This is a timed practice essay for an upcoming PTK exam. Today's prompt: "You are preparing for a new school year and your principle has asked you to help the parents understand the importance of attendance. Write a letter to the parents explaining the importance of good attendence for the upcoming school year." Outline- Main Subject- Importance of attendence. Supporting details- Why? - Benefits to good attendence. - Obstacles to good attendence. - Suggestions to overcoming those obstacles. - Conclusion Begin Essay: Date Dear Parents, Welcome to the 2008/2009 school year! We have an exciting year planned and are ready to get started and we hope you are too! While the excitement of a new school year is still in the air, I would like to bring to your attention what I believe to be one of the most important factors in your child's success this school year. Attendence. Yes, it's true that sometimes merely showing up is half the battle. That is certainly the case in elementary school. I'd like for you to consider the following prior to allowing your child to miss class in the upcoming school year. First, what lesson will he miss? Is this a subject I feel confident I can teach myself? Do I have the materials? Do I have the time? What homework assignments will he get behind on by missing this day? Will his grade be affected? Second. Can this absence be avoided? Third. If the absence cannot be avoided how can I help him to catch up on his missed assignments? Phew! There are a lot of questions to ask, huh? Well, the truth is, the answer to each question is important in your child's success at school, and I haven't even included project work, field trips, science experiments, special guests, or testing! Each day that your child misses from school has the potential of adversely affecting his success in the school year. Perhaps the most important question is, how can I best help my child to attend each school day in the upcoming year and therefore attain his full potential? Let's look at the two biggest causes of attendence problems from last year and see if we can find an answer to that question: First- Illness. In my class alone last year, 35% of all absences were due to the cold or flu. No cure for that. Right? Well, maybe so, but there are preventative measures. The most effective is handwashing. Please take a moment to review the attachment regarding helpful handwashing hints and how you can incorporate them into your daily habits. It may be a simple measure, but handwashing alone is still the most effective preventative measure against the common cold. Also, consider the flu shot for your family. The most common misconception about the flu vaccine is that you can catch the flu from the vaccine, it simply isn't true. I've enclosed a pamphlet on the flu vaccine, please take a moment to review it and discuss the option with your family physician to see if it is right for your family. Speaking of vaccines, last year 10% of our students were out with the chicken pox, even though we have a vaccine for that too! Please discuss the pros and cons of these valuable vaccines with your physician as well. Second- Vacation. Yes, vacation was the second largest cause of absenteism among our class last year with 20% of the kids out for family vactions. I have also enclosed a school calendar for the full 2008/2009 school year for your convenience. Aside from the summer break, we have a spring break, Christmas break, Thanksgiving break, and five three-day weekends that your child will not be in school this year. Please, do everything you can to plan your family vacations around these breaks so that you and your child get the vacation you deserve together without having to worry about playing catch-up when you return. Now that we have discusse the preventative measures that can be taken to ensure perfect attendence, what should you do when there is simply no choice? Plan now. Please send in the attached parent information sheet as soon as possible and put my information (included on the back of this letter) in a safe place so that we can stay in contact. I plan the lessons out in advance and will be happy to send home any assignments that he will need to bring with him when he returns if its appropriate. The key is to communicate so that we can work together so that the effects of the absence are limited. In concl- TIME OUT.