Code of Behaviour 2022-2023

 

We at Marian College commit ourselves to working together to maintain a working and learning environment that recognises, protects, encourages and supports the right to dignity of each student, each teacher, each other employee and each visitor to the College. All who work and study here are expected to respect the right of each individual to dignity in their working and learning life. All will be treated equally and respected for their individuality and diversity. Bullying in any form is not accepted by us and will not be tolerated.

INTRODUCTION

Parents, guardians and students are assured that the staff will administer the code, regulations and procedures in a fair and just manner. The Principal, Deputy Principal and Home School Liaison teacher will generally be immediately available. Other staff will be available by appointment. In no circumstances may a parent/ guardian approach a student (other than his/ her son) on the school premises. In all our policies and practices, the health and safety of our students and the Marian community is paramount.

The use of corporal punishment is forbidden, and if a student feels that he is being treated unfairly, then he should avoid confrontation with any staff member but he (and/or his parents/guardians) should bring the matter to the attention of the Principal for resolution.

CODE OF BEHAVIOUR

Students must show respect for teachers and other school staff at all times. They must also respect the rights of their fellow students.

Students must obey the classroom rules to ensure a safe and positive environment for learning and teaching.

Students must respect the environment of the school and the property of others and must make every effort to keep the school looking as well and as clean as possible.

Students in the vicinity of the school, or travelling to and from school, or representing the school in any way, must behave in a manner which brings credit to the school rather than taking any action that would bring it into disrepute.

