Hazel Trembath Elementary School
School Mission: Hazel Trembath Elementary School is a caring community, learning and working together to take care of ourselves, others and the environment.
INTRODUCTION
Hazel Trembath Elementary is committed to promoting and maintaining a safe, caring and orderly school environment, as outlined in the Safe Caring and Orderly Schools Guide. Through the collaboration of staff, students and parents, Hazel Trembath sustains a positive school culture where student learning is our primary focus. Teachers and parents work together to model and outline clear expectations of what appropriate, respectful behavior should look like, sound like and feel like. School initiatives with respect to social responsibility and healthy living will enhance consistency across grades and throughout the community. Our code of conduct represents a belief that we all work together to take care of ourselves, others and the environment.
The following document is comprised of the guiding process utilized to create Hazel Trembath's Code of Conduct, and the expectations for all members of Hazel Trembath Elementary School's Community. The guidelines adhere to District, Ministry and School Act standards, and follow a process to reinforce standards and address new issues as they arise.
PROCESS
Each year the Hazel Trembath community is involved in a process whereby all stakeholders (students, parents and staff) are given an opportunity to provide feedback and make recommendations to improve the Code of Conduct.
COMMUNICATION
Hazel Trembath Elementary 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 reviewed annually to reflect the school's community needs, and to ensure that it is aligned with both district and provincial safety initiatives. The Code of Conduct is communicated to students, parents, school and district staff, and visitors. The Code of Conduct is:
- Posted on the school website and the community Sharepoint site
- Included in the student planner information package that is provided to all students during the first week of September
- Provided to all new students who enroll throughout the year
- Communicated to students and parents at the start of the school year. Parents and students are instructed to sign an online form indicating they have read the Code of Conduct
- Presented to students at the September assembly. The Code of Conduct is taught/reinforced at subsequent school assemblies throughout the school year
- Embedded in class meetings and in the development of class charters
- Distributed to all staff at the beginning of the year, and provided to individuals who join the staff throughout the school year
- Provided to temporary staff through teachers' “on call" books
- Communicated to parents, as appropriate, through school newsletters, the school planner, emails, and at Parent Advisory Council
IMPLEMENTATION
Students are reminded of the school's Code of Conduct and their personal responsibility to be a good citizen of Hazel Trembath Elementary in opening week activities and throughout the year at assemblies. Students are explicitly taught what taking care of ourselves, others and the environment should look and feel like. Classroom teachers follow up the introduction of the common expectations with lessons that highlight what it might look like in a variety of settings.
- The Code of Conduct is taught in a range of ways mainly through interaction of students with their teachers
- Staff members model the expectations of the Code of Conduct and guide students in decision making, problem solving, and how to play safely and fairly
- Student leaders in the school are asked to model behavior that reinforces the expectations laid out in the Code of Conduct
- Students are taught strategies to resolve conflicts through peaceful means such as mediation and to follow due process when resolving problems/challenges
- Staff are asked to review aspects of the Code of Conduct at select staff meetings and professional development sessions
- All school staff expect community members to adhere to the Code of Conduct everywhere on the school property
- The principles of the Code of Conduct are evident in sports activities, both at home and away, where a commitment to sportsmanship and fair play prevail
- Parents are asked to review the Code of Conduct with their son/daughter
- Parent Advisory Council will have a role in the review of, and any modifications made to, the Code of Conduct
Our school Code of Conduct has been, and continues to be, embedded in the teachings of our staff members. They make every effort to teach, model, and encourage socially responsible behaviours through positive reinforcement. On a daily basis, all staff members contribute to helping students find ways to solve their problems.
MONITORING AND REVIEW
Student conduct and the school's Code of Conduct is monitored and discussed to ensure that the code reflects the current and emerging situations that contribute to school/student safety. It is important to emphasize that the school community is committed to a proactive, caring, understanding and compassionate problem solving approach. The monitoring function is achieved through
- First term interim reporting that indicates how students are performing socially and in their work habits
- Communication with parents through report card comments (formal/informal) and parent/teacher interviews (formal/informal)
- School based team meetings attended by administration, teachers, the counsellor, student services, parents and district staff (when necessary). Behaviour support plans may be developed and implemented, should a child require ongoing and consistent intervention
- Parent and grade 4 surveys collected annually provide school based data
- Student leadership meetings
- Meetings between administration, counsellor, teachers, students and/or parents
- Parent based meetings such as PAC. All parents are encouraged to review the Code of Conduct and provide feedback
ALIGNMENT
Meetings among our community of schools (elementary, middle and secondary) have taken place to discuss core values, school goals and expectations. Principals from the Southside Family of Schools gathered to discuss how our Codes of Conduct were aligned. The Southside Family of Schools works together to ensure that Codes of Conduct have similar expectations and language. In addition, the Hazel Trembath Code of Conduct is aligned with:
- District and Provincial policy
- Administrative procedures
- The Human Rights Act
- The School Act
- The Criminal Code Of Canada
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Hazel Trembath's Code of Conduct is in place to:
- Establish and maintain a safe, caring and orderly environment for a positive learning and teaching climate
- Provide common expectations for the behavior of all students and to ensure all members of the school community understand these expectations
- Ensure a positive community that values openness, diversity, fairness, and equality
- Maintain appropriate balances among individual and collective rights, freedoms, and responsibilities
- Encourage thoughtful and reflective citizenship
- Clarify and outline school expectations and acceptable student conduct at school, in the community, and while acting as school ambassadors
BEHAVIOUR EXPECTATIONS
These expectations apply to behaviour at school, during school-organized or sponsored activities, and behaviour beyond the school day (including on-line behaviour) that negatively impacts the environment of the school, student learning, and/or student safety/wellbeing.
