Statement of Purpose

At Vic West Elementary we promote and foster the opportunity for all members of our school community to fulfill their potential and to contribute to our world in a positive manner.  This is possible in a safe, caring, and orderly school environment, free from discrimination and retaliation.

The Code of Conduct will help guide behaviour – encouraging and empowering children to make positive choices.  The restitution model of social responsibility education is accepted by staff and parents/guardians as a defining characteristic of our school. As a staff, we create conditions for the child to learn new behaviours, to fix their mistakes, and to return to the group strengthened. The staff of Vic West Elementary team collaboratively with parents/guardians in a supportive manner to guide students through teachable life skills situations.

BC Human Rights Code

In line with the BC Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, or age, Victoria West’s Code of Conduct promotes a climate of understanding and mutual respect where all are equal in dignity and rights.

Conduct Expectations

Acceptable Behaviour

• Respecting self and others
• Helping to make the school a safe and caring place
• