North Vancouver School District Code of Conduct

NVSD Code of Conduct.pdf (sd44.ca)​

North Vancouver School District's Code of Conduct has been established to maintain a safe, caring, accessible, and healthy learning environment.

It is the shared responsibility of students, staff, parents/guardians, and the broader community, to demonstrate positive conduct while attending any school or district related activity, at any location. 

 All members of the school community are expected to:

• Support learning and attendance.
• Demonstrate safety. 
• Respect property, environment, personal space, and privacy.
• Model courtesy, compassion, and respect.
• Value diversity.
• Treat self and all other members of the school and broader community respectfully.
  

All members of the school community must refrain from engaging in any in-person or digital communication or participating in behaviour that is considered to be:

• Interfering with the learning and working of others.
• Bullying, harassing, intimidating, retaliating, discriminating or violent.
• Unsafe or illegal; including the possession, use, or distribution of illegal or restricted substances or the possession of weapons or replicas.

 All members of the school community are expected to:

Comply with the purpose and spirit of the BC Human Rights Code, including not engaging in discriminatory conduct based on Indigenous identity, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or age of that person or that group or class of persons.

Wear clothing that does not promote or symbolize illegal substances or activities, hate or discrimination, profanity, pornography; or that incites violence, harassment, or threatens safety.

Leave personal digital devices at home, in their bag/backpack, and/or in their locker during instructional time. Allowances may be made by the staff for instructional purposes, digital literacy, appropriate use based on age and developmental stage, accommodations within a student's Individualized Education Plan, accessibility, medical and health needs, and/or equitable support for learning outcomes.

Every effort will be made to support individuals and to determine the root causes of behaviour. If the safety or educational program of others is compromised, or if there is an ongoing failure to meet the expectations of the Code of Conduct, a range of consequences will follow. Whenever possible, incidents will be resolved by discussion, community service, restorative processes, referral to counselling and/or support services, mediation, an​d restitution, but may involve loss of privileges, detention, suspension from school, and/or collaboration with community partners. Confidentiality will be maintained; however, school officials may have a responsibility to advise other parties of serious breaches of the Code of Conduct (e.g. school district officials, law enforcement, and/or other agencies, etc.).

The school will take all reasonable steps to prevent any form of retaliation against a student or staff member who has brought a complaint forward of a breach of the Code of Conduct.  

Factors such as the severity and frequency of the concerning behaviour(s), as well as the age, maturity, and ability of the person(s) involved, will be considered. In most cases, as people mature, there is the expectation of increased responsibility and self-discipline; therefore, progressively increasing consequences for concerning behaviour may apply.  

 Considerations apply to those who may not be able to adhere to the Code of Conduct due to having a disability of an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional, or behavioural nature. 

All members of the North Vancouver School District community have the right to be treated fairly and consistently and should know and understand this Code of Conduct.​​

Seycove Code of Conduct Extensions

This code of conduct reflects the expectations of the school community and is reviewed annually to monitor emerging situations that may contribute to school safety. Students, staff, and parents/guardians are required to know and understand the school rules, acceptable behaviors and the consequences for any misconduct. There are rising expectations for student behaviour as students become older, more mature and move through the grades. Students are expected to take responsibility for their actions and can expect increasingly significant consequences for any inappropriate behaviours as they get older.

When participating in Seycove school activities, including those outside of the school, students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that brings credit to themselves and to Seycove at all times. Students are subject to all the same expectations as if they were at school. 

​ATTENDANCE

Student attendance is the shared responsibility of parents, students and staff.  Parents/guardians have the responsibility to ensure their child's attendance at school and to communicate with the school regarding their child's absences or tardiness. 

Students are expected to report to classes on time - prepared to work and to participate. Regular attendance is essential for success in school. When students are away from school, we ask parents to notify the school by telephone or e-mail. When unexplained absences occur the school contacts the parents daily by telephone and e-mail through our synervoice system. Please ensure current e-mail addresses are on file at the school. Regardless of the reason for absence, it is the student's responsibility to catch up on missed work.

Excessive absences may lead to school support plan that includes the following actions:

• An inquiry from a teacher; required attendance during tutorial time; a phone call home; an interim report sent home.
• A meeting with the grade counsellor and/or the grade administrator.
• A meeting with parent/guardian and the grade counsellor and/or administrator.
• Poor attendance could lead to a School Based Resource Team and District Resource Team Referral and alternate educational placements may be found.
  

Vacations During School Time 

Some families may choose to vacation while school is in session, Seycove reminds families that absences will have a significant impact on student learning. 

Parents and students are asked to avoid planning vacations during instructional time. Missed class time and learning opportunities cannot be replicated. It may not be possible to make up activities and assignments missed, nor may it be possible to provide work ahead of time.