REGULATIONS

1. Each student from 1st to 6th Year attending the school shall wear the full College uniform which will be visible in each classroom throughout the school day. The Junior uniform (1st to 3rd year) consists of grey shirt, College tie, grey College pullover, plain grey trousers and all black shoes. The school suggests leather shoes would be appropriate. The Senior uniform (4th to 6th year) consists of white shirt, College tie, Navy blue College pullover, plain black trousers and all black shoes. [No ear-rings or other jewellery, no hoodies, no denim, no hats or scarves]. A neat and tidy appearance, acceptable to the school authorities, is required at all times and students who regularly fail to wear the full uniform will be sent home. * The school is investigating a compulsory PE uniform at time of print.
2. Students must walk around the school buildings (no running is permitted) and each student shall be punctual at all times.
3. The homework diary will be the regular method of communication between the home and the school, so all notes from parents/guardians should be written in this diary. If a student wishes to be absented from the College for any reason, a note from a parent/guardian must be provided in advance, while a student who has been absent must provide a note from his parent/guardian in his diary. This note must be provided to the designated staff member at the end of first period at his/her room on the day that the student returns to the College. The diary will be examined and signed regularly by the parent/guardian and by the designated staff member.
4. Students must leave the classrooms during the morning and lunch-breaks and they must go to the area designated for their year-group.
5. No student may leave the premises during the school day without the permission of a teacher and parent. The student will sign out in a special book in the secretary’s office. The normal school opening hours are 8.25am to 3.50pm.
6. By law, no smoking or vaping (e-cigarettes) is permitted on the school premises. Students may not smoke within 100 metres of the school. Failure to comply will result in a fine of €50 on each occasion, and may lead to further action under the terms of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002.
7. By law, no student may be in possession of illegal substances at any time. Failure to comply with this on the school premises, or in the vicinity of the school, will result in the student’s immediate removal from the school. The Board of Management will be asked to permanently exclude the student and the Gardai will also be informed.
8. Students may not eat and/or drink in the classrooms. Students breaking this rule will have the food/drink confiscated. Persistent failure to comply will also result in further sanctions.
9. Students must keep the school and its grounds as clean as possible by using the bins for any litter that they produce. Students found littering will be fined €5 on each occasion and will also be liable to be asked to clean up a designated area of the school premises.
10. Students are required to arrive for class on time, in full uniform with everything the lesson requires (diary/books/pens/copies/equipment/homework). Students are not permitted to leave class for any reason once the class has commenced, unless in exceptional circumstances.
11. Students must take care not to damage or interfere with any item of property belonging to the school or to any member of the school community (including visitors to the school).(a) The student will be liable for the cost of repairing the damage caused. The school accepts no financial liability for the loss theft or damage of personal devices such as mobile phones
    (b) Any student who intentionally damages any item of property (e.g. by drawing graffiti) will be subject to further sanctions in addition to the cost of the repair of the damage caused. These sanctions include fines, cleaning of the school property, detention and/or suspension or expulsion depending on the particular case.
    (c) The theft of any item will be considered of the utmost seriousness and will make the student liable for suspension and/or permanent exclusion.
12. Lockers are provided for each student. Students are advised to use the lockers in order to take every precaution for the security of their own property, particularly electronic equipment.
13. Bags or other items of property left in any area are the sole responsibility of the owner and the school is not liable for the loss of any such item. Bags must not be left overnight in classrooms or corridors. Students’ bicycles must be locked in the bicycle compound during the school day. E- scooters are forbidden from the school campus.
14. The school recognises that many students require a mobile phone. On arrival at school, Mobile phones should be turned Off and should not be visible within the school premises throughout the school day* If a mobile phone rings or is used for any reason then the phone may be confiscated by a staff member: on the first occasion the phone may be retained by the Principal or Deputy Principal for up to 24 hours and on subsequent offences, the phone may be held for up to 7 days. Failure to hand over a mobile phone to a staff member upon request may lead to serious sanctions up to and including suspension. Students will be required to leave phones in their classroom when given permission to use the bathroom.*In certain circumstances, a teacher may allow students to use their phones in class as an educational resource only. Students must follow the teachers’ instructions during such times and must not deviate from the task set by the teacher. If parents/guardians need to contact their sons for any reason, they can contact the school office. Please refer to our Acceptable Use Policy for further information on acceptable phone usage.
15. In line with our commitment to personal dignity, students are advised that a camera, or a mobile phone which can be used as a camera, may not be used to record or take a picture of any staff member, student or visitor without the express permission of the person concerned.
    The taking of such a picture will be reported immediately to the Principal (or in her absence the Deputy Principal) and the student concerned will be liable to very severe sanctions including suspension and/or permanent exclusion. The distribution of such a picture will make the student liable to permanent exclusion.
16. Students must show respect for teachers and other school staff at all times and any harassment of school staff will be treated with the utmost seriousness. Students should be particularly aware that the use of vulgar language, vulgar, insolent, violent, confrontational, aggressive, threatening or hostile behaviour, as well as writing graffiti or making personal remarks of an abusive nature towards a staff member, in or out of school, will be treated very severely by the College.
    Unacceptable behaviour of this sort will be reported immediately by the staff member to the Principal (or in her absence to the Deputy-Principal) and the student concerned will be liable to very severe sanctions including suspension and/or expulsion.
17. In the context of our commitment to dignity at work, the College wishes to emphasise that sexual harassment (which is defined as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, or other conduct based on a person’s sex, which affects the person’s dignity”) is totally unacceptable. Among the unacceptable forms of such harassment are
    • Unwanted physical or verbal advances, or unwanted touching or physical gestures
    • Comments and remarks of a sexual nature or lewd comments
    • Demands of sexual favours or displays of sexual and/or pornographic material
    • Comments or innuendo of a sexual nature based on a person’s sex or sexual orientation
    Unacceptable behaviour of this sort will be reported immediately by the teacher or student or visitor to the Principal (or in her absence to the Deputy Principal) and the perpetrator will be liable to very severe sanctions including suspension and/or permanent exclusion.
18. As already stated, students must respect the rights of their fellow students. Students should be aware that any interference with the rights of any other student will not be tolerated. Among the behaviours that are particularly unacceptable are
    • bullying i.e. repeated aggression (verbal, psychological or physical) conducted by an individual or group against others.
    • interfering with the property of others
    • interfering with the learning of other students
    • fighting or any such action that threatens the health and safety of a student
    • violence of any sort
    • racist comments
    • sexual harassment
    • taking a photograph of another student without his/her knowledge or permission
    Unacceptable behaviour of this sort will be reported immediately to the student’s Dean and/or the Deputy-Principal and/or the Principal and the student concerned will be liable to very severe sanctions including suspension and/or permanent exclusion.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

1. The teacher has primary responsibility for discipline within his/her own classroom. Each teacher may give extra work, may detain or may otherwise deal with inadequate work or disruptive behaviour in his/her classroom. Such misbehaviour may result in a note in the student’s diary or may result in further contact between the teacher and the parents.
2. A student who persistently causes problems to a teacher will be reported to his Dean.
3. Students who persistently fail to co-operate with the requirements of the school may be excluded from sport or other extra-curricular activities.
4. The Dean of each year will monitor the pattern of work, behaviour, attendance and punctuality of each of the students in his/her year group. He/she will meet with the Principal and/or the Deputy-Principal with his fellow Deans on a weekly basis so that consistent standards throughout the school can be maintained. He/she will work closely with the other staff to help students whose pattern of work or behaviour is unsatisfactory. He/she may also make contact with the parents to enlist their help in improving the situation. This contact may take the form of a daily or weekly reporting system, and/or it may take the form of a meeting at the College. A Dean of each year is also empowered to take whatever further action he/she deems necessary to deal with the students in his/her care including detention during lunch or after school for the student.
5. Parents/ guardians will be informed when a student is to be detained after school. It should be noted that whenever a student reaches a total of three discipline detentions (from his Dean or the Deputy Principal or the Principal), the next disciplinary event will result in an automatic suspension.

