Thomas P. Hughes School
Code of Discipline
2010 - 2011
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Attached is the Thomas P. Hughes School Code of Discipline, which is aligned with the Board of Education policy and school procedures. It is our belief that the establishment of these basic guidelines will greatly enhance the development of mutual respect and will generate a greater feeling of warmth and positive school spirit. This Code will ensure consistency in the monitoring of and response to student behavior as we teach our children to assume responsibility for their actions.
Please read these rules and procedures with your children.
Thank you for your support and cooperation.
Rules and Procedures
General:
Students are to show respect to each other and all adults.
Students are to respect school property and the property of others.
Students are to keep their hands and feet to themselves. Fighting, horseplay, and improper physical contact will not be tolerated.
Students are to walk quietly, in an orderly fashion.
Students are to listen, the first time.
A student must be accompanied by a teacher or a teacher aide to enter a classroom following the official start of school.
Electronic games (i.e. Game Boy) and personal stereos (for example, iPods ) are not at school unless requested by the classroom teacher for a special classroom event.
Skateboarding, rollerblading, or bicycling are not permitted on school property. Once those students permitted to bicycle to school (see item 9) are on school property, they are to walk their bicycles to the bicycle racks. Students in grades 4 and 5 may, with parental approval, ride their bicycles to school. Third graders may, with parental approval, ride their bicycles to school once they have participated in the bicycle road-eo.
Trading or exchanging of personal property, baseball cards, Pokemon cards, magic cards, etc., is not permitted at school.
Hats may not be worn inside the school building, except on specially designated days.
Chewing gum is not permitted at school.
No weapon, toy weapon, or any object that could be construed as a weapon, is permitted in school.
Auditorium
Enter and leave in a quiet, orderly manner.
Be alert to when the performance/speaker is ready to begin (stop, watch, and listen).
Be respectful to the performers. Use appropriate applause (no booing, talking, hooting, or whistling).
Remain seated for the entire performance. Use the rest rooms, if necessary, prior to the performance.
Be considerate of others in the audience. Sit rather than kneel. Keep your hands to yourself.
Bathroom
Flush the toilet.
Wash your hands after using the bathroom facilities.
Place garbage in the trash can.
Respect the privacy of others.
Be quiet in the bathroom.
Walk directly, in an orderly fashion, to the bathroom; return quickly.
7. Monitor the cleanliness of the room through the proper use of facilities.
Bus*
Obey and respect the bus driver.
Enter and exit the bus in a quiet and orderly fashion.
Remain seated with hands inside the bus at all times.
Seat belts must be worn at all times.
No physical contact or throwing of objects.
Speak in a soft, conversational tone of voice.
* Repeated inability to follow Bus Rules will result in the suspension and potential revocation of transportation privileges.
Morning Playground
The teachers on duty will utilize their discretion in determining whether to meet inside or outside.
When outside, all students must remain on the blacktop.
Lunch time
Lunch and recess are times to socialize and play with friends and classmates in a less structured setting. In order to allow everyone to have fun and be safe it is necessary for all students to be courteous, act responsibly, and observe the following rules:Follow the instructions of the lunchroom aides*.
Speak softly and respectfully.
Raise your hand if you need help or want the attention of the lunchroom aide.
Respect the property of others.
Do not throw anything or play with food.
All students are responsible for helping to keep the cafeteria clean by removing refuse from the tables and surrounding areas.
Move slowly and carefully.
Sit with your feet underneath the table.
Recess and Playground
Students are to follow the instructions of the lunch aides.*
No student is to go to a classroom without a teacher present.
When outdoors for recess, permission is needed to re-enter the building.
Students are to keep their hands and feet to themselves. Fighting, horseplay, and other improper physical contact will not be tolerated.
Students are to display good sportsmanship.
Students are not to interfere in the games of others.
When directed, students are to line up and proceed quickly and quietly.
Students are to enter and exit the building in an orderly fashion.
