Code of Conduct
Statement of Purpose
Mount Boucherie Senior Secondary School takes pride in providing a high quality education program within a safe and caring environment. This code exists to:
- Provide a foundation for the development and maintenance of a safe, caring and orderly environment for school members;
- Strike an appropriate balance among individual and collective rights, freedoms, and responsibilities; and
- Outline and clarify expectations for students while at school, going to and from school, and at any school function or activity at any location.
Mount Boucherie promotes the values expressed in the BC Human Rights Code respecting the rights of all individuals in accordance with the law – prohibiting discrimination based on race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, physical and mental disability, sex or sexual discrimination – In respect of discriminatory publication and discrimination in accommodation, service, and facility in the school environment.
Rationale
This code is based on principles of respect, rights, and responsibilities.
Conduct Expectations
All school members* will:
• Demonstrate respect for themselves, others, and their school,
• Treat school property and the property of others with a reasonable standard of care,
• Express themselves with socially acceptable language and gestures,
• Exhibit behaviour that is free of all forms of intimidation, harassment, racism, and discrimination,
• Dress in accordance with the school dress standards,
• Promote positive behaviour through the avoidance of all types of violent acts,
• Inform a school official of any unsafe situation (individual or behaviour),
• Make every effort to attend scheduled classes and arrive on time,
• Respect the rights of others to learn in an environment free of unnecessary distracters,
• Refrain from the possession of any form of a weapon while on school property,
• Refrain from the possession and use of all forms of intoxicants,
• Assist in making the school a safe, caring and orderly place, and
• Model respectful and responsible behaviour not only at school, but within the community, and whenever acting as a school ambassador.
These expectations apply to behaviour at school, during school-organized or sponsored activities, and behaviour beyond these times (including on-line behaviour) that negatively impacts the safe, caring, or orderly environment of the school, and/or student learning.
Examples of Unacceptable Conduct
Unacceptable conduct includes (the areas cited are examples only and not an all-inclusive list):
• behaviours that:
-interfere with the rights of others to learn (e.g. getting into a power struggle with another school member or members).
-create an unsafe situation for any school member (e.g. not complying with safety procedures when working with equipment).
-distract others from focusing on instruction or concentrating on prescribed tasks. (e.g. having a cell phone ring in the middle of a class or text messaging a fellow student within a class or in another class).
• acts of:
-bullying, harassment or intimidation (e.g. directing intimidating behaviours toward another school member or systematically excluding an individual from a group activity).
-physical violence (e.g. fighting or encouraging other school members to fight).
-retribution against a person who has reported incidents (e.g. threatening to hurt someone because of their attempt to prevent a violent act).
• illegal acts, such as:
-possession, use or distribution of illegal or restricted substances (e. g. being in possession of marijuana while at school or within the “Drug Free Zone” or associating with an individual or individuals who are using a controlled substance).
-possession or use of weapons (e. g. having a knife at school or threatening a school member with a tool).
-theft of or damage to property (e. g. tagging the walls in a school bathroom or destroying a school members personal possession).
Principal Authority
The principal has a right under the School Act to discharge discipline from the time a student leaves home to go to school until such time as the student returns home at the conclusion of the school day. ~However, the principal’s and the district’s authority also extend beyond the normal ‘home-to-home’ rule when the behaviour of a student off school premises or after school hours adversely affects the operation of a school.
Rising expectations
It is understood that students require assistance in developing and subscribing to these socially responsible values and behaviours. One role of school staff is to educate and guide student social development by increasing expectations and consequences as students mature both physically and socially. As a result, responses to behaviour will vary according to these variables. Generally, as a student matures, expectations will increase and consequences will be adjusted accordingly.
Consequences
We believe that discipline is intended to promote the development of pro-social behaviours. To this end it is partially our responsibility to actively teach these attitudes and skills. In this process, it will be necessary to draw on consequences to enhance student learning. The use of consequences will be governed by the following principles:
Consequences will…
…be appropriate to the student’s stage of development,
...reflect the intensity, frequency and/or duration of the inappropriate behaviour,
…be chosen primarily for their educational value,
…make sense to the student as much as possible, and
…be appropriately timed.
In addition, special considerations may apply to students with special needs, if they are unable to comply with this code due to having a disability of an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or behavioural nature.
Following are some examples of consequences that may be considered (it should be understood that this is not a complete list of consequences):
– Informal meeting with a student to address the situation
– Phone call to parent to discuss the situation
– Mandatory tutorial time assigned
– Formal meeting involving student and guardian
– Make up or rehearsal time assigned (early morning, lunch, after school)
– Removal of an assumed school privilege
– Referral to Vice Principal
– Withdrawal from course
– Restitution, either monetarily or through school-based community service
– Referral to school-based team
– Definite in-school or out-of-school suspension
– Indefinite suspension
The following are some examples of consequences that would not be appropriate based on the established principles:
–corporal punishment,
–use of collective responsibility (group punishments) as a disciplinary process,
–use of academic work as a disciplinary procedure (e. g. assigning extra academic work to punish misbehavior),
–use of an evaluation procedure as a disciplinary act (e.g. arbitrarily assigning a test to an individual or class that is behaving inappropriately), and
–using an individual as an example to deter misbehaviour in others (e. g. reprimanding an individual in front of his/her peers).
Notification
In instances where a student, or group of students, engages in a serious breach of the code of conduct, it may be necessary for school officials to advise other parties. Specifically we will adhere to the following guidelines:
• parents of student offender(s) – in every instance
• parents of student victim(s) – in every instance
• school district officials – as required by school district policy
• police and/or other agencies – as required by law
• all parents – when deemed to be important to reassure members of the school community that school officials are aware of a serious situation or incident and are taking appropriate action to address the matter.
In addition to the above, we have a responsibility to the district and the Ministry of Education to track and generically report data collected on student misbehaviour patterns. This information is used to determine trends, re-tool responses, and determine changes to existing policies and practices.
If you have any questions about this code and related applications, contact the school administration.
School District Expectations Regarding Student Behaviour
Every student shall be subject to the School Code of Conduct while on school premises, in going to and returning from school, and at all games and functions under the school’s jurisdiction, whenever and wherever held.
Suspension
A “suspension” is, by definition, a removal of a student’s right to attend regular class instruction sessions.
Suspension may be either:
- Definite – up to ten school days or
- Indefinite – in excess of ten school days
Administrators of schools, and teachers authorized by the board and the principal, may suspend a student when the Administrator or other authorized teacher concludes that:
1. A student is willfully disobedient to a teacher or any other employee of the board carrying out responsibilities approved by the board
2. The behaviour of the student has a harmful effect on the character or persons of other students or staff members
3. A student fails to apply himself in his studies or fails to comply with the rules of the school and does not, after due warning, make a reasonable effort to reform.
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