Thread: not sure if this is a consumer issue..

but its managed to annoy me quiet a lot...:

put simply my A* student daughter has been told she can't attend her end of school prom because she was late more than the allowed amount of times...

she came home in hysterics.....and was told this today on the friday she is about to break up....which means no recourse for two weeks.....


this looming debacle will just put a bitter end to an otherwise happy and fruitfull secondry school time......

i cant help but wonder if this is some sort of 'beadles about april fools' wind up....

i mean is'nt ' 'the prom' now regarded as a marker/highpoint of your memoirs.....along with all the other familiar highlights....like marraige....or your 18th birthday?

what kind of mental scar are they trying to give my daughter for missing registration too many times?

I have proud end of school prom photo's of my two other daughters....
I have a set of pictures 2/3rds full now.....celebrating my offsprings end of basic scholarship....i guess i may as well scribble 'late again' over my last daughters blank caption....(XXXXXX)

thanks for listening....that feels much better..

Hi Tank-Fink

This happens quite a lot in schools around the country. The prom is a special treat for pupils who meet set attendance rates and pupils failing to meet them were all told they were not allowed to go. The school prom is a unique experience. It’s one of the first occasions for your daughter and and her friends will get together to look glamorous and have fun. It’s also an emotional time as for many students; it marks the end of their school years. The importance of the school prom should not be underestimated, for many students it represents an end to their school life and the opportunity to celebrate their achievements and friendships.

I think a letter to the headmaster is required here, explaining the importance of her going.

Well I can certainly understand the idea of it being a punishment for extreme bad behaviour....but for missing registration (not late for class) too many times?

I wonder just how many children up and down the land are having thier hearts broke cos they struggle to rise early:

Peg Dawson

is a psychologist on the staff of Seacoast Mental Health Center in
Portsmouth, NH, and is a past president of the National Association of School
Psychologists and the immediate past president of the International School Psychology
Association. “Counseling 101” is provided by the National Association of School

Psychologists (www.nasponline.org).

Heres an extract from that document:

adolescents begin to experience a sleep-phase
delay in their biological clock (i.e., circadian
rhythms) and develop a natural tendency
to fall asleep later in the evening
and wake up later in the morning. Even
adolescents who are sleep deprived tend
to feel alert in the evening, making it
more difficult for them to go to bed at a
reasonable hour. Sleep is triggered by the
release of melatonin, a natural body hormone.
Toward dawn, melatonin shuts
off as the hormone cortisol increases, signaling
the individual to wake up. The
pattern and timing of melatonin secretion
makes it hard for adolescents to fall
asleep and wake up at the times necessary
to get enough restful sleep. Schools
with start times before 8:30 a.m. place
students at a disadvantage in terms of
arousal and alertness, not only for early
morning classes but also throughout the
day because adolescents’ biological
rhythms are out of sync with typical
school routines.

Disturbances and Disorders

In addition to “normal” sleep deprivation,
sleep disorders can have serious
consequences for children and adolescents.
Although some sleep disturbances
are mild, fairly common, and
relatively easy to treat, others may be
more stubborn or an indication of
potential physical problems that could
have long-term consequences if left
untreated. Among adolescents, the
most common sleep disorder is

delayed
sleep-phase syndrome, which affects an
estimated 7% of the adolescent population.
It can be difficult to diagnose
because the symptoms can mimic the
typical sleep patterns of adolescents.
The person’s sleep, or circadian,
rhythm is interrupted, making it difficult
to fall asleep at a reasonable hour
(sleep onset may be delayed until 2:00
to 4:00 a.m.) and wake up in the
morning. Treatment may include light
therapy (exposure to bright light in the
morning), chronotherapy (gradually
advancing the adolescent’s sleep schedule
one hour per night until a normal
routine is achieved), a consistent sleep
schedule, and a short-course of sedative
medication to help achieve a new
schedule. It some cases, it may be necessary
to adjust an adolescent’s school
day to a later start.

Not rocket science is it?