iStudy Centre

All specific infractions against the iStudy Centre (ISC) rules and procedures will be addressed as seen fit by school personnel and will vary as we attempt to find the most suitable solution on a case-by-case basis taking into consideration all the information at our disposal at the time.

The ISC Code of Conduct applies during travel to and from school, while on campus, and during any off-campus school-sponsored functions, such as field trips and overnight retreats. To the extent that the behaviour affects student and/or teacher relationships at school, infractions against the ISC Code of Conduct that occur outside of school grounds and school hours, including interactions through social media or digital platforms, can also be grounds for disciplinary action by the school.

I. Relationships

1.) Mutual respect. Relationships at ISC are built on a foundation of mutual respect. We recognise the unique human dignity embodied in each member of the ISC community. We acknowledge that each individual in our community lives their own truth, and that each truth deserves recognition and respect.

i. Student-student relationships: every student deserves to be treated with respect and accepted by all others. An individual’s personal safety and sense of well-being must be promoted, not compromised, by others.

ii. Teacher-student relationships: teachers foster an environment of inclusion, acceptance, understanding and cooperation, which allows for open discussion and debate without fear of reprisal.

2.) Inclusive environment. Members of the ISC community agree to proactively create an inclusive environment that welcomes all backgrounds, lifestyles, languages and worldviews. ISC values diversity as the very foundation of its culture, where the open exchange of story and experience are woven into the daily learning at the school.

3.) Open communication. ISC believes that the best approach to communication is openness and transparency. Specifically, this means that misunderstandings, miscommunications, and relationship difficulties are best dealt with directly and clearly with the parties involved.

4.) Ordered relationships. Within the ISC community, there are different ways in which each member engages the community, including responsibilities, authority, and accountability. Students are regarded as agents of their own learning and are given a certain degree of authorship over their environment and the normal operation of the school. Nevertheless, teachers are recognised as authority figures, and teacher-student relationships should reflect this order.

5.) Specific concerning behaviours. The following behaviours are antithetical to the business of education and will not be accepted:

i. Violence: violence, both in word and in action, is entirely prohibited. This includes actions with intent to harm another in a physical or non-physical manner. Horseplay, including wrestling, pulling, pushing and other such boisterous activity can lead to actual physical harm and is not permitted at the school, even when undertaken without the intention to harm. ii. Mobbing or bullying: actions, words, or behaviours with the intent to cause physical, mental, or emotional harm or diminishment to another member of the ISC community are considered mobbing and are strictly prohibited. This includes any action directly towards the individual, or indirectly with other members of the community. This includes actions in person, on campus, off campus, and via any form of media or digital communication.

iii. Social exclusion: ISC expects all students to promote a social environment where all members of the community are welcome to participate in the normal life of the school. Any actions or behaviours with the potential to limit or prevent this participation are prohibited. Students are expected to be proactive in supporting all members of the community. iv. Disrespect: actions, words, or behaviours that actively violate or do not uphold the principle of mutual respect will not be tolerated. This is particularly important in teacher-student relationships, and disrespectful actions directed towards any teacher, staff member or volunteer, including failure to follow instructions, will not be tolerated. This also includes the use of impolite or inappropriate language. Swearing is not permitted in school.

II. Daily Expectations

1.) Attendance.

i. Students are expected to arrive at school in good time for the start of first period at 7:45 a.m.;

ii. Students who arrive late to school must check in with the Front Desk and bring a late slip to their teacher;

iii. Students are expected to transition between classes in a timely fashion without unnecessary delays.

- Cumulative attendance record.

i. The number of tardy arrivals and absences is recorded for each student during every school day and for each course;

ii. Excessive tardy arrivals and/or absences will result in communication with teachers, administrators and parents as needed;

iii. In extreme cases of attendance problems, the school has an obligation to notify the appropriate state authorities;

iv. Students who miss more than 15% of the classes within a semester will not be given credit for the course.

- Leaving campus.

i. Students are not permitted to leave the school campus during school hours, including during lunch and break periods. Exceptions are made only with parental permission;

ii. Students with written permission from the administration, or in the company of a teacher, are allowed to leave the campus for specific, pre-approved reasons.

2.) Homework.

i. Homework is normal and necessary. Secondary students should expect to have homework assigned on a daily basis;

ii. Homework should be completed thoroughly and on time. This is an important extension of classroom learning, and failure to complete homework negatively affects every student’s overall understanding.

3.) Breaks and free time.

i. Students are expected to follow the established guidelines for behaviour during breaks and lunch periods. These guidelines are normally communicated through the class teacher, and any questions regarding these guidelines should be directed to the appropriate class teacher;

ii. Students are expected to follow the instructions or requests of the faculty or staff on monitoring duty during breaks and lunch.

