Student_Handbook

The RCI Student Handbook

Rules, Regulations, and other items...

We follow the Evergreen Code of Behavior, but we also have some general expectations as to how you act and how you speak to people here in our school-community.

What follows below are just a few things that need to be highlighted; some day to day items that everyone needs to be mindful of.

Leaving the school grounds:

You can leave the school grounds when you are not scheduled to be in class, bearing in mind your responsibility to the school and the community. The way you act when you are out in the community reflects upon the school, so naturally we want you to act in a mature and responsible fashion, something that we trust you will do anyway. However, if that proves difficult for a particular student, we can revoke that student's school leaving privileges, and no one really wants to have to do that.

Students with cars:

There is a designated spot for students, staff, and visitors to park their vehicles.

Students that are eligible to ride the school bus are of course encouraged to ride the school bus to and from school. For those that must drive, we know that you will exercise the greatest care and caution and drive responsibly.

If you do bring a vehicle to school, it is expected that you will park it in the parking lot in the morning, and leave it there until day's end. Please do not hang around the parking lot during class time. At the end of the school day, you will need to wait for each school bus to leave before you exit the school grounds.

Of course, you should not block other vehicles and do not forget to come to a complete stop upon leaving the school grounds!

Students taking courses in Arborg through the shared campus program are expected to take the inter-campus bus to and from Arborg each day. If you must drive to Arborg, you and your parents must make that arrangement with the school administration in advance. ** You may not ride to shared campus classes or extracurricular events with student drivers. **

Smoking:

Smoking is bad for you. So do not smoke! But if you are a smoker, you need to know that smoking is not allowed on the school grounds. Make sure you are off of the school grounds.

If you break the rules about smoking, there is a Divisional policy that we follow to deal with it. Please respect the no smoking rule…or better yet, ask us for some help to quit that nasty habit.

Bus Routes:

1. Students are to remain in their seats while the bus is in motion.
2. Eating on the am and pm routes on the bus is not permitted  (unless there is a need that is discussed in advance with the driver).  
3. Students need to behave respectfully and follow the directions of the driver. 

Lates:

You already know that you are supposed to be on time for school and for all of your classes. Make sure that you use your break time wisely so that you are not rushed to get to class. A warning bell is there for a reason - it signals for you to collect your items and head to your next class. You should be in class when the bell signals for class to begin. 

If you are chronically late, then we will work together to develop a strategy to help you get better at being on time. Excessive lates can result in a student being ineligible to receive credits.

Attendance:

If you are going to be absent from school, your parents should call the school to advise us of that. Otherwise, our automated call system will call your home and ask your parents to contact the school and account for your absence.

You are responsible to make up any work you may miss during your absence.

Regular attendance is compulsory. If you are chronically absent, then we will work together to develp a strategy to help you get better at attending school. Excessive unexcused absences usually means you are not taking advantage of opportunities to demonstrate you knowledge of the learning outcomes.  When that happens, the teacher will not have enough evidence of your learning to award you a passing grade.

Lockers:

Every student is entitled to a locker.

It is recommended that you keep your locker locked at all times. Of course, you should be able to leave your things in your locker and not have to lock it up, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure they say....so a school lock is a good idea!

It is very important that you do not share your locker combination with anyone.

From time to time, it happens that a student loses his / her lock. There is a $10 replacement charge for lost locks.

Only school locks are to be used on lockers. Keep in mind that the lockers are the property of the School Division. You get to use one during the year though.

Texts and Equipment:

You will be issued textbooks, novels, electronic readers, and other such things over the course of the year. The teacher will note who has which book or item. When it is time to hand them in, the teacher will go over that list again.

Now, normal wear and tear is expected, but you need to make sure you take care of your books. For example, if you write in them or damage them in some other way like that, you will likely be required to pay for a portion of the book, or even the entire cost of the book. If you damage an e-reader, the same thing applies.

If you lose the book / e-reader or any other piece of equipment that was signed out to you, we will issue a bill based on the condition of the item when it was given to you. Any payments you make to the school for anything - such as student fees for example - will be applied to outstanding book, equipment and supply charges first, so it is in your best interest to promptly clear up any such accounts.

The rules for textbooks also apply to other things we lend you, such as electronic readers.

Take reasonable care of your books and equipment and there should be no problem.

Exams:

If there is a provincial exam in any particular course, students must write that exam. The mark generally accounts toward 30% of the final grade, though some Divisional exams may account for less. If a student does not write the provincial exam, he or she must write an alternate and similar exam which will carry the same value as the provincial exam.

Divisional procedures are as follows:

The following regulations apply for Grades 9-12:

1. All courses will have a final cumulative assessment
2.  All core subjects (ELA, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies) will have a final cumulative examination or standards test. The percentage of the final mark will be as follows:

• Grade 9/10: 25%
• Grade 11/12: 30%

Students that have an excused absence on the day of final examination or standards test must write an alternative exam.

There will be no exemptions for examinations (unless stated in an IEP).

We also follow an exam protocol, as follows:

Students writing exams for college, university, apprenticeship levels and other situation will find that they may be asked to follow certain rules. To get students ready for this, we follow a protocol for mid year and final exams.

