Code of Conduct

St. George Knights are committed to doing the right things, for the right reasons, at the right time. They are dedicated to the four pillars of virtue— conscience, empathy, respect, and self-control. The pillars provide the foundation that guides our students to become contributing, accepting and hardworking members of the school community.

We all share the responsibility for teaching students appropriate, acceptable behaviour. By working together, those at home and at school can support positive student conduct.

Code of Conduct

At St. George School our approach to developing social and emotional well being is one of helping students to realize their personal responsibility and needs when making choices.

Our Focus

Our focus is to help students become stronger by learning how to resolve their problems and how to have their needs met in socially acceptable ways. Students are encouraged to communicate with each other and build a strong belief about the kind of class and school they want to have. Students and staff need to demonstrate the importance of respect.

Research tells us that character development and thoughtful understanding about doing the “right thing” will have a more lasting positive and constructive effect on them than instantly raising negative consequences. At the same time, there are bottom lines. These bottom lines respond to student behavior that threatens the safety of others or negatively impacts on the learning environment.

Safe Schools

At St. George School all students have the right to learn. To do so, each student must be in a school climate that is safe, secure, orderly and harmonious. Students must recognize that any behavior which disrupts or detracts from the educational climate of the school is unacceptable. Any behavior that interferes with the rights of others is not responsible behavior.

Teachers and other adults have an ongoing responsibility to prepare students for their role as citizens, and to model these attributes in their daily interactions with students. Students are expected to follow and adhere to standards, which are established for the benefit of all members of the school community.

Policies JK – Student Discipline and ADD – Safe Schools/Code of Conduct of the Louis Riel School Division outline the procedures to be followed by all Louis Riel School Division Schools in the development of a positive learning environment for all students.

Social Agreements

At the beginning of each school year all students participate in the development of a classroom Social Agreement. They are posted in the classroom and on the St. George “Social Agreement” bulletin board. In addition, students sign an individual Social Agreement and parents are invited to sign a Parent Support Agreement.

All classrooms meet on a regular basis to review classroom behaviour goals, discuss positive outcomes, celebrate and set new goals to address emerging needs. Students review their own behaviour and set personal goals. To further assist students in the development of positive social behaviour, teachers use programs such as Second Step and Lions Quest to engage students in social learning activities.

Categories of Behaviour

At St. George School, student behaviours are grouped into three categories:

• Above the Line Behaviours (Level 1)
• Below the Line Behaviours (Level 2)
• Bottom Line Behaviours (Level 3)

Above the Line Behaviour (Level 1) is behaviour required of all students. Examples of Above the Line Behaviours are:

• demonstrating respect for others
• demonstrating respect for the school and the property of others
• adhering to all school and divisional policies
• attending school regularly and on time
• completing assignments and assessments as requested by the teacher

Below the Line Behaviour (Level 2) occurs when students behave in an unproductive manner that is unacceptable in the school environment. Teachers, with the support of student services and school administration, will help students to identify the onset of this behaviour, understand why the behaviour is unproductive and teach ways in which the student can solve his or her problem. Examples of Below the Line Behaviours are:

• name calling and minor harassing behaviour
• use of profanity
• minor classroom disruption
• leaving the class without permission
• making physical gestures to strike another
• light pushes
• throwing objects in anger without the intent to harm another person
• destruction of property in anger (accidental)
• theft (one time)

The nature of Below the Line Behaviour is that it does not present an immediate safety issue. They are typically issues of defiance, disrespect and disruption. While level 2 behaviours may develop into level 3 behaviours, the goal is to de-escalated, corrected or perhaps eliminated the behaviour. Once a plan to resolve the problem is developed, the student may return to participate in classroom activities.

Bottom Line Behaviour (Level 3) will result in an immediate referral to the administration as outlined in the Public Schools Act. Examples of Level 3 Behaviours are:

• bullying or abusing physically, sexually or psychologically (orally, in writing, or otherwise) any person
• discriminating unreasonably on the basis of any characteristic set out in sub section 9(2) of the Human Rights Code
• using, possessing or being under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs at school
• gang involvement
• possessing a weapon, as “weapon” is defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code (Canada)

Interventions and Consequences

On occasion, the nature of a student behaviour may require specific interventions. These interventions may include but are not limited to:

• referral to school student services
• temporary removal from the classroom
• performance contract
• detention
• referral to clinical services
• in-school suspension
• out-of-school suspension

Divisional Policy JK – Student Discipline outlines the procedures for appealing disciplinary decisions.