Discipline Code

The CSS Honor and Discipline Code
Our mission is to develop the best in our students: their respect for others, their intellect, their talent. Each student will demonstrate initiative and responsibility, contribute to the CSS community, and learn to the best of their ability,
Community Principles
·         The school community creates an environment in which each is recognized as a unique human being who is treated with dignity and respect.
  • The principles of caring, honesty, courtesy, discipline, empathy, respect, responsibility, honor, and courage will guide our expectations of behavior of students and other members of our community.
  • We will use critical dialogue and rational scrutiny to establish school norms, rules, and measures of discipline that are effective, and that humanize all of us.
  • We are a caring and courteous community, and we demonstrate this in our everyday interactions.
  • We expect our students to behave in ways that show a commitment to tolerance and empathy, that demonstrate their developing sense of responsibility, initiative, and personal maturity, and that show we all care about the well being of others.
  • Discipline is a central part of our code. Personal and academic excellence - an expectation we will hold all our students accountable for -  cannot be pursued without large measures of self-discipline.
  • Intellectual and moral courage are also fundamental to our humanistic ethic, as is respect for the differences that come from being a community of diverse individuals.
  • Our rules will have reasons. We do not establish rules arbitrarily, or without consideration of their unintended effects. Breaking our community covenant must have consequences. We all have a right to know what these consequences may be, and have a right to due process.
The Fairness and Justice Committee
At CSS-MSE, we believe students' moral and ethical development depends upon being engaged in judging matters of right and wrong within the school community.  The Fairness and Justice Committee is a panel of elected student justices and faculty members, including a facilitator, who hear cases brought by members of the school community.  Cases can include a range of issues, including academic dishonesty, student misbehavior, complaints by students against faculty members, or other issues of a challenging interpersonal nature that arise in a school setting.  Most Fairness and Justice cases are taken up only after the parties involved have attempted an informal mediation or have been through prior steps in the school's ladder of consequences.  Cases involving physical threats, violence, or hateful speech or actions are beyond the scope of the Fairness and Justice Committee, and are resolved directly by the principal or assistant principal.
Beyond providing a structured and unbiased forum for disagreements to be heard, at the end of each case, the Fairness and Justice Committee provides a recommendation to the principal that can include restorative actions such as public apology or community service, or punitive  consequences, such as suspension or detention.
 
School-wide Policies for Students
 
1. Homework Policy
Homework is assigned on a daily basis, including weekends. Homework must be handed in the next day, unless otherwise noted. If you miss homework because you have an excused absence you must complete it within 3 days of the date you return. Each grade level faculty may establish their own homework policies. 
 
2. Absences
Absences are a serious matter at CSS, as they undermine our pursuit of academic excellence, If you are absent your parent/guardian should call the school, and send a note the day you get back. Unjustified absences will be noted as such, and may result in detention.
 
3. Tardiness
Tardiness is a serious matter at CSS, as it disrupts the learning environment. If you are tardy in the morning, you must go directly to the OSS and get a LATE PASS. Repeated tardiness may result in detention.
 
4.Bathroom Policy (this applies to lunch, fitness, electives and CAP)
Students may not go to the bathroom during the first or last 10 minutes of a period. To go to the bathroom you need a bathroom pass. Only one student is allowed to go to the bathroom at the same time. Please do not linger in the bathroom. Please respect our bathrooms and keep them clean. Put paper in the trashcan and always flush the toilet! Abuse of bathroom privileges may result in loss of free access. Faculty may, at their discretion, remove bathroom privileges to protect the learning environment.
 
5. Lunch Passes
To be allowed to leave the cafeteria or recess space to go to a lunch study space or meet with faculty, you must have a Lunch Pass, signed by the faculty memeber who is going to supervise you, or by the faculty cafeteria supervisor. 
 
6. Trash and Recycling
CSS is a green school. We recycle paper and bottles/cans and batteries. Each classroom will have a BLUE or WHITE paper recycling trash can. Recyclable bottles/cans should be placed in the GYM and END OF HALLWAY green trash cans. Batteries may be recycled in the 5th Floor Battery Deposit can.
 
7. Water and Hydration Policy
Use your personal bottle of water or equivalent. No non-reusable plastic bottles are allowed on campus. You may bring juices, alternative drinks in plastic containers but NO soda cans or GLASS bottles. You may drink in classrooms if the course professor allows you to. No power drinks, stimulant drinks, etc.
 
