Code of Conduct

The intent of the Cortes School code of conduct is to establish guidelines for acceptable conduct to maintain a safe, caring, and orderly environment conducive for learning.

All students are subject to the school's code of conduct while on school premises and during school activities off of school grounds.

Positive Attitudes and Behaviours

Purpose: “Be the Best You Can Be”

Acceptable Conduct

Every person has the right to attend school in safety and to be free from verbal or physical intimidation,
bullying, harassment and/or fighting.
Be respectful of others (students, teachers, teachers on call, adults, guests) working or visiting our school,
yourself and school property.
Make the most of each day – be on time, prepared, and attentive; act in a manner that brings credit to our
school, and yourself.

Unacceptable Conduct

Behaviours that interfere with the learning of others, an orderly environment or create unsafe conditions.
Acts of bullying, harassment, intimidation, physical violence, or retribution against a person who has
reported incidents.
Possession, use or distribution of fireworks, matches, lighters, tobacco, illicit drugs, alcohol, or anything
that may be construed as a weapon.

* these behaviours are only some examples: this is not an all-inclusive list

Rising Expectations

As students become older and more mature as they move through successive grades, it is expected that s/he will demonstrate increasing personal responsibility and self-discipline. There may be increasing consequences for inappropriate behaviours.

Consequences

The severity and frequency of unacceptable conduct will also be considered in determining
appropriate disciplinary action. For example:

Responses to unacceptable conduct will be pre-planned, consistent and fair
Disciplinary action, wherever possible, is preventative and restorative rather than punitive
Where possible, students may be involved in developing meaningful consequences

Notification

School officials may have a responsibility to advise other parties of serious breaches of the code of conduct. For example:

Parents of student offender(s) and student victim(s)
School district officials (as required by district policy)
Police and/or other agencies (as required by law)
All parents (when deemed to be important to reassure members of the school community that school officials are aware of a serious situation or incident and are taking appropriate action to address it)

Success is a Journey, Not a Destination

The Principles of Learning
Learning requires the active participation of the student
People learn in a variety of ways and at different rates
Learning is both an individual and a group process

Dear Cortes Students,
Each of you is very special to us. We want you to be happy and successful at school and to learn all that you
possibly can. We have identified five guidelines that will help us all be successful.

Guideline One: Be Responsible
All through your life you must decide how you will act. Therefore, we expect you to do what is right whether
anyone is watching you or not. This is called “being responsible”. It isn’t always easy to make responsible
choices, especially if someone else is not being responsible. It is important for you to remember that you are
in charge of yourself. You can do what is right!

Guideline Two: Always Try
The best way to learn something new is to practice until you can do it. If you are unwilling to try, you cannot
practice. When you first try to do something it is often difficult, but if you keep trying, it gets easier and
easier.

Guideline Three: Do Your Best
When you do a job or an assignment, do your very best. While you are working on something, ask yourself,
“Is this the best I can do?” If you give a job your best, you lean more and feel more responsible than if you
just slide through the job. If you make mistakes, but did your best, your teacher can help you learn from your
mistakes.

Guideline Four: Cooperate With Others
Cooperation includes being polite, treating people with respect, accepting differences between people, dealing with disagreements through STP (Stop, Think, Plan), and encouraging others to do their best.

Guideline Five: Treat Everyone with Dignity and Respect
Everyone must know that Cortes School is a safe and supportive place to be. Any behaviour that could hurt
someone else will not be allowed. Examples of respecting property include caring for our school, equipment,
the personal property of students and staff, and returning lost items to the lost and found.

The staff at Cortes School will help you achieve success at school. We will do this by helping you solve
problems and by protecting your right to learn. We look forward to a good year and are happy to have an
opportunity to work with you.

Enjoy a great year!