Academic Integrity

Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is based on the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. At Tom Baines School, we expect students to produce their own unique work, achieve to the best of their abilities, and be honest in their communication of ideas. Cheating, which includes plagiarism, misrepresentation, lying, and copying from someone else is not only unacceptable, but students will also be subject to disciplinary action through the Student Code of Conduct. Furthermore, parents will be notified, and the mark will be withdrawn.

Honesty: Academic and personal honesty between staff and students helps to maintain integrity in learning. It also allows for trust to build over time.

Trust: Students must trust that staff are fair, and staff must trust that students do their work with honesty and integrity.

Fairness: Predictable, consistent, and fair evaluations, as well as fair responses to dishonesty are important in maintaining academic integrity.

Respect: Showing respect for the intellectual property of others by referencing and citing information used.
Responsibility: Everyone at Tom Baines School is responsible for ensuring integrity and preventing dishonesty.

Missed Class Work

Students are responsible for arranging to make up missed assignments or tests. We ask that students check with classmates and on Teachers’ Blogs about assigned work or upcoming deadlines. It is recommended that every student have a homework buddy who would also be able to provide updates, missed notes, etc.

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​​Plagiarism Policy

When ideas are taken from other sources without giving credit, this is known as plagiarism. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of somebody else’s words or ideas.

We expect our students to act with academic integrity, and to use their own knowledge to demonstrate authentic learning. We expect our students to be honest and ethical in their schoolwork and in how they deal with others. Our teachers support students' authentic and ethical learning through teaching when and how to cite resources, by using online tools like Turnitin, and a variety of other ways.

When To Give Credit in Your Work

Need To Give Credit​

  • When you are using or referring to someb​​ody else’s words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other source.
  • ​When you use information gained through interviewing another person.
  • When you copy the exact words from somewhere.
  • When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, and pictures.

Don't Need to Give Credit 

  • ​When you are writing your own experiences, your own observations, your own insights, your own thoughts, your own conclusions about a subject.
  • When you are using common knowledge, common sense observations, or shared information.
  • When you are using generally accepted facts.
  • Whe​n you are writing up your own experimental results.

Academic Expectations

Students are expected to behave according to the CBE Student Code of Conduct. Students who knowingly misrepresent the work of others as their own, or allow their work to be copied, act outside of the parameters of academic integrity. If this happens, we use Progressive Student Discipline so that teachers, parents, and school leaders can help students take responsibility for their learning to achieve their academic goals. ​