Code of Conduct

 

SCHOOL VALUES

 

At Dragon Lake, students and staff worked together to determine the following values as being most important to our school community:

RESPECT

RESPONSIBILITY

COOPERATION

 

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The purpose of Dragon Lake’s Code of Conduct is to establish and maintain a safe, caring, inclusive, and orderly school that enables purposeful learning and positive social development for all students. We are a community that values and celebrates differences, encourages open‑minded thinking, and nurtures a sense of belonging for every member of our school.

As students grow, they become increasingly able to take responsibility for their behaviour and their impact on others. Younger students will be supported with developmentally appropriate expectations, and as they mature, they will be encouraged to take on stronger leadership roles within our diverse and supportive school community.

At Dragon Lake, we believe that effective discipline is rooted in teaching students to be respectful, responsible, cooperative, and compassionate citizens. We strive to be proactive and positive with children, fostering open‑heartedness, empathy, and an understanding of others. Through the discipline process, students learn restorative—not punitive—approaches to problem‑solving, supported by opportunities to develop social responsibility, contribute through community service, and engage meaningfully with those around them.

We value the importance of teaching students the necessary social and emotional skills to help them engage constructively, embrace differences, and contribute positively to our broader community. However, when students are not learning or responding to these holistic, restorative approaches, appropriate and meaningful consequences will be necessary to ensure safety, accountability, and continued learning for all.

BC HUMAN RIGHTS CODE

Dragon Lake promotes the values expressed in the BC Human Rights Code respecting the rights of all individuals in accordance with the law; prohibiting discrimination based on race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital or family status, physical or mental disability, sex, gender identity and expression or sexual orientation.

CONDUCT EXPECTATIONS

At Dragon Lake, students are expected to engage in safe, caring, inclusive, and responsible behaviour while at school, on their way to and from school, and during any school‑related activities in the community. These expectations support a positive learning environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and empowered to succeed.

We emphasize behaviours that reflect our core values of respect, responsibility, cooperation, inclusion, accountability, and community‑mindedness:

Respect

Students show respect by:

  • Using kind, inclusive, and considerate language
  • Demonstrating empathy and sensitivity to the feelings and perspectives of others
  • Honouring personal, cultural, and learning differences
  • Following shared agreements and recognizing the rights, space, and dignity of all members of the school community
  • Working with materials appropriately and with purpose, and taking care of our learning environment

Responsibility & Accountability

Students show responsibility and accountability by:

  • Completing work to the best of their ability and following through on commitments
  • Being honest, trustworthy, and reflective about their actions
  • Understanding how their behaviour affects others and taking steps to make things right when harm occurs
  • Making thoughtful, healthy choices that support their well‑being and the well‑being of others

Cooperation, Inclusion, & Community

Students demonstrate cooperation and a strong sense of community by:

  • Working, learning, and playing in ways that include and welcome others
  • Helping, encouraging, and uplifting classmates
  • Sharing space, equipment, and materials respectfully
  • Participating in activities that strengthen our school community and support the success of all

Conflict Resolution & Making It Right

When conflicts arise, students are supported in:

  • Using peaceful, respectful strategies to solve problems
  • Listening to understand before responding
  • Engaging in restorative conversations to repair relationships
  • Taking meaningful action to make things right and restore trust within the school communit

UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT

Behaviours that:

  • interfere with learning of others
  • interfere with an orderly school
  • are unsafe

Bullying is:

  • When a person is the target, over time, with repeated mean or rude interactions
  • When one person has more power, so the person being victimized feels that they can’t defend him/herself
  • When a person, who is the target, may feel embarrassed, hurt, scared, and/or angry.
  • Rooted in forms of discrimination such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and rejection of people with disabilities or talents

Acts of bullying may include:

  • physical aggression (pushing, grabbing, hitting, 
pinching, spitting, tripping)
  • social alienation (gossiping, embarrassing others, homophobic or ethnic slurs, excluding others)
  • verbal aggression (name calling, put-downs, swearing at others, threatening others)
  • cyber-bullying (emails, chat rooms, text messages), retaliation against someone who has reported bullying 

For a comprehensive definition of Bullying Behaviours see the following link on the School District #28 Website http://www.sd28.bc.ca/district/departments/studentservices/bullying

CONSEQUENCES

General Principals; Notification and Special Considerations

Consequences will be fair, reasonable, consistent and progressive. They will be restorative and preventative, rather than punitive (where appropriate).

The incident and consequence will be clearly explained to the student. Parents will be notified of any serious or chronic breach of conduct. School District Officials will be notified as required in District Policy. Police or other agencies will be notified as required by law. All serious incidents will be recorded for future reference.

