At Vista Heights School

At our school, maintaining the dignity of each person, in all situations, is crucial to positive, respectful relationships. We strive to make challenging experiences and incidents opportunities for meaningful learning to take place. The teaching opportunities include such skills as reflective listening, hearing another person’s point of view, clearly and respectfully communicating your own desires, compromise, sacrifice, negotiation and forgiveness. We personalize learning in the classroom and we also personalize response to behaviours.  

Aims of Discipline

• To develop responsible citizens with skills for positive relationships.
• To develop each student’s capacity for self-control, empathy and solution focused problem solving.
• To protect the rights of everyone and ensure a safe and secure environment.
• To maintain conditions of harmony and respect in the school making effective learning possible for everyone.
• To develop each student’s capacity for objective decision-making based on an analysis of alternative solutions and the consequences of these alternatives.
• To ensure common understanding of expectations.

Expectations for Student Conduct

Students are expected to:

• Behave in a manner that complies with the Student Code of Conduct and contributes to a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment.

Examples of acceptable behavior include, but are not limited to:

• demonstrating respect for self, others and the school environment through:
  • respecting differences in people, their ideas and their opinions, including when there is
  • disagreement;
  • embracing all diversities;
  • respecting the needs of others to work in an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching; and respecting the rights of others.
• modeling positive social behaviours in all interpersonal interactions, including online;
• being courteous and treating each other with dignity;
• using positive and inclusive language;
• demonstrating good digital citizenship by using technology in ethically and responsible ways;
• taking responsibility for personal belongings and respecting the belongings of others;
  • demonstrating caring and compassion to others including:
  • showing empathy, being considerate of others and their situation; and creating an environment of kindness.

Students can expect to:

• Be recognized and treated as persons of value and worth.
• Feel safe from bullying, violence, harassment and harm.
• Receive courtesy, support and fairness from others.
• Be included in all appropriate activities.

Unacceptable behaviours are those that interfere with the safety and well-being of staff and students.

Examples of unacceptable behaviours include, but are not limited to:

• disruptive or dangerous behavior and defiance of authority;
• encouraging unacceptable conduct and engaging in conduct which endangers others;
• any conduct which is injurious to the physical or mental well-being of others;
• use, display or distribution of improper, obscene or abusive language, messages or pictures;
• discriminatory behavior;
• use of technology such as computers, cameras, cell phones, and other digital equipment for purposes that are
• illegal, unethical, immoral, or inappropriate;
• theft, including theft of identity and intellectual property;
• use, possession of, distribution of, or active contact with, or collection of money for illicit drugs, alcohol, or inhalants
• in school, on school board property or in the context of any school-related activity;
• willful damage to school or the property of others;
• involvement in the formation of or affiliation with gangs or other groups which negatively impact the school
• environment;
• hazing and initiation activities;
• use, possession of, sale, distribution of or active contact with a weapon on a student's person, on or in the vicinity of school board property;
• interfering with the orderly conduct of classes or the school;
• criminal activity;
• failure to comply with CBE Student Code of Conduct; or
• failure to comply with section 12 of the School Act.

Procedure for Unacceptable Behaviours/Disciplinary Practices:

• Disciplinary actions will:
  • Be corrective and supportive
  • Reflect the range of interventions and responses including:
• Universal interventions
• Targeted classroom and school interventions
• Intensive individualized supports
  • Include opportunities for students to learn and make amends
  • Focus on improving behavior
  • Help students be successful at school
• First Incident: student sits down with the adult in response to incident (teacher, supervisor, principal) to talk about the incident and review the discipline policy.
• Consequences and caring behaviours are determined by the adult and student.
• Second Incident: student, adult in response to the incident, and classroom teacher sit down and discuss the incident and review the discipline policy again.
• Consequence and caring behaviour are determined. Parents are contacted and informed of the behaviour and the consequence. Both student and parents are made aware of the next step.
• Third Incident: student, teacher, principal and parents meet and discuss consequences and caring behaviour. Parent, teacher and principal are involved in the follow-up and a final warning is issued.
• Fourth Incident: may be considered for suspension from class or school. Considerations are outlined in Regulation 6001 and Regulation 6005 of the Calgary Board of Education’s Governance Policies and Administrative Regulations.
• Consequences (adult choice) may include loss of privileges, phone call to parents, community service, virtue assignment etc.
• Caring behaviour (student choice) may include note of apology or spoken apology, written reflection about the incident, project, community service, etc.