III. Conflict Resolution

Communication Tree: When conflicts arise, the first response should be an attempt to resolve the problem directly between the students involved. However, when support is needed to resolve the issue, the following persons should be contacted in this order:

• First point of contact: class teacher or adult responsible

• Second point of contact: Head Teacher

• Third point of contact: Head of School

All students, teachers, and parents should follow the ISC approach in conflict resolution.

IV. Dress Code

1.) Appropriate clothing. Students may wear any type of tops or trousers in which they feel comfortable. Students may wear skirts or shorts if they are following the school dress code.

2.) Inappropriate clothing. Clothing will be deemed inappropriate if it is disturbing to other students or in any way interferes with the educational process. This includes, but is not limited to:

i. Bare midriffs;

ii. Shorts or skirts that are not knee length;

iii. Low-slung trousers;

iv. Inappropriate language or images on clothing;

v. Other clothing, which is offensive and/or violates acceptable standards of dress;

vi. Hats and hoods are not allowed inside school buildings, except when worn for religious reasons. Students may wear hats out to recess and take them off when returning to the building.

3.) Dress code conflict. If a student comes to school inappropriately dressed, he/she may be sent home to change. The absence resulting from this will be considered “unexcused”.

Families may also be notified, and students will be asked to buy an ISC polo shirt or ISC shorts if their clothing is deemed inappropriate. The school administration will make final decisions about appropriateness of dress.

V. Safety

1.) Medications. Students who have regular or temporary medications that need to be taken during school hours must inform the front desk. All medication must be kept by the front desk staff; students are not allowed to carry medication on their person. Front desk staff will store and administer the medication according to the instructions provided by parents.

2.) Mandated reporting. All employees of the Istudy Centre are obligated to report any concerns about abuse and/or neglect by a caretaker. This includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Equally, we require parents to report any concerns about abuse and/or neglect by the school or a school employee.

3.) Emergencies.

i. ISC regularly participates in training drills for various emergency situations. All students, faculty, and staff are required to participate in any relevant training;

ii. In the event of an actual emergency, students are expected to follow the protocols established during training and respond immediately to any instructions given by ISC faculty or staff.

VI. Consequences

1.) Guiding principles. It is of paramount importance that all members of our community are treated with due respect and in a way that best preserves the dignity and safety of every individual and every group (as determined by any distinguishing factors: age, grade level, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, race, religion, academic ability, and any other such differences). All members of the school are responsible for all other members and for the school itself. As our students and staff members all work toward the same goal of providing every student with the skills, knowledge, and sensibilities to become educated, well-rounded adults, it is essential that we conduct ourselves and treat one another in a responsible manner consistent with our aims.

2.) Stages of discipline.

a.) Minor offenses:

i. Late to class/tardiness;

ii. Not completing, or incomplete homework;

b.) Mid-level offenses:

i. Infrequent use of unacceptable language and/or behaviour, class interruptions, or lack of respect for the learning environment;

ii. Cheating on an exam;

iii. Horseplay;

iv. Repeated minor offenses.

c.) Major offenses:

i. Theft of another student’s or school’s property;

ii. Possession/sale/under the influence of illegal controlled substances;

iii. Bullying/mobbing;

iv. Vandalism (defacing school property);

v. Fighting (hitting, punching, kicking another student);

vi. Repeated Mid-Level Offenses.

3.) Possible consequences of disciplinary infidelity.

i. Reminders or admonitions, either verbal or written;

ii. Discretionary removal of privileges;

iii. Request for a written letter of apology;

iv. Removal of student from class or the offending situation;

v. Creation of a personal behavioural plan for the improvement of a recurring behaviour or situation;

vi. Assigning a service, chore or other deterrent relating to the infraction;

vii. Request for a parent conference;

viii. Completion of reflection form;

ix. Temporary suspension from the school;

x. Permanent expulsion/withdrawal of the student.

4.) Appeal process. Students have the right to explain or justify their role in any situation that may arise requiring a disciplinary hearing, and to have someone present with them during the process when they have been accused of inappropriate conduct. Students have the right to appeal against accusations of misconduct and should be able to provide evidence that no misconduct has taken place. The process to appeal is as follows:

i. The student must approach their own class teacher and present their version of events;

ii. Relevant authorities will then review and document any evidence and present this information to a reviewing committee consisting of a member of the academic leadership team, a teacher who is not directly involved with the student, and a member of the student council;

iii. The reviewing committee will then discuss and review the information and make their recommendations to the Head of School;

iv. The Head of School or designee will make a final decision on the specific matter;

v. All parties involved shall exercise discretion throughout this process.

