Attendance Office
Parent Notifications
The Helena School District #1 uses a system that allows for notifications to be sent quickly to parents and guardians via email, phone, text message. These notifications include: emergency information, attendance issues, general updates, etc. Helena High utilizes this system on a daily basis and notifications are sent several times a day to parents if a student has an unverified absence for that day. If you receive one of these notifications regarding student absence, please follow the instructions on the message, or call the Attendance Office at 324-2211.
Parents please be sure to provide your most current contact information in Power School so that these notifications reach you. Thank you.
How to excuse your student from school for an appointment after he/she had already been in attendance for the day:
- Before your child’s appointment, call and notify the attendance office in advance of what time your child will need to leave. The direct line to the attendance office is 324-2211 and our voicemail is always operating. A second option is to write your child a note to bring in to the attendance office before their appointment. Our office then issues an appointment pass to the student.
- At the appropriate time, the student shows their teacher the pink appointment pass, asks to be released, and then goes to the attendance office. At the office, the student must check out and then they may leave the building and go to the appointment.
- Upon arrival back at school, the student must again stop at the attendance office and check back in, before attending class.
It is important to note that the parent must notify the attendance office prior to the student missing any class. If your call or a note is provided after your student has already left, this is an unexcused absence.
How to excuse your student if he/she is late to school or late to 5th period after lunch:
- Please call the attendance office at 324-2211 and inform us or send your child with a note.
- The student must stop by the attendance office and check in before attending class.
How to excuse your child for a full day absence:
- Call and notify the attendance office at 324-2211 in advance, the day of or within 24 hours of the absence.
At times, our phone lines are especially busy, please feel free to leave a voicemail or send us an email HHSAttendance@helenaschools.org. We do request that if your student needs to leave for an appointment before 9:00 am, that you do not leave a message. Often times, the messages are not checked until later (at the earliest 8:30) and your message will not be received in time. Please continue to call in until someone answers the phone.
