Code of Conduct

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The Code of Conduct for Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School was established following the Ontario Schools Code of Conduct (2000) and the applicable policies, regulations and procedures of the Durham District School Board.  In accordance with Policy/Program Memorandum No. 128 from the Ministry of Education the Code of Conduct has been revised to reflect changes made in the Education Act, effective February 1, 2008, that pertain to suspension and expulsion of students.

The Code of Conduct for Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School is designed to provide a framework to ensure that school is a safe, productive learning environment for all.  We ask families to review this Code of Conduct so that all parties are familiar with school expectations and procedures. The Code of Conduct is subject to change at any time, based on directions from the Ministry of Education or the Durham District School Board.  A school is a place that promotes responsibility, respect, civility and academic excellence in a safe learning and teaching environment.

 All students, parents, teachers and staff have the right to be safe, and feel safe, in their school community.  With this right comes the responsibility to be law-abiding citizens and to be accountable for actions that put at risk the safety of others or oneself.

 The Ontario Schools Code of Conduct sets clear provincial standards of behavior.  It specifies the mandatory consequences for student actions that do not comply with these standards.

 The provincial standards of behavior apply not to only to students, but also to all individuals involved in the publicly funded school system – parents or guardians, volunteers, teachers and other staff members – whether they are on school property, on school buses or at school-authorized events or activities.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (Ontario Schools Code of Conduct)

The Durham District School Board and Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School accept the provincial direction regarding individual roles and responsibilities.  In addition to school staff, students and parents, other members of the public, who interact with members of the school community while present in or on school property or premises, have a responsibility to respect others in the school and to conduct themselves accordingly.

 Principals, under the direction of their school board, take a leadership role in the daily operation of a school.  They provide this leadership by:

  • Demonstrating care and commitment to academic excellence and a safe teaching and learning environment;

  • Holding everyone, under their authority, accountable for their behaviour and actions;

  • Communicating regularly and meaningfully with all members of their school community.

 Teachers and School Staff, under the leadership of their principal, maintain order in the school and are expected to hold everyone to the highest standard of respectful and responsible behaviour.  As role models, staff uphold these high standards when they:

  • Help students work to their full potential and develop their self-worth;

  • Communicate regularly and meaningfully with parents;

  • Maintain consistent standards of behaviour for all students;

  • Demonstrate respect for all students, staff and parents;

  • Prepare students for the full responsibilities of citizenship.

 Students are to be treated with respect and dignity.  In return, they must demonstrate respect for themselves, for others and for the responsibilities of citizenship through acceptable behaviour. 

Respect and responsibility are demonstrated when a student:

  • Comes to school prepared, on time and ready to learn;

  • Shows respect for themselves, others and for those in authority;

  • Refrains from bringing anything to school that my compromise the safety of others;

  • Follows the established rules and takes responsibility for his or her own action

Parents play an important role in the education of their children and have a responsibility to support the efforts of school staff in maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment for all students.  Parents fulfill this responsibility when they:

  • Report promptly to the Office upon arrival;

  • Show an active interest in their child’s school work and progress;

  • Communicate regularly with the school;

  • Help their child be neat, appropriately dressed and prepared for school;

  • Ensure that their child attends school regularly and on time;

  • Promptly report to the school their child’s absence or late arrival;

  • Become familiar with the Code of Conduct and school rules;

  • Encourage and assist their child in following the rules of behaviour;

  • Assist school staff in dealing with discipline issues;

  • Demonstrate respect for all students, staff and parents.

 Sign In/Sign Out

Whenever a student arrives late for school he/she must come to the office and sign in.  All students who are leaving for any reason, are requested to come to the office and have a parent sign them out.  This ensures that students are leaving with the appropriate people at the appropriate time.

Police and Community Members

They are essential partners in making our schools and communities safer.  Community members need to support and respect the rules of their local schools.  Police investigate incidents in accordance with the protocol developed with the local school board.  These protocols are based on a provincial model developed by the Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Education.

 STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOUR (Ontario Schools Code of Conduct)

The Durham District School Board and Colonel J.E. Farewell Public School support the provincial standards of behaviour which include respect, civility, responsible citizenship and physical safety.