VII. Academic Honesty

a.) Academic honesty refers to conduct in academic matters. All members of our school community (students, teachers, administrative and support staff and parents) are expected to uphold these standards, which include:

i. Respect for intellectual property;

ii. Production of work which is authentic;

iii. Full acknowledgement of all sources used in schoolwork;

iv. An understanding of the differences between collaboration and collusion;

v. Proper conduct in relation to examinations.

b.) Academic dishonesty refers to malpractice in academic matters. This is any behaviour which gives an unfair advantage to a candidate or affects the results of another candidate. Dishonest conduct includes:

i. One candidate communicates with another in an examination;

ii. A student takes unauthorised materials, such as mobile phones or written notes, into an examination;

iii. Fabrication of data;

iv. Manufacturing or manipulating data, experiments, statistics or other results so they are not authentic;

v. Collusion;

vi. Duplication of another’s work;

vii. Plagiarism.

(Plagiarism is defined as taking or using another person’s words, ideas or findings and presenting them as one’s own without proper acknowledgement. This applies to images, poetry, songs, music and film as well as books, magazines and internet sites. Plagiarism can be avoided by using the following techniques:

i. Quoting: placing quotation marks around any passage which is used verbatim and providing a reference to the source;

ii. Paraphrasing: integrating other people’s work and ideas into your own work, representing them in your own words, using your own sentence structure and ensuring the original sources are acknowledged;

iii. Note-taking: selecting, connecting and organising information in a reduced format using your own words and keeping details of all the sources used;

iv. Summarising: condensing someone’s writing to present a broad picture (but very little detail) whilst acknowledging the source of the information;

v. Acknowledging sources: Ensuring that all ideas and works including art, film, dance, music and theatre have been referenced.)

c.) Student responsibilities. Students must ensure that they always work in an academically honest way. Students must understand that even if an act of plagiarism is unintentional, the integrity of their work may be called into question. Students should take responsibility for their own academic honesty as follows:

i. Understand the appropriate guidelines and assessment tools and ask for any clarification required in a timely manner;

ii. Manage time effectively so all deadlines can be met and work is completed in advance of deadlines;

iii. Ensure any work presented is their own;

iv. When recognising the work or ideas of others, ensure full and correct acknowledgement using the school's agreed style of referencing;

v. Keep evidence to show the development of work through the research process;

vi. If in any doubt, ask a member of staff before handing work in;

vii. Follow the ISC academic honesty policy.

d.) School responsibilities. The school has a responsibility to positively teach the skills required to ensure that students are aware of the steps they can take to avoid academic infringements or malpractice, while also making the penalties for transgression clear. ISC recognizes that students may sometimes be tempted to plagiarise others’ work because they are unable to cope with the task that has been set for them. Students may recognise content that is relevant but may not be able to paraphrase or summarise, for example. To promote the development of conceptual understanding in students, teachers must take responsibility to set meaningful tasks that can be completed either independently or with the appropriate amount of support. Making the process of inquiry visible is integral to all teaching and learning at ISC, and teachers bear the following responsibilities:

i. To instruct students in skills required for academic honesty;

ii. To model good academic practice in all resources and presentations;

iii. To set assignments, where appropriate, that encourage students to develop their own ideas and critical thinking through the process of research (investigation, problem solving, comparison, analysis);

iv. To specify the parameters for collaboration where tasks include group work;

v. To support and act upon the school academic honesty policy;

vi. Seek to prevent malpractice or infringements by making expectations of each task clear to students.

e.) Parental responsibilities. Parents should familiarise themselves with the academic honesty policy and support their child(ren) as they strive to work with integrity.

i. Encourage their child(ren) to plan when working towards an assignment or exam so they avoid trying to complete work at the last minute (a practice which increases the tendency towards plagiarism);

ii. Encourage their child(ren) to approach their teacher if they are unclear about the work they have been set;

iii. Ensure work remains the student’s own, in their own understanding and in the expression of ideas;

iv. Encourage their child(ren) to act ethically by acknowledging where the ideas or works of another person have been used.

f.) Disciplinary action. In most circumstances, the severity of the disciplinary action taken by the school in cases of academic dishonesty is dependent upon several factors, including:

i. The age of the student;

ii. The length of time the student has been at ISC (the student’s familiarity with the school’s policies, and the amount of teaching they have undergone, may be mitigating circumstances in some cases);

iii. The nature or severity of the act. More serious and obvious acts of cheating are likely to be judged as “academic malpractice”, whereas less blatant acts could be adjudicated as “academic infringements”;

iv. The student’s past record of academic honesty. Out of character first offences are likely to be treated more leniently than a repeated offence.

A student can be found guilty of malpractice if large amounts of their work is plagiarised. Depending on the subject and at the relevant teacher’s discretion, the student may be given the opportunity to complete a brand-new piece of work under supervised conditions. If there are any further submissions of dishonest work, in any subjects, disciplinary procedures outlined above will be initiated.

Final decisions in all matters will be made by the ISC, and once decisions are reached, no further recourse, unless in exceptional circumstances, will be entertained.