Student Code of Conduct

1. INTRODUCTION

Kinnikinnick Elementary School’s Code of Conduct is intended to provide a basic framework, common expectations and common understanding for staff, parents and students. It is our intention to maintain a safe, caring, and respectful environment for our students. In short, our Code of Conduct is:

Take care of yourself
Take care of others
Take care of this school
Be Safe, Be Positive, Honour Yourself, and Honour Others

Our Community

Kinnikinnick Elementary School is an inclusive, safe, and welcoming community of students, staff, parents and families where we are creating a learning community

• that is emotionally and physically safe;
• where learning is at the center of all we do in a culturally responsive, and caring environment; and,
• where caring and respect for all members of the learning community is fundamental to our work together.

Our Core Beliefs

Kinnikinnick Elementary School operates on the basis of the following core beliefs that are consistently embedded in all school activities:

• The differences among members of the Kinnikinnick community that reflect diverse cultural backgrounds are respected and embraced, and seen as a source of learning and creativity;
• Children need to be able to grow and develop in holistic ways: physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and creatively;
• Attention to the social, emotional, creative, and physical developmental needs of children has positive benefits for their academic achievements;
• Focusing on building children’s strengths and natural interests and competencies, is as important as ensuring that children learn academics;
• Mistakes are seen as learning opportunities.  Restitution and restorative justice practices are used to help children problem solve;
• Needs are individual and fair treatment does not mean that similar student behaviours will always be met with similar consequences; and,
Learning needs to be a life-long activity.

Being socially responsible means:

• Accepting differences;
• Respecting, and advocating for the rights of others;
• Taking care of oneself;
• Listening respectfully to, and communicating directly with others;
• Expecting, and supporting others to take care of themselves;
• Expressing emotions positively;
• Solving problems together;
• Participating in classroom, staff, parent, and school activities; and,
• Taking a leadership role in the community where appropriate.


2. COMMUNICATION

Expectations regarding acceptable conduct will be made known to all students, parents and school staff, as well as to temporary staff or visitors.

At Kinnikinnick our Code of Conduct is intertwined with our continuous desire to improve students’ level of social responsibility.

At Kinnikinnick we explicitly teach and communicate our Code of Conduct through conversations and lessons on social responsibility. There is no shame when behaviour does not meet expectations; rather, each opportunity is used to teach, reflect and set goals for next time. We use the BC Performance Standards for Social Responsibility to guide students’ learning and to give them guidance in the self-assessment of their behaviour. We constantly have students reflect on their behaviour/choices, the decisions they make, and the results of those decisions.

Classroom teachers communicate any issues that require behaviour support with parents through notes, student planners and/or telephone calls home. The principal will contact parents on occasions when a studentís behaviour falls far outside expectations.

Our Code of Conduct will be provided to all families via the student planner at the beginning of every school year. It will also be available to the greater community at large on our Kinnikinnick website.

3. STANDARDS

Kinnikinnick Elementary School promotes the values expressed in the BC Human Rights Code respecting the rights of all individuals in accordance with the law and prohibiting discrimination based on race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, sex or sexual orientation ñ in respect of discriminatory publication and discrimination in accommodation, service and facility in the school environment.

All members of the Kinnikinnick School Community are expected to behave in a socially responsible manner. This expectation extends from the classroom, to the hallway, washrooms, school gatherings, playgrounds and to the extended learning environment of field trips. At all times students and staff are expected to demonstrate socially responsible behaviour and make moral and ethical decisions that fully meet or exceed expectations. We teach respectful behaviour in our whole community, and this includes all students and all adults affiliated with the school and its activities.

4. CONDUCT EXPECTATIONS

The expectations outlined in the Code of Conduct apply to behaviour at school, on busses, during school-organized or sponsored activities, and behaviour beyond these times (including online behaviour) that relates to the safe, caring or orderly environment of the school and/or student learning.

Acceptable Conduct

Students are expected to:

• Treat all students and staff with care and respect;
• Act in a safe and responsible manner;
• Respect personal space and property;
• Act in a manner that brings credit to their school, their class and themselves;
• Inform a tellable adult in a timely manner (in advance, if possible) of incidents of bullying, harassment or intimidation; and,
• Follow the rules, guidelines and instructions of all staff.
Kinnikinnick is a safe, caring and orderly learning environment that embraces compassion and empathy. Adults are encouraged to take advantage of every teachable moment to model, teach and exemplify socially responsible behaviours.

