Rights and Responsibilities of All Central Citizens:
1. The right to have an environment that
enables us to learn.
2. The responsibility to respect the individual differences and ethnic backgrounds of all
Central citizens.
3. The right to be treated in a courteous and respectful manner.
4. The responsibility to respect the property and safety of each other.
5. The right to fairness and consistency in discipline and awareness of rules in our
school community.
INTRODUCTION
Central Community School’s Code of Conduct outlines school expectations and acceptable student behaviour as directed by the School Act 85 (2) (c). The Code of Conduct is communicated to students, parents, staff, as well as to visitors and other district staff. The Code of Conduct is taught, reinforced and monitored. Each year, the Code of Conduct is reviewed to reflect the school community’s needs, and to align with the district and provincial school safety initiatives.
CODE OF CONDUCT: KEY ELEMENTS
1. Process
In establishing an effective process for developing and continuously revising our Code of Conduct at Central, we believe that it is imperative that we involve all members of our school community including, students, parents, caregivers and staff. By involving all parties, we continuously generate a strong sense of ownership for our Code of Conduct and make it common ‘language’ in our school.
We revise our School Code of Conduct to meet Ministry guidelines each year in the spring where staff engages in a number of activities to facilitate dialogue around behavioural standards specific to our school community. During this time, information was also presented to students by their teachers for further feedback and discussion. In addition, parents were invited to offer their feedback and input regarding Central’s Code of Conduct through SPC and PAC meetings as well as through individual feedback through the principal. We continue with this process today as we make adjustments to this document to better support our students and their families.
2. Communication
We believe that for our Code of Conduct and our school-wide behaviour model to be effective; it is very important that we maintain effective communication between staff, students and parents. Regular staff meetings, collaborative meeting times and PAC and SPC meetings are often used to discuss areas of the Code of Conduct between and among staff, students and parents. Monthly newsletters provide parents with information about revisions and updates in our School Code of Conduct and key strategies that we employ within it. Most importantly, staff regularly communicate with our students and their families around our School Code of Conduct expectations in our classrooms and when representing our school on fieldtrips and sports events. We aim to be proactive at all times and appropriate behaviour expectations are regularly reinforced in all settings and posted on the hallway walls for all students to see. Behavioural expectations in all settings are reviewed with all students at the start of the year during ‘Opening Week’ activities. Parents and students received and sign-off the Code of Conduct at the beginning of each school year. The Code of Conduct is referred to when meeting with students and parents when infractions to the code occur. The Code of Conduct is also available on the school website. The Code of Conduct is also placed in all staff sub/TOC books for review by temporary district personnel.
More specifically, behavioural expectations and conflict solving strategies are promoted and reinforced by teachers, the counselor, other staff members and the principal in classrooms, on the playground and throughout the school. Our conflict solving model: WITS (W=Walk away; I=Ignore; T=Talk about it; and S=Seek help) is on our hallway walls and posted in every classroom. Expectations regarding acceptable conduct are also communicated to temporary staff and visitors.
Central’s Student Leadership Program is comprised of up to 60 grade 4 and 5 students. They are a key group in communicating and reinforcing our Code of Conduct. They are involved in 8 service teams within the building that work to provide activities and experiences for their peers and fellow primary students that reinforce appropriate actions and reactions in all settings. As well, grade 4/5 students of all abilities increase their leadership and abilities with practice and role modeling. When students accept leadership responsibilities, overall participation increases, program quality improves and the school climate is more positive for all students. The program builds self- esteem, enhances the functioning of our school, provides positive autonomy, develops interpersonal competence and strengthens individual and cooperative skills.
As well, all students have received extensive training in promoting the use of WITS on the playground and in the school by their teachers and the youth worker. Most days, during break times, PALs (Peers for Active Learning) Leadership students go out on the school grounds helping students to become involved in structured activities that promote friendships, teach skills to solve problems in peaceful ways and use their WITS. As well, for students that struggle socially, emotionally and behaviorally- we provide a re-education opportunity with our youth worker to review the expectations as more practice and exposure to appropriate school conduct may be necessary.
3. Implementation
At Central, we believe that for behaviour expectations to be understood by everyone throughout the school, they need to be taught and actively promoted. We implement a school wide conflict solving strategy called WITS. WITS is used throughout the school and is being promoted in all classrooms by the teachers, counselor, principal and other staff members.
Over the first two months of every school year all students are either taught (Kindergarten and new students) or reminded of our WITS problem solving strategy and are actively encouraged to use it. In classrooms, students are presented with scenarios and role plays focused around typical elementary school conflicts, and then asked how to problem solve their way through these issues. Our youth worker also facilitates several ‘Friendship Groups’, consisting of 5-6 students, which meet weekly and run for two month periods. These students learn about using their WITS in more depth, bully prevention, self-esteem and friendship skills.
Also, at the beginning of the year, the Code of Conduct is reviewed intensively through grade group activities during Opening Week and weekly Collaboration times.