A search by school officials of a student under their authority or a search of student property may be undertaken if the school has reasonable grounds to believe a school rule has been or will be violated, and that the evidence of that violation will be found in the location or on the person of the student being searched. Students know that their teachers and other school authorities are responsible for providing a safe learning environment and maintaining order and discipline at school. As a result, they must know that, where reasonable grounds exist, this may require searches of students and their personal effects and the seizure of prohibited items.
Students should also be aware that the schools may collect, use and disclose personal information about students for the purposes of investigating and addressing student misconduct, safety and maintaining order and discipline in school. Such collection and use of student information may include information that is obtained from witnesses or collected from other secondary information sources (e.g. social media). All personal information of students collected by the school will be collected in compliance with and under the authority of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ss. 26(a),(b), and(c)) and the School Act. Questions about the collection, use or disclosure of student personal information should be directed to the Director of Information and Learning Technologies, Stephen Whiffin, at swhiffin@sd43.bc.ca.
ACCEPTABLE CONDUCT IS DEMONSTRATED BY:
- Respecting oneself, others, the environment, and the school facility
- Engaging in responsible behaviour in all learning and school activities
- Helping to ensure the school environment is a safe and caring place for all to learn
- Being prepared, on time, and in regular attendance for class
- Wearing suitable and appropriate attire for the school learning environment
- Working hard and completing all assignments to the best of one's ability
- Taking ownership of the school facility by cleaning up after oneself and recycling wherever possible
- Using technology in an appropriate, safe and respectful manner both on and off campus
- Being aware of AP 140: District Acceptable Use Policy when using the Internet and/or school technology
- Informing an adult, in a timely fashion, of an unsafe or unkind individual, behaviour or situation
- Modeling respectful and responsible behaviour at school, in the community, and while acting as a school ambassador
The following is a list of behaviours that will result in discipline; however, the list of unacceptable behaviours is not restricted to the examples provided.
UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT IS DEMONSTRATED BY BEHAVIOURS THAT:
- Interfere with and/or compromise the learning of others
- Create an unsafe or dangerous learning environment
- Involve physical fighting, play fighting and other aggressive behaviours
- Demonstrate a lack of caring for oneself, others, the school facility and/or the school community
- Reflect unkind acts, unkind words or hurtful behaviours towards others
- Are discriminatory, harassing or bullying
- Involve wearing clothes with inappropriate, suggestive, racist or derogatory language and/or drug/alcohol/cigarette advertisements
- Use/imply having a physical illness, disability or condition to threaten, harass or intimidate others
- Misuse any forms of technology or communication on or off campus, if it negatively impacts the school environment
- Act as retribution towards someone who reported unsafe or violent incidents
- Involve theft, damage, vandalism or graffiti to school/other's property
In ensuring Hazel Trembath is a safe, inclusive environment for all members, discrimination, intimidation, harassment and/or bullying will not be tolerated and should be reported.