Diversity is valued at Kinnikinnick to minimize exclusion, aggression and negative behaviours.

Unacceptable Conduct

All staff have the authority and responsibility to encourage positive student behaviour.  

Students and staff shall not discriminate against or isolate others on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, disability or for any other reason set out in 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 basis of any such grounds.

The following statements are cited as examples only, and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list.

Students should not:

• Initiate or participate in acts of bullying: bullying includes, but is not limited to, physical or verbal intimidation, verbal harassment, discrimination (as noted above) or insult and cyber-bullying, occurring on or off school property).
• Be involved in any illegal acts, including:
• possession or use of weapons
• possession, use or distribution of illegal substances
• theft or vandalism
• inappropriate use of the school computers or tablets
• Interfere with the learning of others
• Interfere with an orderly environment
• Create unsafe conditions
• Retaliate against a person who has reported incidents of inappropriate behaviour to staff
Students may be subject to discipline under the school and/or District Code of Conduct for any conduct which has the effect of negatively impacting the school environment whether that conduct occurs on or off School District property, at a school sponsored function or activity, or otherwise.

At Kinnikinnick students are taught to identify or name unacceptable conduct as behaviour that is not yet within expectations. Students are asked to self-assess and in the case of unacceptable behaviour the conversation includes such language as, “Did you make a wise decision?” “How would you rate your behaviour?” “We all make mistakes at times; how can you try and fix the mistake?” “What do you think you can do to make things right?” Students are asked to reflect on their behaviour and to use our Code of Conduct as a frame of reference for comparison. At Kinnikinnick we believe in the intrinsic goodness of all children and do not think of them being “bad.” We separate the behaviour from the individual and highlight “unwise choices” that are “outside expectations.” In the case of interpersonal conflicts, we keep things positive and use the restorative justice model to have students reflect on their choices in order to tell how they and others were impacted by their choices.

Rising Expectations

As students progress through Kinnikinnick Elementary they develop and mature. We expect their level of self-discipline and personal responsibility to increase with their individual development. Our expectations and consequences rise throughout their development. These rising expectations are reflected in the Social Responsibility Performance Scale. The bar of expectations is raised through adult modeling of socially responsible behaviours, and by recognizing students in their positive moments and increasing parent awareness to increase community involvement and support.

5. INTERVENTIONS

At Kinnikinnick the responses to unacceptable conduct are consistent and fair for all students. The severity and frequency of unacceptable conduct, the nature of the misconduct, as well as the age and maturity of the students is considered in determining appropriate disciplinary action or intervention. In some cases, interventions will be identified in a studentís individualized education pan (IEP).  In cases where students with special needs are unable to comply with the Code of Conduct, whereby their behaviour results in serious or repeated misconduct, students may require time away from school or time in an out-of-classroom but in-school setting until an approved safety plan has been developed. Attempts will be made to consult with parents in the development of this plan.

At Kinnikinnick, children whose behaviour is not yet within expectations are considered for behaviour support. This support will vary for children of different ages and levels of maturity. In the early primary years, students may have reflection time in their classrooms or in the office for a few minutes, or they may be shown what acceptable behaviours may look and sound like. In the upper grades, students may lose social time in order to have opportunities to quietly reflect on their behaviour or to purposefully write about their behaviour so that they may outline a plan for restitution. Guidance will be given to students as needed.

All reasonable steps will be taken to ensure no student who files a complaint or provides information regarding a breach of the Code of Conduct will endure retaliation.

Communication regarding incidents varies in accordance with the severity of the incident. Classroom teachers manage most communication with home and parents by reporting incidents through face-to-face conversations, in student planners, or via the telephone or e-mail.  

In the case of a more serious breach of the school or District Code of Conduct, the principal will make direct contact with the childís home. Communication with outside agencies (MCFD, the police, or others as required by policy or law) may also be necessary. At all times, in cases of moderate to severe behaviour issues, we will include the parents to work in partnership with the school.