PARENTS—PLEASE REVIEW THESE TOPICS WITH YOUR CHILDREN

No organization can exist without certain guides to regulate its functions. Students at St. Pius X School are members of a community involved with other people who have rights, feelings, ambitions and desires that need recognition and consideration. Mutual respect, concern, and love of God should guide our relationships at St. Pius X School. We should show in all of our actions that we are a Christian community.

Above all, students at St. Pius X School have a right to learn. We should always be careful to see that this right is protected. Any conduct that interferes with a fellow student’s right to learn will be considered a serious matter. Disruptive behavior in the classroom is not fair to the students and to the teacher because it interferes with what school is all about…learning.

RESPECT FOR PROPERTY AND PEOPLE

A school environment should be treated with care. A clean, orderly, unmarred school environment is a happier place to be than one, which is dirty or marked. Students should take care to put refuse in a proper receptacle. Students should respect all school property and the property of other students. They should not mark school walls, desks, books, doors or equipment. Gum chewing is not permitted at St. Pius X School.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

Students should begin each class with the idea of getting as much as possible from the time spent there. They should have with them all the materials they will need. Successful education requires that the teacher fulfill his/her responsibility to teach, and that the student fulfill his/her responsibility to learn. Learning requires active involvement and cooperation.

HALLWAY BEHAVIOR

Whenever a student or class proceeds down the hall, utmost respect should be shown for the other classes in session by proceeding quietly. Furthermore, no student should be out of the classroom without the teacher’s permission except in case of an emergency.

ASSEMBLY BEHAVIOR

Assemblies are presented for education as well as for enjoyment. Students should show appreciation and maturity by being courteous. It is important to remember that watching a school assembly program is not like watching television in the home. Students should remain absolutely quiet during an assembly out of consideration for other students in the audience and for the people performing. Classes will be led to and from the assembly and managed during the assembly by classroom teachers

LUNCH/RECESS BEHAVIOR

Students may never leave school grounds during lunch or recess.

Students eat lunch in the Parish Center/lunchroom. They remain seated until instructed by lunchroom moderators.

Students should carefully clean their places before leaving. Garbage should be placed in the proper receptacle.

Fooling, horseplay, tampering with another’s food or other forms of poor dining room behavior, as well as failure to comply with any rules regarding lunchtime behavior, will result in disciplinary action.

While outside, students should avoid any rough play including tackle football, ice sliding, snowball throwing, snow-mound climbing, pushing, pulling, shoving, etc. Hard balls are not allowed. These activities present a clear risk of injury. Students should not be doing chin-ups or pulling on the soccer goals or nets.

The lunch/recess supervisors have the last word in interpreting the above rules. Those persons should be respected and his/her directives followed. Students who fail to regard lunch/recess supervisors will be disciplined.

STUDENT CARE OF TEXTBOOKS

Most books are loaned to St. Pius X school students through the student’s school district. Such books are expected to be safeguarded from marring, loss and destruction. All books should be covered following teacher guidelines. Contact paper or adhesive-backed paper is not allowed on hard covered books. Missing books should be reported to the teacher immediately. A student will be charged for missing or destroyed books.

SCHOOL PHONE USE

Students will be strongly discouraged from calling home to have parents deliver forgotten books, homework, etc. Also, students should not be calling home during or after the school day to make arrangements to stay after school or to go home with friends. These matters should be taken care of before coming to school.

CELLULAR PHONE USE

Students are not allowed to have cellular phones in the school. If found, the administration will confiscate the cell phone. The cell phone will then need to be picked up by a parent or guardian.

BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING

St. Pius X School attempts to provide a safe environment for all individuals. Verbal or written threats made against the physical or emotional well-being of any individual are taken very seriously. Students making such threats (seriously or in jest or online) face detention, suspension, and/or expulsion.

Engagement in online blogs such as, but not limited to, MySpace.com, Xanga, Friendster, Facebook, etc. may result in disciplinary actions if the content of the student’s blog includes defamatory comment regarding the school, the faculty, other students or the parish.

OFF-CAMPUS CONDUCT

The administration of St. Pius X School reserves the right to discipline its students for off-campus behavior that is not in line with behavior expectations of its students during the course of the school day. This off-campus behavior includes, but is not limited to cyberbullying.

Expectations and Consequences

We believe that every one of our students has a right to an education.