Tardiness

Students arriving late to class create an unnecessary disruption which affects the learning of all students in the classroom. Students who are late for class MUST report to the classroom immediately, knock on the classroom door, and wait for the teacher to admit them. A note explaining the student's lateness may be required. Students are responsible for all work missed. Habitual lateness will be dealt with in the same manner as absenteeism.

Why is attendance so important? See Attendance Matters at:

http://www.sd44.ca/school/seycove/About/attendanceprocedures/Documents/AttendanceMatters.pdf

Reporting Absences

• Absences can be e-mailed to seycove@sd44.ca
• Attendance call line is available 24 hours a day at 604-903-3673
  
  

PERSONAL DIGITAL DEVICES AND CELL PHONES

A focus on learning and maintaining the safety and privacy of all staff and students at Seycove is of paramount importance. 

All members of the school community are expected to leave personal digital devices (including cell phones, smartwatches, gaming devices, tablets, laptops, and earbuds) at home, or in their locker during instructional time and within instructional spaces in the building (including library, Learning Centre, Computer Lab, Music Room). 

When arriving in class, students are expected to have left their devices (cell phones, airpods, headphones) away in a place where it will not be a distraction to themselves or to others. If a student is using their phone after having been asked to put it away by the teacher, they may be directed to the administration.

Allowances may be made by the staff for instructional purposes, accommodations within a student's Individualized Education Plan, accessibility, medical and health needs, and/or equitable support for learning outcomes.

The following uses of a cell phone are considered inappropriate, and are NOT permitted:

• Texting and/or gaming during instructional time 
• Recording on campus without expressed permission of a teacher (strictly forbidden) 

 The school will not be held responsible for physical damage, loss or theft of personally-owned digital devices and/or cell phones.​

SCHOOL NETWORK and INTERNET USE:

Students and staff have access to the school district's network resources, including an individual user account, a numbered school district email, office 365* and internet service. District resources should not be used for personal use

Students have a responsibility to respect and protect themselves and others by following the NVSD Student Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

The following examples demonstrate what actions constitute cheating & plagiarism:

• Cheating or plagiarizing on tests and assignments; including sharing information during the exam; Illegally obtaining all or part of an examination prior to the exam; Altering or changing test answers after submitting the test for grading etc.
• Failure to cite or document quoted or paraphrased material written by someone else (includes material from the Internet);
• The use of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and other similar tools, to complete or support the completion of any form of assignment or assessment in this course must be approved by the classroom teacher.
• Submitting the same essay, presentation, or assignment more than once whether the earlier submission was at Seycove or elsewhere without approval of the teacher;
• Submitting, as your own work, assignments, homework, or other material that was purchased, acquired from written or edited work from another source, including tutors;
• Knowingly submitting identical assignments without permission of the teacher;
• Any attempt to write an examination using unauthorized verbal, electronic, written or visual Knowingly sharing one's own work for another student to copy. 

Students involved in any form of cheating, plagiarism, or unsanctioned sharing of work may have a range of consequences:

• No credit for the work or assignment with no opportunity for makeup;
• A phone call home to inform parents/guardians;
• A record of the incident in the student's discipline file.
  

ILLEGAL and RESTRICTED SUBSTANCES:

Each day Seycove welcomes students to campus and takes care to provide a safe and healthy environment focused on learning and personal development. To that end students found using, possessing, or being with others involved with drugs, vape/vape products, at school or at school-sponsored events, may be suspended. Such actions may also include police involvement. Subsequent involvement in drugs or alcohol will require a re-entry plan to return to school. Any student found supplying drugs or alcohol to others may be suspended and referred to an outside agency and/or the police. 

This is in accordance with Section 2.2 of the Tobacco and Vapour Products Control Act, effective September 1, 2016, the use of tobacco and vapour products is banned on all public and private K-12 schools in British Columbia. A person must not smoke, nor be with others involved in smoking or using tobacco products or e-cigarettes, nor hold lighted tobacco or activated e-cigarettes, in or on school property.

This ban extends to all school property 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of whether school is in session. The ban also includes vehicles, parking lots, sports fields, driveways, courtyards, and private vehicles parked on school property. 

If vaping on school property, a range of consequences may apply:

• Meeting with administration, contact with parent/guardian, and vapes and vaping substances will be confiscated, and students may work at home for the remainder of the day.

• For a first incident, students may have an in-school suspension for up to 3 days. A second incident of vaping may result in more severe consequences including suspension out of school.

• As with any incident contravening the school code of conduct, the opportunity to participate in athletics, extracurricular activities or participation on field trips may be restricted. 

• Bystanders may also be subject to these consequences.

DRESS AND APPAREL:

Staff and students at Seycove believe maintaining a respectful atmosphere is important to academic achievement and citizenship. 

The school's dress code is meant to foster a supportive, respectful learning community in which each student's self-esteem is reflected in their behaviour, growth and achievement.

VISITING OTHER SCHOOLS:

Students are not permitted to visit any other school while school is in session. Do not invite unauthorized visitors. All visitors must report to the office upon arrival.