In 2010-11, we began a journey to support students overall through the 7 Habits of Successful Learners. We have used all of our Pro-D days and Strong Classroom Strong Schools Project time to focus on our learning in this area to support both students and families. Our hope was to have students take more responsibility for their learning and introduce a common school language for learning and positive actions.
4. Monitoring and Review
We believe that it is essential to have a record of both appropriate and inappropriate student behaviours which occur. Students are publicly recognized for positive behaviours and are presented with MAGIC Slips, which are recognized daily over the announcements. As well, Recognition Certificates, which recognize individual achievement, are presented at school wide assemblies each month. Behaviour Incident Forms, filled out by staff when appropriate, are used to keep track of inappropriate student behaviours. Overall, we closely monitor school conduct to ensure that our code is effective in contributing to school safety and in creating a positive school learning environment.
If school staff, students and/or parents recognize behaviour not covered by the Code of Conduct; they have the opportunity to bring this forward to the school administration for potential inclusion in the code. Each year, additions or corrections are considered with each stakeholder group (School PAC, School Planning Council and Central Staff) before the Code of Conduct is submitted to the district. Additions or changes to district policies are also reviewed each year and implemented in the Code of Conduct as necessary.
5. Alignment
We are currently working on our alignment with the elementary, middle and high schools in the ‘Port Coquitlam South Side Family of Schools’ area. We established a common letter to families of students who display extreme absences or tardiness as these factors are an early indication of “fading out” later in their school career. Our goal is to continue to communicate with our family schools so that we can focus on consistency among our Codes of Conduct and fulfill the Southside Family of Schools vision of creating a seamless continuum of care for students from Kindergarten to graduation.
6. Standards
a) Statement of Purpose
Central Community School 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 or mental disability, sex or sexual orientation-in respect of discriminatory publication and discrimination in accommodation, service and facility in the school environment. In this environment, we can work together to foster lifelong thinking, learning and caring while promoting responsibility in a safe, nurturing environment.
b) Conduct Expectations
These expectations apply to behaviour at school, during the 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.
Acceptable Conduct:
· Be friendly and kind
· Be proud of yourself and your school
· Be cooperative
· Be prepared and on time
· Do your best
· Respect yourself, others and the school
· Behave safely at all times
· Report any bullying incidents to a staff member
Unacceptable Conduct
Behaviours which interfere with the learning of others include but are not limited to:
· Being unkind to others including bullying* behaviours
· Being uncooperative
· Arriving late for class and being unprepared
· Behaving unsafely
· Not taking responsibility or facing the consequences for your own actions and blaming others instead
· Not trying your best
· Not respecting yourself or your school
*Bullying includes but is not limited to physical or verbal intimidation, verbal harassment and cyber-bullying, occurring on or off school property (Policy 17).
Students shall not discriminate against others on the basis of the race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or disability, or for any other reason set out in the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, nor shall a student publish or display anything that would indicate an intention to discriminate against another, or expose them to contempt or ridicule, on the basis of any such grounds.
Rising Expectations
· As students become older, more mature, and move through successive grades it is expected that they will show increasing personal responsibility and self-discipline.
· There will be a system of increasing consequences for inappropriate behaviour as a student progresses in the school year.
c) Consequences
The school will treat seriously behaviour or communication that discriminates based on race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex or sexual orientation (prohibited grounds set out in the BC Human Rights Code).
· The severity and frequency of the inappropriate behaviours will determine what course of disciplinary action to take.
· Disciplinary action will focus more on being preventative, restorative and corrective rather than being punitive.
· Students whenever possible will be encouraged to participate in the development of meaningful consequences for the
violations of the established code of conduct.
· Consequences may include: school or community counseling, conflict resolution strategies, small group mediations, informal
suspensions or ‘time outs’ both at home or at school, community service, positive support plans, formal suspensions as per
District Code of Code.
· Special considerations may apply to the imposition of consequences on a student with special needs if the student is unable
to comply with this Code of Conduct, due to a disability of an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or behavioural nature.
· Families will be reassured that the school and School Board will take all reasonable steps to prevent retaliation by a person
against a student who has made a complaint of a breach of a code of conduct.
*Discipline of a student must be similar to that of a kind, firm and judicious parent, but MUST not include corporal punishment (School Act Section 76 (3))
d) Notification
Depending on the severity and frequency of the inappropriate behaviours, a teacher or a principal may:
· contact parents and inform them about their son/daughter’s inappropriate behaviour; this may come in the form of phone call
or in the case of three reported incidents in a term a letter home.
· inform the parents of the students who have been victims of unacceptable behaviour.
· inform Coquitlam School Board officials as required by school district policy, e.g. Level 1, 2 and 3 suspensions
· inform police, or other agencies depending on severity of the behaviour as required by law
· inform school staff and school community as deemed appropriate by the school and/or district administration
· send home a newsletter to all parents if 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 it.