Code of Conduct
School Mission Vision Values
Our Mission is to commit to creating a healthy environment, which encourages respect for self and others, fosters individual growth through the pursuit of excellence, and promotes a sense of belonging in the school and community.
A. Purpose
Part of ensuring that our Mission can be fulfilled is tied to the conduct of students and staff. The School Code of Conduct sets the standards of behaviour expected at Lake City Secondary and provides the information from which behavioural instruction and accountability are derived.
The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to establish and maintain a safe, caring and orderly environment required for purposeful learning. The code provides appropriate balances between individual and collective rights, freedoms, and responsibilities. Also, the code clarifies and publishes expectations for student behaviour while going to and from school, at school, and while attending school functions or activities at any location.
The code of conduct applies to all students. Accommodation will be made for students with disabilities who are unable to fully comply with the code of conduct.
Conduct that occurs outside of school hours and apart from school activities is not normally investigated and acted upon unless there is an impact on students at the school.
B. Development and Regular Review
1. Throughout the year the school administration will work collaboratively with school staff, students, and parents to adapt and enhance our existing Code of Conduct suitable and appropriate for our ever-changing learners and their needs.
2. Parents, students, staff, and school administration will review the Code of Conduct annually and make revisions as needed. An ongoing review of the Code of Conduct will be carried out in parent, staff, and student settings.
3. Conduct will be consistently monitored to ensure Codes reflect current and emerging situations and are contributing to school safety through formal and informal behaviour data, student, parent, and staff perception, learning community leader meetings, staff meetings, and school-based team meetings.
C. Communicating Expectations
1. Student expectations for appropriate behaviour will be communicated regularly in classrooms, through team and class meetings, administrator visits, student handbooks, announcements, school wide assemblies. The Code of Conduct will also be posted on the school website. Students who enroll in school after the start of the year are provided with a copy of the student handbook.
2. Staff members will be provided a copy of the school’s Code of Conduct in the staff handbook. Temporary staff is provided with a copy of the school’s Code of Conduct in the TOC handbook.
3. The Code of Conduct is communicated to parents via the student handbook, newsletters, through PAC and on the school website.
D. Active Teaching and Promotion of Expectations
1. Time will be allotted in the first few weeks of school, and at regular intervals throughout the year, for teachers, administrators and counselors to meet with students, in large and small groups, to review appropriate behaviours and outline consequences.
E. Expectations of Acceptable Conduct
1. The following are examples of acceptable behaviour for Lake City Secondary students while at school, while going to and from school and while attending any school function or activity at any location.
a. respecting self, others and the school
b. helping to make school a safe, caring and orderly place
c. acting in a positive, honest and straight forward manner, being truthful
d. informing a ‘tellable’ adult, in a timely manner (in advance if possible) of incidents of bullying, harassment or intimidation. It is the responsibility of the by-stander to report and prevent incidents of harassment and bullying.
e. engaging in purposeful learning activities in a timely manner.
f. attending all classes on time
g. respecting authority and adheres to classroom, school, and district rules and policies.
h. acting in a manner that brings credit to the school.
2. The District has no tolerance for weapons. Possessing or using weapons, explosives, fireworks, firecrackers or any other items capable of or intended to be used to threaten, intimidate or cause bodily harm, including fake weapons that can be perceived as real weapons will result in immediate suspension.
3. The Columneetza Jr. Secondary code of conduct is aligned with district policies, administrative procedures and the BC Human Rights Code. It 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, and recognizing the lives of people who identify as LGBT2Q+. Respect of discriminatory publication and discrimination in accommodation, service and facility in the school environment.”
4. The Board of Education will take all reasonable steps to prevent retaliation by a person against a student who has made a complaint of a breach of the Code of Conduct. Any retribution or threat of retribution by a student/parent towards another student in a breach of the Code of Conduct matter will be dealt with as a highly serious matter, and the student who is being threatened will be protected from the threat with all means available to the School Board including involvement of the RCMP if necessary.
5. The School Code of Conduct applies to behaviour at school, during school-organized or sponsored activities and behaviour beyond these times that negatively impacts the safe, caring or orderly environment of the school, and /or student learning.
Parents, coaches and involved members of the greater community must adhere to the School’s Code of Conduct while acting as ambassadors of the school.
F. Consequences for Unacceptable Conduct
1. a. When students do not adhere to the Code the Conduct staff will follow a pattern of progressive discipline. Consequences could include, but are not limited to, warnings, mediation, counseling, phone calls and/or letters to parents, detentions, restorative justice, in-school suspensions and suspensions. In cases of serious breaches of the Code of Conduct, the student may be referred to school district officials, police, and/or other agencies.
Progressive discipline establishes a process of clear, timely, consistent, and documented communications with the student and their parent/guardian to reinforce an understanding of expectations; to provide opportunity to correct unacceptable behaviour, and to ensure due process.
The goal of progressive discipline is to modify specific behaviour and to encourage acceptable behaviour. The goal is not to punish the student, but to alert the student and/or parent to the need to correct unacceptable behaviours.
b. When administering consequences for behaviors of a discriminatory nature, the school will make every attempt to address all parties involved and develop a plan to address the school culture.
c. When dealing with students, the administrator may adjust the consequence or disciplinary action based partially on the maturity level and/or grade level of the student. What is an appropriate consequence or disciplinary action for a senior student may not be appropriate for a junior student, or resource student.
2. As school is a place of ongoing learning, the expectations for acceptable behaviour increase for students as they become older, more mature and move through the successful grades. Therefore, students will be expected to demonstrate:
● increasing personal responsibility and self-discipline and will receive
● increasing consequences and restitution for inappropriate behaviour.
When dealing with students, the administrator may adjust the consequence or disciplinary action based partially on the maturity level and/or the grade level of the student.
Additionally, special considerations may be provided to students who are unable to comply with these expectations due to a disability of an intellectual, physical sensory, emotional or behaviour nature.
3. Suspension will be warranted when violation of the Code of Conduct is deemed serious or other consequences have been inadequate or ineffective. For serious offences students will be brought to the office, the parent is contacted by the school and a formal letter of suspension describing the incident, the length of the suspension (1 to 10 days), and the plan of restitution and responsibilities (course work, letters of understanding or apology, etc.) will be written. A re-entry
meeting will be held prior to the student returning to school after a suspension.
4. School Officials have a responsibility to advise other parents of serious breaches of the Code of Conduct.
● Parents of student offenders(s) in every serious incident.
● Parents of student victim(s) in every serious incident.
● 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 community members that school officials are aware of a serious situation or incident and are taking appropriate action to address it.
School staff members may involve parents earlier.
Parents are always encouraged to call the school if they have any concerns or questions.
Procedures on Bullying Behaviour
All incidences of bullying are treated seriously and dealt with at the time of reporting. At the discretion of the administration, the severity of consequences escalates with each subsequent offence.
First Offence: Parents are informed by phone and the incident recorded in the student file. The student and parent may meet with the Administration to develop an appropriate plan for the student prior to readmission to class.
Second Offence: Parents are informed by phone and registered letter, and the incident is recorded in the student file. Students may be suspended depending on the nature of the incident. Student, parent, counselor and Administration may meet to review/amend a corrective plan before readmission.
Third Offence: Parents are informed by phone and registered letter, and the incident is recorded in the student file. The student may be indefinitely suspended. The suspension review committee will convene to review the case and consider readmission of the student to school.