Therefore, we expect students to:

Walk quietly in the halls when changing classes Settle disagreements by talking or asking for help Listen when someone is talking and wait their turn to respond Look at the person who is talking

Respect the rights of others Respond in a positive way Arrive on time Be prepared for class

It is essential in a school setting that a safe and orderly environment is maintained. Whenever student misbehavior is addressed, we try to maintain a consistent, fair and reasonable approach to corrective action. It is our goal to strive for appropriate and acceptable student behavior in all school activities. Listed below are examples of possible student misbehaviors. These misbehaviors are divided into categories based on the type of behaviors. Level II behaviors are more serious than Level I and so on. Beside each list of misbehaviors is a list of examples of possible consequences for that level. The administration reserves the right to classify any unlisted behaviors into the Level it deems proper and enforce consequences accordingly.

Level I Misbehavior Assembly misbehavior Lunchroom misbehavior Bus misbehavior Running in school/excessive noise in the hallway Talking in class Habitual tardiness Minor abuse of personal or school property Gum chewing in school Inappropriate language	Level I Consequences Teacher-student conference After school detention Recess detention Writing assignment Teacher-parent contact Isolation from bus/class/lunchroom Restoration or repair of damage
Level II Misbehavior Repeated Level I misbehaviors Hazardous horseplay Class disruption Refusal to do classwork Harassing, sexual harassing, bullying or Threatening others Disrespect to others Defiance or insubordination Abusive language Failure to complete a disciplinary assignment	Level II Consequences Teacher-parent contact After- school detention Referral to the principal Writing assignment Counseling No participation in school activities Removal from class Recess detention Principal-parent contact In school Suspension Out of school Suspension
Level III Misbehavior Repeated Level II misbehavior Fighting/physical abuse Abusive language, profanity, obscenity, or threatening others Throwing food or objects Theft	Level III Consequences Principal-parent conference Referral to outside agency Out-of-School suspension Restitution of damages No participation in school activities In School Suspension or Expulsion
Level IV Misbehavior Repeated Level III misbehaviors Refusal to accept administrative discipline Leaving school ground without permission Possession or use of dangerous objects Unprovoked attack on another student Tampering with fire alarms or video cameras Theft or vandalism Smoking or arson	Level IV Consequences Mandated counseling In School suspension Out of School suspension Confiscation of dangerous object Principal-parent conference Referral to police Restitution Expulsion

REFERRAL SYSTEM

If a student breaks a school rule, disrupts classes or in some way displays poor conduct, she/he may be referred to the principal. Repeated referrals are reported to parents and may result in suspension or expulsion.

DEFINITION:

Suspension: the temporary removal of a student from all regular school activities for a limited time (1 to 5 days) as a sanction of inappropriate student behavior.

Expulsion: the permanent removal of a student from enrollment as a sanction for inappropriate student behavior.

The principal may suspend or expel from school, students who are insubordinate or disorderly and students who endanger the health, safety or morals of other students. Following are the types of conduct, which could result in suspension or expulsion:

1. The carrying or use of knives, weapons or any instrument, which might injure someone at school or at any school activity.
2. Possession or the use of alcoholic beverages or any other drug.
3. Committing an act of defiance, either in language or action, against a faculty or staff member.
4. Tampering with fire fighting equipment, emergency alarms or unauthorized use of school telephones.
5. Willfully defacing or damaging school property.
6. Fighting, stealing, or using profanity or obscenity.
7. The sexual or verbal harassment of fellow students or staff members.
8. Threatening fellow students or staff members.
9. Smoking.

The discretion of the principal is used in violations, which are deemed EXTREME or SERIOUS.

EXPULSION:

Diocesan policy requires that the superintendent of schools be involved in any decision regarding the expulsion of a student. The school principal will inform the superintendent of schools (in his/her absence, the assistant superintendent or the Director of Administrative Services) between the time of the student’ s offense and final decision.

The procedure for parent involvement includes the following elements:

1. Notice: The principal informs the parents of the student’s offense and of the possible consequences (suspension or expulsion) and offers them the opportunity for a hearing prior to the decision. During the period of time between the student’s offense and parental notification, a student’s participation in regular school activities may be severely limited.
2. Hearing: The principal is to meet with the parents as soon as possible for both parties after the notification. An explanation of the pertinent school rule(s) and student behavior is to be provided.
3. Decision: The principal is to render the final decision in the matter based on all information received. The decision may be done at the time of the hearing if a decision is reached immediately upon its completion; otherwise telephone or letter may communicate it.