Discrimination (B.C. Human Rights Code): is an intentional or unintentional act, which adversely affects a person or group on the basis of prejudice. As per Section 8 of the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, students shall not discriminate against others on the basis of race, religion, colour, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, family status, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or physical or mental disability. Furthermore, as per Section 7 of the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, no student shall publish or display anything that would indicate an intention to discriminate against another, or expose them to contempt or ridicule, on the aforementioned bases. Finally, a student must not, without a bona fide and reasonable justification,
- deny to a person or class of persons any accommodation, service or facility customarily available in the school environment, or
- discriminate against a person or class of persons regarding any accommodation, service or facility customarily available to the public in the school environment
Intimidation (Ministry of Education – Developing and Reviewing Codes of Conduct, 2007): Intimidation is the act of instilling fear in someone as a means of controlling that person. For example, any of the following behaviours could be considered intimidation:
- verbal threats: threatening phone calls, threats of violence against a person or property
- threats through email, text messaging or other electronic means
- physical threats: showing a weapon or replica, jostling, threatening to punch, stalking or following
- defacing or stealing victim's property
- daring or coercing victim to do something dangerous or illegal
- extortion (demanding payment or goods for a victim's safety)
- inciting hatred toward a victim
- setting up a victim to take the blame for an offence
- seeking retribution against a person who has reported incidents
Harassment (From Ministry of Education – Developing and Reviewing Codes of Conduct, 2007): any unwelcome or unwanted act or comment that is hurtful, degrading, humiliating, or offensive to another person is an act of harassment. Of particular concern is such behaviour that persists after the aggressor has been asked to stop. Any of the following behaviours could be considered harassment and are unacceptable:
- condescending treatment that undermines another's self-respect, name-calling, teasing, disrespectful comments
- gossiping, spreading malicious rumours, “dirty" looks, social ridicule, public embarrassment
- social isolation (“freezing out" or rejecting others), exclusion from a group, threatening to withdraw friendship
- repeated unwanted communication; unwelcome jokes, innuendoes, insults, or put downs; taunts about a person's body, disability, religion, attire, age, economic status, ethnic or national origin
- insulting graffiti directed at an individual or group
- unwanted and uninvited attention, particularly when it is intimidating, hostile, or offensive to the recipient
Bullying Behaviour (Ministry of Education – Developing and Reviewing Codes of Conduct 2007): a pattern of repeated aggressive behaviour, with negative intent, directed from one person to another where there is a power imbalance. Bullying behaviour is a type of harassment and intimidation. This aggressive behaviour includes physical or verbal behaviour, and is an intentional and purposeful act meant to inflict injury or discomfort on the other person.
There are three critical conditions that distinguish bullying from other forms of aggressive behaviour including:
- Power (involves a power imbalance): Individuals who bully acquire their power through physical size and strength, through status within the peer group, and/or by recruiting support of the peer group.
- Frequency (repeated over time): Bullying is characterized by frequent and repeated attacks. It is this factor that brings about the anticipatory terror in the mind of the person being bullied that can be so detrimental and can have the most debilitating long-term effects.
- Intent to harm (intended to hurt): Individuals who bully generally do so with the intent to either physically or emotionally harm the other person.
RISING EXPECTATIONS
As students move progressively through the grades, we have a rising expectation in terms of conduct. It is expected that students will take increasing responsibility for their own actions, and students' level of personal and social responsibility and self-regulation will increase. Consequences for unacceptable behaviour will reflect this expectation.
A student's medical, cognitive, social-emotional and personal profile must be considered in the determination of appropriate intervention and/or consequences. Therefore, the application of the school's Code of Conduct must take into account the student's ability to meet behavioural expectations.
CONSEQUENCES
Administrators, teachers, and support staff work hard to ensure appropriate educational, rehabilitative and/or restorative measures are in place to assist students in learning from their mistakes. When a student does not act in a respectful or responsible manner, it is necessary for the school to have consequences which will help that student re-establish positive behaviour.
- Responses to unacceptable conduct are pre-planned, consistent and fair
- Responses will also take into consideration the student's age and maturity
- Disciplinary action, wherever possible, is preventative and restorative, rather than merely punitive
- Students, as often as possible, are encouraged to participate in the development of meaningful consequences for violations of the established Code of Conduct
- If problem behaviour is on-going and more serious, parents will be involved and the Hazel Trembath School Based Team may be consulted to create a behaviour plan that gives the student strategies to better monitor his/her behavior
Consequences will be implemented based on the severity and frequency of the behaviour. Progressive discipline methods will be applied to alter the inappropriate and/or unsafe behavior.
The following are examples (not an exhaustive or complete list) of outcomes or measures that may be recommended:
- Verbal reminder
- Discussion with a teacher and/or an administrator
- Assignment(s) requiring reflection
- Participating in a meaningful
- consequence for unacceptable behaviour
- Parent involvement
- Detention
- Behavioural plan
- Conflict resolution strategies
- Counselling support
- Referral to family doctor
- Peer/small group mediation
- Involvement in a restorative process
- Recovery of costs
In-school suspension: Completion of school work and compliant behaviour, consultation with District Inclusion Support Team to develop a behaviour plan
Formal suspension: Zone superintendent/staff/parent involvement will take place. All stake holders to work to adopt a plan to enable student to be successful in school
NOTIFICATION
Depending on the nature of the unacceptable behaviour, the school staff will contact the following people:
- Parents/guardians of the student offender(s) where appropriate
- Parents/guardians of the student victim(s) where appropriate
- Police and other agencies as required by law
- Coquitlam School District officials as required by school district policy
- Staff and school community members as deemed appropriate by the school and/or district administration
The Hazel Trembath Elementary Code of Conduct has used the structural set up, designated passages and terminology from the BC Ministry of Education Standards Department Safe, Caring and Orderly Schools Document: The Guide
Publisher: National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Victoria, British Columbia:ISBN 0-7726-5120-5
The Safe and Caring School Document can be found on the Internet at www.bced.gov.bc.ca