Father Michael Goetz Catholic Secondary School Expectations

Father Michael Goetz Catholic Secondary School is a professional learning community that promotes responsibility, respect, and academic excellence in a safe learning and working environment. Students are held accountable for their work and actions. They are encouraged to work up to their full potential as members of a caring Catholic community.

Father Michael Goetz Catholic Secondary School sets clear standards and expectations for behavior, and promotes academic and behavioral success for all students in which learning and safety are central to our Catholic faith. The focus is on the development of positive student behavior that reflects Gospel values; however, the school also has a mandate to protect the safety of all individuals within the school, and to take appropriate action whenever that safety is threatened or compromised.

All students, staff and parents/guardians have the right to be safe and to feel safe in their school community. With this right, comes the responsibility of all to be accountable for actions, particularly ones that put at risk the safety of oneself or others.

The behaviour standards defined in this policy apply to all participants in our school. It applies to activities on school property, on school buses and on other school system-organized transportation, at school-sponsored events, whenever the school is responsible for a student, whenever an individual is acting on behalf of or is representing the school and in all communications related to school events on and off school property.

Our Expectations:

A positive learning and working environment is one in which:

• everyone in the school community is treated with respect and dignity;
• policies, expectations, and practices are clearly communicated to everyone;
• students, parents/guardians, staff and the community understand that social skills, self-discipline, compassion and ethics continue to be learned throughout life.

Each of these school and community partners plays an important role in teaching appropriate behaviors through instruction and by example.

Students

Students are expected to adhere to the Catholic Code of Conduct and all other board/school/class expectations, policies and procedures and to act in a manner which protects the safety and learning of all.

To meet the behavioral standards and expectations established by the school students must:

• come to school prepared, on time and ready to learn;
• show respect for themselves and others, rules and authority, learning and teaching, school and personal property, as well as the school and community environment;
• follow established rules, procedures, expectations and staff directions;
• demonstrate courteous, cooperative and considerate behavior;
• demonstrate honesty and integrity;
• complete assignments and produce quality work up to one’s full potential using your God-given talents;
• be accountable for personal actions and the positive resolution of problems;
• be dressed appropriately in school uniform as outlined in school guidelines, and
• role model appropriate behavior and language for each other and younger students and children.

 Students will be educated about the expectations of the Catholic school learning community. Students will be taught the skills, attitudes and Christian values essential for success and are consistently required to demonstrate expected behaviors. There will be an emphasis placed on Catholic character and virtues implementing techniques and strategies that promote prevention and productive intervention to guide behaviours at the school.

Teachers & Staff

Teachers and school staff, with the leadership and support of their administrative

team, are expected to work in a professional and collegial manner in order to

build a quality Catholic learning community, maintain order, maximize learning and hold everyone to the highest standard of respectful, responsible behavior.

Staffs uphold these high standards when they:

• teach, model, review and mentor the School Catholic Code of Conduct with all students;
• consistently enforce the School Catholic Code of Conduct with all students at all times;
• teach the behavioral skills detailed in the Father Michael Goetz Catholic Secondary Expectations and require students to consistently display these behaviors within the school environment;
• develop and teach lessons consistently employing instructional strategies and classroom routines designed to maximize student learning within a well structured, caring inclusive learning environment;
• actively supervise all students to prevent incidents and ensure that student behavior meets school standards and expectations;
• help students work to their full potential, develop their self-worth and their God given talents while preparing the students to become productive members of society;
• communicate regularly and meaningfully with parents/guardians in a way that builds the parent-teacher partnership in education; and
• collaborate with administrators and parents/guardians to develop effective
• support plans for students experiencing significant behavioral difficulties
• provide a visible leadership presence in our school.

School Administration

Principals, with the support and guidance of our School Council, take a leadership role in the daily operation of a school.

The Principals and Vice-Principals provide this leadership by:

• creating professional learning communities dedicated to high academic and behavioral expectations within a safe, caring inclusive learning and working environment;
• teach, model, review and mentor the School Catholic Code of Conduct with all students and staff;
• involving all staff in the development, implementation and on-going communication of the School Catholic Code of Conduct as part of School Improvement and Achievement Plan designed to teach students the behavioral skills, concepts and knowledge necessary to become respectful, responsible and self-disciplined learners;
• inputting behavior tracking data and analyzing the behavioral data with staff and Board officials;
• providing professional development opportunities and programs for staff; and
• collaborating with teachers and parents/guardians to develop effective support plans for students exhibiting significant behavioral difficulties.
• provide a visible leadership presence in our school.

Parents/Guardians

Parents/guardians 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.

Parents/Guardians fulfill this responsibility when they:

• show an active interest in their child’s school work and progress;
• communicate regularly with the school and share pertinent information which impacts their child’s education such as illness, travel, extended absences, medical conditions, family situations, etc;
• contact the teacher if there are questions or concerns about classroom procedure(s), curriculum, or any incident involving their child;
• ensure that their child attends school regularly and on time; notifying the school of their child’s absence or late arrival;
• understand and support the Catholic Code of Conduct;
• encourage and assist their child in following the rules of behavior; and
• collaborate with teachers and administrators in dealing with disciplinary issues to develop effective support plans if their child is experiencing significant behavioral difficulties.
• ensure the school has updated contact information

School Community Expectations

Within the Catholic school learning community, all staff, students, parents and other partners are required to:

• treat one another with dignity and respect at all times;
• respect the rights of others and treat others fairly;
• show respect 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 right of others to work in a safe environment dedicated to learning and teaching;
• comply with all applicable school rules and laws;
• demonstrate honesty and integrity; and
• respect differences in people, their ideas and opinions.

(updated September 2011)