 Respect, Civility and Responsible Citizenship

All School Members must:

  • Respect and comply with all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws;

  • Demonstrate honesty and integrity;

  • Respect differences in people, their ideas and opinions;

  • Treat one another with dignity and respect at all times, and especially when there is disagreement;

  • Respect and treat others fairly regardless of the race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability;

  • Respect the rights of others;

  • Show proper care and regard for school property and the property of others;

  • Take appropriate measures to help those in need;

  • Respect  persons who are in a position of authority;

  • Respect the need of others to work in an environment of learning and teaching.

 Dress Code

There are a few basic guidelines that all students must follow:

·         Hats should be removed when entering the school building;

·         Clothing must not depict ethnic, cultural or racial slurs, violent scenes or slogans, slogans that put down school or others, or beer, alcohol or cigarette advertisements;

·         Undergarments are not to be visible;

 The staff and administration reserve the right to determine the appropriateness of any clothing in question and take action, if required.

 Physical Safety

Weapons-All school members must:

  • Not be in possession of any weapon, including but not limited to firearms;

  • Not use any object to threaten or intimidate another person;

  • Not cause injury to any person with an object;

  • Not be in possession of a laser pointer.

 Alcohol and Drugs – All school members must:

  • Not be in possession of, or under the influence of, or provide others with alcohol or illegal drugs

 Intoxicants – “The Durham District School Board does not tolerate the use or abuse of alcohol, illegal drugs and/or intoxicants within its jurisdiction and will respond accordingly as per Board Policy and Regulation.”  In addition, there is no smoking on school board property.

 Physical Aggression – All school members must:

  • Not inflict or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person;

  • Seek staff assistance, if necessary, to resolve conflict peacefully.

 Lockers

The lockers continue to be the property of the Durham District School Board, for the school year, and not the property of the student.  Lockers are to be used to store school related materials and authorized personal items such as outer garments, footwear, grooming aids and a lunch.  Students are solely responsible for the contents of their lockers.

 Administration have the authority to search personal property and lockers.  The right to search is established to assist Principals and Vice Principals in providing for the safety and welfare of all students and staff by the authority of the Education Act.

 Principals have the right to seize contraband material.  The contraband material will be removed from the locker and held by an Administrator for evidence in disciplinary proceedings and may be turned over to law enforcement officials.

The parent/guardian of a minor student or the student, if he or she is 18 years of age or older , shall be notified by the school administration of  items removed from the locker.

 The Durham District School Board uses the Progressive Discipline Document which outlines four phases of intervention when dealing with minor, major and suspendable behavioural incidents.

ATTENDANCE AND TRUANCY

Truancy is absence from school without the approval of a school official, parent(s) or legal guardian(s).  Truancy is a serious infraction of the school’s code of conduct. Prompt and strict action will be taken against truant students.

 Students are expected to arrive at school punctually, prepared for their classes.  Students who are late arriving at school, must report to the Office and obtain an Admit Slip before going to their classroom.  Parents are reminded that it is their responsibility to ensure that students arrive at school well rested and on time. Lateness may result in the lost time being made up after school, either in the classroom or at the Office.

 REPORTING STUDENT ABSENCES

Our school uses the School Messenger program to manage student attendance reporting. The program reduces the time it takes to verify student attendance, making it easier for you to report your

child’s absence and easier for staff to respond to unexplained student absences.

 The School messenger program allows parents to report their child’s absence quickly and conveniently in one of two ways:

First, parents must log into a website, attendance.ddsb.ca to access a Safe Arrival Parent Portal

where an account can be set up to report absences.

1. If you have an Android or Apple device, you can also download the SafeArrival app. You

can go to the Google Play store or the Apple App and search using the keyword

"safearrival" (one word) to download the Synrevoice SafeArrival app. Use district code

ddsb or search for Durham District School Board.

2. Parents can call into an automated interactive telephone system via a toll free number (1-844-

350-2646) through which absences can be reported.

Parents must report student absences prior to bell time for the current day, as well as future

absences via the internet or telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 SCHOOL DAY

Playground supervision is provided 10 minutes before school entry in the morning and 10 minutes before school entry in the afternoon.

School Entry Bell                                        8:50 a.m.

Morning classes begin                              8:55 a.m.

Recess                                                         10:25-10:40 a.m.

Lunch                                                           11:35 a.m.-12:35 p.m.

Afternoon classes begin                          12:40 p.m.

Recess                                                         2:10 – 2:20 p.m.

Dismissal                                                    3:20 p.m.

 Students who have not completed their required assignments may be kept until 3:55p.m.  Parents will be notified.

