Student Integrity

Our disciplinary system is guided by the ideal of respect for all the members of our team.   It is our goal to help students become responsible for their own behavior.

 · Conduct Monitoring

      Parental support of the school's efforts in discipline contributes to the development of responsible behavior in our students and to an atmosphere conducive to scholastic achievement and healthy development. A student's parents are notified when corrective guidance is necessary and may be asked to confer with teachers and administrators.

 · Academic Honesty

      The ideal of honesty is implicit within the standards of behavior for Milford students.  Honesty demands independent completion of homework; regular attendance at school, including test days; and integrity in the testing situation. 

 · Independent Completion of Homework

       It is crucial that students do their own work. Students who complete  homework assignments independently benefit in mastery of material and development of skills. Teachers are better able to assess individual needs when students complete their homework independently. 

      When other people - siblings, tutors, parents, or peers - offer inappropriate assistance with students' homework, the students can become dependent upon the help or helper and may see themselves as inadequate in  the eyes of the person offering  the assistance. 

 Such students are denied the opportunity to become independent learners and  may suffer diminished self esteem and self confidence. 

     Teachers will routinely question student homework which varies markedly from the quality of work that students produce in school or the submission of identical papers by two different students.

 · Test Avoidance

      Students who complete their homework independently and  thoroughly  improve their retention of material and reduce test-related anxiety. Homework  assignments provide a built-in system of on-going review, minimizing the amount of test  preparation required of students. 

     Occasionally, test anxiety becomes so intense that students feign or actually experience illness on the days of scheduled tests. Clearly, students who routinely are absent on test days heighten their stress levels, since the make-up exams must be completed in addition to the on-going class work.   Teachers will conference with parents and students when a pattern of test avoidance appears to be emerging.

 · Integrity on Tests

      Students are expected to perform independently in the testing environment.  The use of written aids during a test to enhance performance and the exchange of  information with other students during a test both constitute academic dishonesty.  Teachers withhold all credit for the test from students who engage in such  behavior. 

     Occasionally teachers authorize the use of student notes or the use of calculators during tests. Students are cautioned to observe the teacher's parameters in such situations.

Expectations

STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO:

 · Be Prepared for Classes 

      This includes being on time (to teacher's expectation), having all the necessary  materials, and having any assigned class work completed and available. Class instruction time will not be used for locating missing or misplaced assignments.  Students are expected to be prepared to listen attentively. If questions arise, teachers assume students have made an attempt to find the answer on their own, first.

 · Be Fully Involved in the Educational Process

      Full involvement means being responsible for the daily work, keeping  track of assignments, using one's assignment book, participating in classroom activities and other school projects, and helping promote the learning process whenever possible. 

 ·  Be Respectful

      Being respectful of oneself, teachers, others, property, and the environment should be important to everyone.  This includes the avoidance of activities which could  lead  to the personal or emotional injury of anyone in our school.

 · Be Cooperative 

      In order to make our classroom an especially fine place to be a guest (substitute) teacher, we have instituted a "guest teacher friendly" policy:  Should a student be  written down as being uncooperative, disrespectful or unhelpful to a guest teacher,  disciplinary action will result.

Attendance

· Attendance

       Because of the interactive nature of the sixth grade classes, it is impossible for a student to recreate independently the classroom experience.  For that reason, and  for the student's own developing sense of responsibility, consistent school attendance is crucial to academic and personal well-being.

 · Excused Absences

      Parents should call the absence line if the student is too ill to attend school. Students are responsible for making up the work they miss.  Generally students will be given one day for every day of absence to complete  make-up work.

 · Make-Up Work

      Students are responsible for submitting homework which was due during  their absence and for arranging with individual teachers to take quizzes and tests which were administered during their absence.   Grades of zero will be recorded for make-up work not completed within the appropriate time frame.

 · Unexcused Absences

      Absences without parental knowledge and permission or those resulting  from school suspension are unexcused. 

 · Personal Absence

      Absence for personal reasons is undertaken at the discretion of the parent,  with the awareness of the added degree of difficulty imposed upon student progress by school absences.  If the teachers and office staff are notified in advance of any discretionary absence, students will be allowed to make up tests and quizzes upon return, at a time to be designated by the teacher. Teachers also have the option of collecting all daily assignments due during the period of the absence upon the student's  return. 

      Families who elect personal absences are expected to assume responsibility  for any tutoring students require because of their absence. Students will be held responsible for all content missed during the period of absence. 

      While all involved recognize the educational value of travel, the school strongly prefers that parents involve students in travel plans only during school vacations.

 · Tardiness

      The late arrival of one student to a class interrupts the continuity of that class for all students, diminishing the course of study.  

       Our Attendance Advisor will counsel students who are frequently tardy and may consult the principal and/or the student's parents.  Tardiness always affects students' academic grades, in that they miss the presentation and discussion of material.