Students are not to handle or walk in the snow.**
* If a student feels that he or she was unjustly treated by a lunch aide, that student should bring his/her concern to the attention of his/her teacher after the conclusion of the lunch/recess period. The student is still responsible for following the instructions of the lunch aide until such time that the student’s concern is reviewed by the teacher.** Handling or throwing snow is a automatic loss of the next day’s recess.Consequences
It is the practice of the faculty and staff at Hughes School to use a positive approach toward students and their behaviors. The school provides many opportunities throughout the day to positively reinforce the numerous appropriate behaviors demonstrated by our students. Other opportunities are provided for students to constructively practice the behaviors we want them to acquire.For those instances where reinforcement and constructive practice are not sufficient in modifying a student’s behavior, additional consequences are needed. Individual needs and circumstances are always taken into account. Close cooperation between home and school is crucial in these efforts.
Within a given 24 hour time span, beginning after a student’s lunch period:
First offense |
Warning |
Second offense |
Loss of recess for 10 minutes |
Third offense |
Loss of recess for 15 minutes |
Fourth offense |
Loss of entire recess period |
Fifth offense |
Loss of entire recess period and sent to the principal |
Subsequent offenses |
A second visit to the principal will result in a phone call to the parent. A third visit to the principal will result in an in-school parent conference. |
Please keep in mind that these are merely guidelines. A teacher’s classroom rules may supersede any written procedures.For a student who demonstrates a continuing difficulty in following school rules, parents will be asked to join the school in developing a program designed to meet the child’s needs and the school’s concerns.
Please note that when more than one student is involved in an incident it is often difficult or impossible to determine who was “at fault” or who “started it.” Therefore, except for those instances where it can be determined with certainty who was in the wrong, all students involved in an incident may receive the same consequence.Cafeteria Consequences
In addition to the consequences listed above, a student who demonstrates difficulty in following the rules for behavior in the cafeteria will progressively receive the following consequences:warnings;
a. Loss of 10 minutes
b. Loss of 20 minutes
c. Loss of recess
change in seating;
eat at a separate table; and,
eat in a separate location.
Severe Infractions
Severe Infractions include defacing school property, swearing at or threatening a peer or an adult, showing disrespect to an adult, or fighting.
The consequences for severe infractions may be any one or a combination of the following:
automatic loss of recess;
visit to the principal;
parent notification and in-school conference;
before or after school detention;
in-school suspension; and,
out-of-school suspension.
Grade 4-5 Discipline Policy
First Violation
Warning. Name is put on board.
Second Violation
One checkmark will be put after your name. You will lose the entire recess time for the day.* A detention slip will be send home to be signed by a parent and returned to school.
Third Violation
A second checkmark will be put after your name. You will lose the entire recess time for the day. A detention slip will be sent home to be signed by a parent and returned to school. The teacher will call home to discuss the matter with a parent.
Fourth Violation
The second time a student reaches the Third Violation stage, the principal will meet with the student and teacher. A detention slip will be sent home to be signed by a parent and returned to school.
Fifth Violation
The third time a student reaches the Third Violation stage, the principal, student, teacher, and parent will meet for a conference.*During recess detention, students are expected to remain seated with hands folded. No talking is permitted. Students who do not act appropriately may be issued an additional consequence.
The following is taken from the New Jersey Statutes Title 18A regarding student suspension;
18A37-2 Causes for suspensions or expulsions of pupils.
Any pupil who is guilty of continued and willful disobedience, or of open defiance of the authority of any teacher or person having authority over him/her, or the habitual use of profanity or of obscene language, or who shall cut, deface or otherwise injure any school property, shall be liable to punishment and to suspension or expulsion from school.
Conduct which shall constitute good cause for suspension or expulsion of a pupil guilty of such conduct shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following:continued and willful disobedience
open defiance of authority of any teacher or person having authority over him/her
conduct of such character as to constitute a continuing danger to the well being of other pupils
physical assault upon another pupil or upon any teacher or other school employee
taking or attempting to take personal property or money from another pupil, or from his presence by means of force or fear
willfully causing, or attempting to cause, substantial damage to school property
participation in an unauthorized occupancy by any group of pupils or others of any school or building owned by any school district, and failure to leave after having been directed to do so by the principal or other person in charge of such building facilityincitement which is intended to and does result in unauthorized occupation by any group of pupils or others of any part of a school or other facility owned by any school district; and
incitement which is intended to and does result in truancy by other pupils.
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