8. Food Policy
You may bring healthy snacks such as cheeses, fruits, and vegetables in reusable plastic containers for eating during Lunch period. You may not bring any candy, gum, chips, fast foods, etc. When in doubt ask your advisor. Consumption of fast food is not allowed on campus (e.g. McDonalds).  You may bring brown bag lunch for consuming during Lunch period. Medical exceptions to this food policy need to be cleared by the Principal. Eating in classrooms and gym is not allowed as this creates clean-up problem.
 
9. Pencil Policy
You are responsible for bringing 4 well sharpened pencils to class every day. Please bring your own manual, hand held sharpener.
 
10. Birthday Celebrations
We do not allow birthday celebrations during school instructional time. You may arrange for a simple celebration during lunchtime or after school, but all students in the school MUST be invited.
 
11. Electronic / Gaming Devices
NO electronic devices of any kinds (other than watches) are allowed on campus.
 
12. Cell Phones and Music Devices
Cell phones and music devices must be dropped off at the drop-off box prior to 8:00 and picked up when you are leaving campus. A contract, releasing all CSS of all responsibility for the phones, must be signed by parents. All phones must be labeled on the outside with student’s name and turned off. Cell phones may not be used at any time on campus. Any violation of this policy will result in termination of cell phone privileges. 
 
13. Dress Code
All CSS students will wear the regulation uniform every day, including the fitness uniform on fitness days. The daily uniform includes a light blue polo or dress shirt with school patch (dark blue for high-school students), jeans (khaki or jean shorts in summer), black belts, black shoes, gray, blue or black sweaters or sweatshirts. For fitness, navy blue or black sweat pants and the CSS gym t-shirt. Optional: blazer and blue tie (red for highschool). Failure to wear the proper uniform at all times will result in detention, and if repeated consistently, in possible suspension.
14 .Halls and Stairs
There is to be no running or disorderly conduct, raised voices, or swearing in the hallways or on the stairways at any time. This kind of behavior creates a chaotic, disrespectful, and potentially harmful environment (as well as a disagreeable atmosphere).
 
 
 
Prohibited Conduct
 
No student, either alone or with others, shall:
1.      Intentionally injure any person or threaten to do so.
2.      Intentionally damage or destroy school district property or the personal property of any person on school property, including graffiti or arson.
3.      Disrupt the orderly conduct of classes, school programs, or other school activities.
4.      Intimidate, harass or discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation or disability, appearance.
5.      Enter any portion of the school premises without authorization, or remain in the building after it is normally closed.
6.      Possess, consume, sell, distribute or exchange alcoholic beverages, controlled substances, or be under the influence of either on school property or at a school function.
7.      Possess or use weapons on school property or at a school function, except in the case of law enforcement officers or as specifically authorized by the school district.
8.      Loiter on or about school property.
9.      Gamble on school property or at school functions.
10. Refuse to comply with reasonable order of faculty, administrators or principal of the school.
11. Willfully incite others to commit any of the acts prohibited by this code.
12. Smoke on school property.
13. Use insulting, demeaning, or obscene language of any kind, in any language.
14. The verbal or physical abuse or coercion of others.
15. Cheating and Plagiarism – academic dishonesty has no place at CSS. Students are honor bound to do their own work and to report fellow students who fail to do the same. Cheating is purposely ignoring the rules surrounding an assignment or test in order to get a better grade and may take the form of: copying another person’s work; sharing one’s work with others in the cafeteria, at home, or over the internet on an assignment designated by the teacher as individual work. Plagiarism – using the ideas of writings of another person as one’s own. It includes copying or imitating the language; ideas and thoughts of another author and making them appear as one’s own original work. Plagiarism may take the form of : A paper partly or entirely written for the student by another person; a paper bought or secured over the Internet; unattributed or unfootnoted direct quotations; unattributed or unfootnoted paraphrases.
 
 
 Persons who violate this code shall be subject to disciplinary action as the facts may warrant, in accordance with the due process requirements.
All students are expected to promptly report violations of the code of conduct to a teacher, administrator or principal.
 
 
 
Disciplinary consequences of prohibited conduct shall include one or more of the following:
Conference with student and parents
Written warning
Written notification to parents
Counseling
Probation
Reprimand
Detention
In-house suspension
Principal’s suspension
Permanent suspension