This October, the annual homecoming dance will be held. The homecoming game is Oct. 7 and the dance will take place on Oct. 8 with the theme being Disco Fever.

There will be a spirit week leading up to homecoming, including a pep rally during block eight on Friday and the homecoming game will be against Benson at home.

Homecoming court for juniors and seniors is also open, and you can vote now through Naviance.

Tickets are $10 per person. They will be sold Oct. 3-7 at lunch outside the AP office. However, qualifications to attend the dance have been changed.

A new rule was announced early September, stating that students will not be allowed to purchase a ticket if they have more than three unexcused absences on their record this school year. An absence is considered unexcused if a parent or guardian doesn’t notify the attendance office of their child’s absence or if a doctors note is not provided to the attendance office.

The new rule is based on superintendent Cheryl Logan’s “strive for 95” attendance campaign, although the homecoming rule is not district wide. Burke is one of the only schools with the restriction in place.

Some students are not happy with the new regulation. Junior Adalyssa Gotschall is one such student.

“As someone with serious medical problems and mental health issues I think missing only three days of school [to be able to attend homecoming]  is unreasonable,” Gotschall said. “Just because we’re students doesn’t mean we don’t have things going on in our lives aside from school.”

Although students might not agree with it, Principal Darren Rasmussen has several reasons behind the regulation.

“We want to implement guidelines that support our school-wide attendance goals this year, which include not missing more than nine days of school throughout the school year,” Rasmussen said. “Every minute late arriving to school counts towards the three days missed. Being on time to school or any obligation students have is an important life skill.”

Students are also wondering whether there will be exceptions to the rule or not. Rasmussen said he would take it case by case.

“The key is communication between the school and home,” he said. “Students and families with extenuating circumstances should contact us to set up an appointment to talk about these circumstances.”

Administration emphasizes the importance of students and families communicating with the attendance office and administrators when they are absent to avoid unexcused absences.