Our school uses the "Three Pillars of Care" to guide our interactions. Everyone is encouraged to care for themselves, care for others, and care for this place. The Three Pillars of Care citizenship model encourages us to reach out to others, to consider ways in which we can look after ourselves and to help each other as well as others in our broader community.
You can support and encourage your children as they bring home and use the language of Care for Self, Care for Others, and Care for this Place. As our learning community uses this common language, we will continue to support each other as caring citizens and “Inspire Kind, Creative Learners.”
We encourage students to take turns on the playground and to share and use equipment safely. Teachers will establish and review regularly classroom rules and behavior expectations with students.
We believe that students need to assume responsibility for their actions as individuals and as members of a group to ensure that Maple Ridge School is a safe, caring and inclusive learning community. We use a child-centered approach, which includes fostering feelings of mutual trust and respect, encouraging students to take ownership and accept responsibility for their behavior. We teach strategies for conflict resolution. Teachers will contact parents if they feel the situation warrants their involvement. We are grateful for parent involvement and support in behaviour plans for recurring or severe situations.
Children are always under the supervision of a teacher/supervisor while at school. At Maple Ridge School, it is our desire, as well as our professional duty, to ensure the safety and security of students throughout the day. It is generally understood that children, who feel welcome, safe and valued, are more effective in their studies.
We believe that all children have the right to learn and play in a safe and secure environment. This right brings with it some responsibilities for children and supervisors:
Student Responsibilities
- to play in a safe manner (safe for self and others)
- to respect the feelings of others
- to inform school staff when they are not treated properly
- to discuss problem situations calmly and fairly with students or supervisors
- to seek solutions to problems that will consider the needs of all
- to follow supervisors’ requests
Follow-Up
When a student has difficulty with expectations or when the conduct of a student is deemed detrimental to others or the school, the following process will occur. These procedures are progressive in their degree of intervention and will be applied consistently to all students. Individual differences of children and the uniqueness of specific circumstances and situations will be taken into consideration.
Conflict Resolution
Strategies
Strategies are used to encourage children to resolve conflicts in an appropriate and responsible manner. Students are expected to take an active part in learning how to solve their own conflicts. In most circumstances, face-to-face discussion of the problem between the two individuals most directly affected is the first choice for conflict resolution. Students can often do this independently or with some peer assistance, to find the most appropriate solution acceptable to both individuals.
Informal Talk
School personnel (teacher, support staff member, administrator) will talk to the student and try to reach an agreement regarding expected school behavior. Consequences will be given should offending behavior persist. Restriction of privileges may be given as an appropriate consequence or school personnel may choose to contact parents.
1) Formal Documentation/Parent Contact
Phone calls and letters will be sent home for willful damage to property and situations involving physical and verbal abuse.
2) Parent Conference
A formal conference between the student, teacher and/or administrator and parent of the student may be requested. During this conference, the student’s behaviour is reviewed and strategies established to help the student stop the undesirable behaviour. If further intervention is necessary, the student may be referred to the School Learning Team (SLT), to the Area Office, behavior specialist or to outside agencies (i.e.: anger management program, social services).