SUSPENSION AND PERMANENT EXCLUSION (EXPULSION)

The Principal or the Deputy-Principal may suspend a student from the College if it is decided that the misconduct of the student warrants this serious action. The suspension will be reported to the Board of Management at its next meeting.

Parents will be informed by letter of the reason for the suspension, the period of the suspension and the fact that the student will be regarded as being in the care of the parents from the end of the school day on which he was suspended. The staff member suspending the student will be available to discuss such a suspension with the parents/guardians of the student.

Finally, and generally as a last resort, the College Board reserves the right to exclude a student for

• persistent violation of the College rules
• violation of any of the rules above which specify expulsion as one of the penalties
• for totally unacceptable behaviour
• for disruptive behaviour which seriously prevents other students from learning
• for any reason judged by the Board to be contrary to the common good.

After the Board has decided to permanently exclude any student, the parent(s)/ guardians of the student, shall have the right to appeal the decision to the Department of Education & Skill

CLASSROOM RULES

To ensure a safe and positive environment for learning and teaching, these rules will apply to each student in each classroom in the College.

1. Have your diary available to staff at all times. (Keep it in excellent condition, use it for notes to/from home, and record all homeworks in it each day.)
2. Be on time, in full uniform, with everything the lesson requires (e.g. books, copies, equipment, homework.)
3. Make sure your mobile phone is turned off and out of sight. Music players and/or earphones are banned in the classrooms and corridors.
4. Enter the room quietly with your uniform fully visible (i.e. jacket off) and sit in your allocated place.
5. Do not eat or drink in the room and use the correct bins for any litter you may produce.
6. Pay attention and follow the teacher’s instructions at all times, and do not interfere with the learning of others.
7. Be courteous and polite to teachers (and to fellow students), raise your hand silently if you wish to contribute to the class and speak only when invited by the teacher.
8. Give of your best and be positive towards the efforts of others.
9. At the end of class after the bell has rung, go quietly with the teacher’s consent, leaving your desk and the room in the condition in which you found it.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION – PURPOSE AND RULES

Physical education is introduced through activities such as aquatics, adventure education, dance, health related activities, gymnastics, athletics and games. This curriculum is outlined on the physical education website www.jcpe.ie . The overall aim of the program is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum in which all students can participate, develop and achieve success at their own personal level. This can only be achieved in a positive, motivating and supportive environment. To ensure this aim is achieved the following applies to all students attending physical education class:

• Students must attend PE class in proper PE gear. This includes tracksuit, top, shorts or runners/ boots depending on activity. Under no circumstances can a student participate in physical education wearing any part of the regular school uniform. Students will be informed what gear is required the week before a new activity starts.
• Students who cannot participate in physical education for a medical reason must get their parent/ guardian to write a note in the school journal explaining why. Please note that this must be written and signed by parent/ guardian.
• Students with special needs/medical conditions must be identified to their physical education teacher before the start of each term. Parent/ Guardians of students with any medical condition are asked to send a letter to the school stating this medical condition. This is paramount to the safety of your son in physical education.
• Students are not allowed enter the sports hall unless a teacher is present.
• No jewellery can be worn during physical education classes.
• When changing for physical education classes all students must respect other students, the property of others and the physical environment in which they are changing.
• Students must respect equipment used during physical education.

A failure to adhere to the above will result in sanctions as outlined in the code of behaviour. If you have any suggestions or questions regarding physical education in the school please contact Mr. Tim Byrnes at the College.

School email – acceptable use rules:

1. Students will not use email for personal reasons. Email which is used for educational purposes will use approved email addresses and will be supervised or authorized by a teacher/school
2. Students will not send or receive any material that is illegal, obscene and/or defamatory, or that is intended to annoy or intimidate another person. The strictest of sanctions will be imposed on any student involved in cyberbullying up to and including suspension and permanent exclusion
3. Students will not reveal their own or other people’s personal details; such as addresses or telephone numbers or pictures.
4. Students will never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they only know through emails or other online communication.
5. Where appropriate, usernames will be used to avoid disclosure of identity.

Use of any social media communication including emails and phones is subject to the schools acceptable use policy, distance learning policy, GDPR and privacy statements and other such relevant policies.