At Rocky View Schools (RVS), the safety of our students is our priority. We use SafeArrival by SchoolMessenger to track and communicate student attendance and absences. This system allows parents/guardians to report an absence in advance through the SchoolMessenger app, website or toll-free number (1-833-244-5565). More information about SafeArrival is available on the Absence Reporting page of our website or in this handbook.

We will be implementing some changes to enhance attendance tracking and communication of absences to parents/guardians starting April 17. There are some important changes to how you will need to enter absences and how you will be notified if students are not in class when absences are not reported in advance.

Late or half-day absences

If your child will be late, you will need to enter an “Absent” code in the SchoolMessenger app and the expected time your child will arrive at school. When the student arrives at the office to check in, the office staff will change the “Absent” code to a “Late” code with the time they arrived.

Half-day absences will continue to be reported using the “Late” drop-down for a morning half-day or “Early Departure” drop-down for an afternoon half-day. For morning half-day absences, students will need to check in at the office when they arrive.  

SafeArrival notifications

You can choose how you wish to receive attendance notifications by the SafeArrival system – by phone call, email or app notification. Notifications/messages will be standardized and scheduled twice a day for all RVS schools – within the first hour of the school day and after the lunch break. Messages will only be made for students who have an “Unexcused Absence” recorded in our system. The messaging schedule will be automated to create consistency around times; Friday afternoon times may vary due to local school schedules. Schools may choose to schedule additional calls/messages. If you report your child’s absence in advance using the SchoolMessenger app, website or toll-free number, you will NOT receive these notifications.

PowerSchool notifications

If you use the PowerSchool app, you will no longer receive notification alerts for attendance changes. Parents/guardians can still use the app but will need to launch it to see real-time attendance changes.

Multiple-day attendance reporting

Parents/guardians can now enter up to 10 days of planned absences in advance.

PIN option

To add an extra layer of assurance, parents/guardians are encouraged to require a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) be entered before an absence can be reported or explained for individual students when using the SafeArrival system. This feature prevents students from reporting their own absences.

We appreciate your co-operation with these new improvements. Ensuring timely school and parent/guardian communication about student absences is an important part of keeping our students safe. Please contact your school’s office for questions about reporting a student absence.