Pupil Absence

Lates

Students will be marked absent if not present in the appropriate class as of 8:55 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. Students arriving late for school must report to the office.  Parents will be notified of excessive lates.

 Student Illness

On occasion, students become ill or are injured and require medical attention.  The school does not have the staff or facilities to supervise ill children. Parents need to arrange a reliable and available emergency contact person if they themselves are not available to care for their child in this situation. Please do not send your child to school if ill.

Skateboards, Scooters, Roller Blades (etc.)

Skateboards, scooters, roller blades (etc.) WILL NOT BE PERMITTED AT SCHOOL.  The storing of these items has caused a hazardous situation within the school.  Students are permitted to bring bicycles to school with the understanding that they must be walked on school property and that the school assumes no liability for lost, stolen or damaged bicycles. 

 

CELL PHONE  AND OTHER PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES POLICY

The use of personal electronic devices during instructional time will be permitted under the following circumstances:

 · For educational purposes, as directed by the educator in collaboration with administration

· For health and medical purposes

· To support students with special education needs.

 It is the practice of the Durham District School Board that the use of personal electronic devices is prohibited during the school-day on school property. Unless deemed appropriate by the school administration for educational purposes and permission is granted by staff, a student who brings a personal electronic device to school, should turn it off and keep it out of sight. Personal electronic devices may be utilized off school property or in designated areas and during times assigned by the school. Personal electronic devices that are used inappropriately inside of schools during the normal school day are disruptive to the teaching and learning environment. The privacy and personal dignity of others could be violated by the inappropriate use of personal electronic devices to text message, social network, and/or share digital media. In addition, activities such as personal communication, game playing and social media use during class time may distract students from the teaching and learning unless it is part of the teacher’s lesson. Co-curricular programs, such as field trips and after-school events, are an extension of the classroom, and the expectations for the use of personal electronic devices apply. During an emergency, the administration in consultation with Emergency Services, may give students permission to use personal electronic devices to contact parents or guardians. The use of personal electronic devices is permitted to support students with special education needs who require digital tools to support their learning and/or self-regulation. In keeping with the Education Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, unauthorized video or audio recording on school grounds for any purpose is prohibited. Further, the taking of photos, filming or recording while at school or at a school related activity, is prohibited unless approved by DDSB staff for educational purposes. In particular, filming and/or recording is strictly prohibited in washrooms and change rooms. However, this is not intended to prohibit sanctioned recording of activities at events open to the general public. The taking of photos, filming or recording, or the broadcasting of live audio and/or video, while at school or at a school related activity, is prohibited unless approved by the DDSB (or school), and/or where proper consents have been obtained, as may be appropriate. Teachers embed the use of personal technology into learning opportunities for students. The DDSB supports these actions, and encourages this use when it is educationally based and provides opportunities for our students to develop digital citizenship skills. One of the core priorities of the Durham District School Board is Leveraging Digital. In support of this priority all students in Grades 7-12 are provided with devices (Chromebook) which may be used during the instructional day, with permission by the teacher. Students in Grades K-6 are given access to shared devices for instructional purposes. The DDSB Chromebook is the preferred technology enabled learning tool for most instructional purposes. The Durham District School Board does not assume the liability for lost, damaged or stolen personal electronic devices.

Allergies

While we cannot guarantee an allergen free school, we are an allergy aware school and as such we ask that you respect the food allergies that are identified by parents. An updated list of all life threatening allergens is posted on exterior doors. Please respect this list and keep our students safe.

Medication for Students

Medication is not administered by the school unless a “Request for Administration of Oral Medication” form is completed and signed by both doctor and parent.  All medication must be kept in the office with the exception of emergency medication (inhalers, insulin, epi-pens etc.) This form is available at the office.

Noon Hour Procedures

Students are expected to go home for lunch if parents are at home to receive them.  We understand that some children are unable to go home lunch for legitimate reasons.   It is our intention to provide a pleasant and supervised environment for your child. In order to do this, lunchroom expectations must be clearly understood.

Eating lunch at school is a privilege offered to families who are unable to find alternate arrangements.  Students are expected to follow the rules.  Student safety is the first priority.  Students not following the rules will not be permitted to eat lunch at school.

  1. Students will eat lunch in a socially acceptable manner, seated in their designated area.

  2. Courtesy to fellow students and staff is expected.

  3. Students must leave their eating area litter free.

  4. At 11:55, students must proceed outside, weather permitting.

 Dogs:  For the safety of our students, dogs are not allowed on school proper