​All students are expected to attend school when classes are in session. 

For the safety of our students, it is mandatory that the school be notified of any student absence immediately. The State of California requires a WRITTEN excuse signed by the parent or legal guardian. The note, which is required for readmission to class, must state the reasons for the absence, as well as the date(s) when the student was not in school. These excuses are kept on file in the office for the remainder of the school year. In the case of a student’s absence, parents must contact both the teacher and the front office via email, or by calling the school office at (818) 341-6616 BEFORE 8:30 a.m. and providing the student’s name, grade and cause of absence. For your convenience, absence information may be left anytime on our after-hours school answering system; please provide the student's name, grade, and cause of absence. Students are considered truant after 3 absences in a row with no notification to the school by parents. 

Medical absences are still considered absence because students are not present at school. Archdiocesan policy mandates that students may not be credited with a medical absence on school registers. If a student is not present at school for any reason, they must be marked absent. Medical absences must be covered by a written excuse obtained from the doctor’s office.  Official medical excuses are required only for teacher and administration consideration of classwork, homework, and assignments. Any child absent five days or more due to illness must be cleared through the front office​.​

A student absent from school may not participate in a sporting activity or any other extra-curricular activity on the day he/she is absent. 

Students are in jeopardy of not graduating or being promoted when excess absences occur. An accum​ulation of twenty absences per trimester may necessitate the withholding of report card grades. Grades can be affected by absences. SJW strongly discourages extended absences due to vacation. Scheduling make-up tests or other work is at the discretion of the teacher and administration. Students will receive a zero for absent work until the student makes up the assignments. The student has the same number of days absent to make up their absent work. It is the student’s responsibility to request and complete missed assignments.