like to review involves electronic communication devices. When your son enters the building each morning, his electronic communication device must be turned off and stored in his locker or backpack. These devices offer a tempting distraction to students and seriously disrupt the learning environment that we are working to create. In addition, the camera, video and text messaging capabilities on his cell phone can lead to larger disciplinary problems such as cheating, the distribution of pornography and the inappropriate posting of images on the Internet. For this reason, students may not use cell phones and other electronic communication devices in the building or carry them in their trouser or blazer pockets. If you need to contact your son during the school day, I ask you to call the Dean of Students’ Office. A member of the administration will deliver the message to your son. The penalty for using a cell phone or having it on in the building begins with detention and escalates to confiscation and a parent meeting after multiple offenses.
Lastly, I would like to remind you that the deadline for health forms this year was July 17. If you have not already done so, please submit your son’s updated medical form as soon as possible. New York State law requires that we collect updated health forms from each student every twelve months. As a result, your son will not be permitted to attend classes or participate in school activities until current medical records are returned to the Dean of Students.
I am grateful for your attention to these issues, your tremendous support of Xavier High School and your willingness to entrust your son to our care. I look forward to working with him and you in the upcoming academic year. Please contact me at 212-924-7900 or mccabeb@xavierhs.org, if you have any questions or concerns. For your convenience, absentee notes, health forms and the complete Student Handbook can be downloaded from the Dean of Students webpage at www.xavierhs.org. Be assured of my prayers for your family as you enjoy the rest of the summer.
Sincerely,
Brian McCabe
Dean of Students