Students who earn an incomplete in a class from now on are ineligible to compete in MSHSAA sponsored activities. The new rule goes into effect with the first semester grade cards that are due to come out this week, guidance director Betsy Jones said.
Teachers must complete grades by Monday, Jan. 5, though teachers have five days after the semester ends to make any changes, she said.
“If [a teacher] is considering an incomplete for a student, make sure you let a counselor or me know, so that we can make sure that [MSHSAA] understands you have to take a final late because of an illness or something,” Jones said. “If you have an incomplete class five days after, you cannot compete in a MSHSAA sport.”
Jones said students should have everything for classes finished before having left for winter break so they wouldn’t have to worry later on. French teacher Kristin Reed said she deducts points on a day to day basis on assignments turned in late, which discourages the flurry of activity other teachers sometimes deal with when students rush to get missing work turned in before a grading period ends.
“Since I deduct points for late work, I get don’t get too much late work,” Reed said. “I think the new rule is appropriate because the students need to be taught to be timely. If they are not timely, there sure should be consequences for that so not being ineligible for MSHSAA sports is a good rule.”
A student of Reed’s class, junior Josh Robbins, said he wanted to enjoy the break between semesters with his family and friends, so it was a priority for him to be finished with everything before leaving school.
“I am really strong with getting everything in on time,” Robbins said. “Christmas break is a time to be away from school a little bit and enjoy the time, so I get everything in on time, so I don’t have to worry about it later. I also play on the soccer team, so this new rule is even more motivation for me to have everything done for all my classes.”
By Harsh Singh