The only items students may bring to the examination are :

• Writing supplies
• Ruler
• Calculator
• Water bottle
• Specific supplies required for that examination

-Jackets, caps, etc. must be removed and left at the front of the exam room.

-Backpacks, gym bags, purses, etc. must be left at the front of the room.

-If electronic devices are brought to the room (cell phones, iPods, etc.) they must be turned off and left at the front of the exam room.

-Students may not talk to other students in the exam room. Consequences of doing so could include the exam being taken away.

-Students must keep there eyes on their own paper.

-Students with questions or requests must raise their hand and wait for the instructor to respond.

Electronic items:

- Cameras, cell phones, etc:

Evergreen School Division recognizes that the use of cellular / smart phones, camera phones, tablets, cameras etc. (herein referred to as electronic communication devices) continues to grow. The Division will manage the use of these electronic communication devices in schools to prevent interruptions to teaching and learning throughout the school day, including school-sponsored events, e.g. intramurals, extracurricular activities, and field trips.

All electronic communication devices must be kept out of sight and turned off while on divisional transportation, during school programs/presentations and in the classroom, except when used with the prior permission of the teacher/school for the purposes of calendaring, calculating, note taking or other activities as directed by the teacher/school.

- Personal Music players

These may be used only with a teacher's permission. If you have not asked your teacher if you can use your music player then your device should not be in the classroom, but should be locked away in your locked locker.

During non-instructional time, please use headphones when listening to music - but make sure that the volume is set to a reasonable level for two reasons: so that you protect your hearing and so that you do not disturb others.

Removing your earphones / earbuds when someone is speaking with you is simply good manners. And good manners are always important.

Computers

Computers are to be used for school/educational purposes only.

Computer Use

Computers are to be used for educational purposes. As long as you only use the school computers for school related activities, you have nothing to worry about.

Avoid printing. Read from the screen and only print the things you need. If you need more copies, you need to check in at the office and we will review your print history.

We also monitor internet use. Blocking software limits sites you can visit, but you need to use your judgement and immediately back out of any inappropriate sites you may come across. The use of proxy sites is strictly forbidden.

It is important to note that your computer use activity can be monitored. Actually, it is actively monitored. Make sure you follow the acceptable use policy and you will be fine. If you deviate from that, your account will be suspended.

At the end of the day...

In the interests of safety, we ask that students depart from the school as follows:

• Busses leave first
• Students who are walking leave next - please wait inside the school entrance until you are given the OK to leave.
• Students who drive leave after that.

Rules about the things for which there are no rules:

We could have rules about everything under the sun, but that would be somewhat impractical.

Let`s simply say this: if you do something that is contrary to the ideals of accountability and integrity (see the mission statement at the main page), then you are breaking the rules. Treat people respectfully, and make a positive contribution to the school-community.

If that is still a little unclear, then a good question to ask yourself is this:

"Would this be allowed in the workplace? I mean, would I be allowed to do this on the job if I was an employee?"

If you do not think it is something that you employer would tolerate, then you can be pretty sure it's not allowed at school either…and if you are not sure what is allowed and what is not, then ask a staff member.

School Fees:

In support of Evergreen School Division's Administrative Procedure 1.B.67 'Costs to Parents and Guardians for School Fees', there will be no fees for participation in required courses and activities. This will include lockers, field trips related to curricular objectives, course fees for labs and basic project materials, intramural athletics, and high school convocation. 

Depending on the program choices that students and their families make, there may be costs from time to time. For example:

Courses

Student in programs like Metals, Woods, Home Ec., Clothing, Housing and Design or Art may complete the program without additional costs. However, some may choose to take on more elaborate projects, and are responsible for additional costs.

Band

Students in the Band program may face instrument rental charges. Rental agreements are typically established between parents and private companies such as Long and McQuade or St. John's Music. The school is not a party to these rental agreements.

Students must pay fees for instruments they may rent from the school.

Extra Curricular and Field Trips

For the 2023-2024 school year,  RCI will charge a $100 fee for the extracurricular sports program (all sports included).

Sports and tournament fees are covered by the school as much as possible. Costs associated with travel and tournaments - meals and accommodation for example - are beyond the school's responsibility. Additional sports fees may arise from time to time should teams participate in additional tournaments

From time to time, fees may be charged for field trips, team trips or special events to recover actual expenses, including transportation, accommodation, meals, entrance fees and equipment rentals.

Students pay for and keep their own sports uniforms, though we do have some that can be loaned to those who do not wish to purchase their own uniform.

Other Costs

Anything for which the student / family receives value and is optional is not considered a fee - for example, student photos, yearbooks, school clothing, etc..

Student fees:

For the 2023-2024 school year, RCI will not charge a student fee.

Repeater Courses:

Students who sign up to take a repeater course are required to pay a fee of $50 prior to registration in the course. Repeater courses are much like summer school courses that are offered in other school jurisdictions, but are completed during the school year. Students must have unsuccessfully completed a course to qualify for a repeater course.