Excusing School Absences For Horse Shows
Blog by: Wild Oats Farm, courtesy of Courtsey Promotions
As parents of two children that show horses, we know that school absences can often be a hassle when taking your kids out of school for horse shows. We have used this letter to give to the school about the the girls absences, and it has been well received. Therefore, we wanted to share it with our fellow horse show parents. Please feel free to use this letter if you think it would be of any benefit to you and your child.
Dear School Administrator,
Our daughters, ____________________ , will be competing at __(name of competition)_____ in __(city/state)______________. The competition will be held on ___(dates)_________.
As you know, sportsmanship, scholarship, physical development and integrity are promoted and developed through interscholastic sports and equestrian is the sport our daughters have chosen to pursue at a high level of competition.
The purpose of this letter is to request your support for our student athlete _______________. We are asking you to partner with us to lay out a plan for academic and athletic success. We are committed to excellence and commitment in the classroom, as well as the athletic arena.
Training and travel to competitions will challenge their schedules and it is our hope, that through proper encouragement, communication, and planning, they will continue to advance academically, as well as athletically.
Competitions are an important evaluation of their skills and also allow them to be seen by college recruiters. We feel strongly that competing with horses teaches the real-world values of time management, hard work, and commitment and it is our agreement with ___________ that we will support their sport and passion if they remain committed to their academics.
As you are probably aware, student athletes are among the most successful academically of all students. We dislike interfering with school, however this is an opportunity to compete with athletes from across the country and is an excellent learning and growing experience.
___________ will need to be absent from the classroom on __(dates)________. We are very proud of ___________________’s achievements and hope you recognize this outstanding accomplishment and excuse the absence. We sincerely appreciate your partnership and support.
Student Athlete Commitment
I will provide all of my teachers with advance notice of dates that I will need to be absent from the classroom.
I will talk with each teacher about a plan to keep up with classwork.
Upon return, I commit to handing in schoolwork and taking exams within a timeline agreed upon with each teacher.
When possible, I will utilize technology such as email, Google documents, scanning, etc. to submit homework and/or provide updates to my teacher(s).
_______________ _______________ _____________________
Student Parent Teacher/Administrator