Considerations: Each incident be treated on its own merit and will take into consideration

  • Age and maturity of student
  • Severity of incident
  • Frequency of behaviours
  • Special needs of students involved

EXAMPLES OF UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT & CONSEQUENCES

Minor Behaviours

  • Cheating and lying
  • Pushing and hands-on
  • Inappropriate or unsafe behavior
  • Possession of replica weapons
  • Non-compliance
  • Cell phone or camera use during school
 hours
  • Rudeness
  • Inappropriate use of computers
  • Disrespecting others
  • Snowball – rock throwing
  • Swearing
  • Absenteeism                           
  • Teasing
  • Talking out of turn
  • Inappropriate language
  • Defacing school property                   
  • Bystander to bullying
  • Dress code violation (no footwear; obscene or inappropriate slogans, gang or hate related;
 sexist or homophobic; with drug or alcohol references, dangerous or revealing clothing)

Major Behaviours

For persistent minor behaviours the classroom teacher will have already contacted the student’s parent. Major behaviours are referred directly to the Principal or Teacher in Charge. In the case of serious offenses the Principal or Teacher in Charge, will make every effort to have the parents involved with the school before interventions are finalized.

  • Persistent minor behaviour
  • Bullying
  • Consistent pattern of defiance or non-compliance
  • Racism
  • Vandalism
  • Weapons
  • Theft
  • Smoking
  • Threats
  • Bystander encouraging bullying
  • Fighting
  • Sexual behaviour
  • Fieldtrip misbehaviour
  • Drugs/Alcohol
  • Swearing at others
  • Harassment
  • Off school grounds
  • Acts of retaliation
  • Electronic/web bullying – including sending or forwarding inappropriate text messages or emails
  • Behaviour that disrupts the learning of others and is unsafe for that child or others

Consequences for Minor Violations of the Code of Conduct:

  • These behaviours are handled by the classroom teacher or the attending adult. Chronic minors could result in a referral to the principal. Consequences may include: verbal reminder, restorative conversations, maing it right, removal from situation or activity, community service specific to the infraction, recess or noon hour detention, confiscation of property, child phones home, note in planner, problem solving sheet, parent conference, behaviour plan.

Consequences for Major Violations of the Code of Conduct:

  • These behaviours are immediately referred to the principal. Consequences may include: parent notification, restitution, behaviour reflection sheet, behaviour contract, detentions, loss of privileges, in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, documentation in student file, police involvement if needed.

Descriptions of Possible Consequences

Child Sent to the office: Meeting with the principal where the child will have a problem solving conversation. The principal may require that the student complete a problem solving sheet, do a written or verbal apology; including what and why they did it, how the other person may have felt and what they would do next time, or complete community service specific to the infraction. Developing caring behaviours is part of our discipline process. Depending on the incident it may also include confiscation of property.

Peace Process (Restorative Conversation): Students who are involved in a conflict work through the issue with the teacher or principal to listen to each others perspectives, be honest about what happened from thier perspective, decide what is needed to make it right with each other, and move forward.

Break: If the situation is appropriate, a student may be assigned a break loaction in or outside of class. A student may be excluded from the school routine with the knowledge of the parent.

Lunch Hour/Recess Restriction: A student's free time may be restricted, where a student attends classes as usual, but is assigned a detention during free time periods. A student may also be restricted as a consequence of being unable to behave appropriately without supervision. Restrictions of this type are usually served in or near the office.

Parent Contacted: A student's parents will be contacted by telephone if a type of behaviour or situation is becoming common or persistent for this student. A teacher or principal may contact the parent.

Sent Home: When a child’s behavior is out of control to the point they are a danger to themselves or others, or they are not complying with adult requests in the building, they may be sent home under their parent’s supervision. Upon the student’s return they will be expected to meet with the principal with an idea of how to make amends for their behaviour, possibly a formal apology or plan of how to avoid repeating the same behaviour in the future.

Restitution: Students, parents and other parties may be invited to participate in mediation or a restorative justice circle to allow all parties to air their feelings and begin to heal the relationships. This develops an understanding of the impact of the offence on the victim and their family. If a student victimizes another student or property damage occurs, the offending student must provide adequate compensation. This requires effort on the part of the offender and discourages further offences.

Referral to the School-Based Team: A student may be referred to the School-Based Team if further intervention by the School Counselor or Youth Care Worker is warranted, or functional assessment of the student's behaviour is necessary to develop an individual behavior plan for the student.

Suspension: A student may be suspended from school for serious incidents as listed above. The Principal may suspend students out of school for definite periods up to ten (10) days according to School District policy #305. In extreme cases, the Principal may suspend for an indefinite period, with a resulting referral to the District Code of Conduct.

Removal: Under section 177 of the School Act of British Columbia, the Principal, Vice-Principal or designate in charge of the school is authorized to require the removal of any person creating a disturbance or interrupting the proceedings of the school or school function. (including students, former student, parents, or community members)