Dear Elaine,

Dear Elaine,

I am writing to you to in relation to Matthews request to be excused from attending school tomorrow in favour of rehearsing for his pending HSC examination.

There are a number of reasons why I feel this would be favourable to both Matthews spiritual well being in the lead-up to a very important performance and his ability to perform to the best of his ability on the day.

Without the hassle of having to attend school, Matthew will be free to concentrate solely on his craft and thus be able to rid his mind of the worries and plagues of regular, every-day school existence. This day will be an opportunity for his playing to truly develop to that higher level, and will allow him to really fine tune the works which he will present on Friday without the pressures of the outside world and quotidian reality to bother him. As an experienced HSC student in practical examinations, it is my duty to inform you of the necessity of quality preparation time in the final days leading up to the big performance. Attending school will diminish Matthews preparation time by up to four hours a quite significant amount.

Also, as Im sure you are aware, Wednesdays at Bulli High School are a shortened day due to sport, finishing at 12.30pm. In addition to this, Matthews timetable is sparse, having only English and Music scheduled with two study periods making up the remainder of his classes. It would be futile to attend his music lesson as all the other students will be at home rehearsing, and the equipment that is available to him at the school is extremely inferior to the equipment he could be utilising in the comfort of his bedroom. In regards to his English lesson, unfortunately, as he undertakes Standard English, the lesson will invariably (despite the good intentions of the teacher) be uneventful, hijacked by his peers who are not committed and interested in revising the course.

As a student of Advanced English I can assure you this also occurs in my classroom, thus why I myself have strategic days off school because I know that it is highly unlikely that a valuable lesson will occur.

I understand that you have received a letter asking parents to please ensure their children attend school. This, however, is aimed at the many students in our year who deem themselves above revision and who choose to attend very infrequently. Having said this, Matthew is a clear exception, as he has an almost perfect attendance record, and rarely has an absence from school. In these special circumstances one day in the scheme of things will hardly be of consequence, except in the sense that it can potentially improve his HSC mark. Missing one lesson of English is not going to affect Matthews result, especially if he seeks out the teacher the following day and asks for any homework or class work that he may or may not have this.

Thus I hope you can see the advantages for all concerned in granting Matthews request and hope that you will proceed favourably, having taken on board these valid aforementioned points.

Yours Sincerely,

Mara Davis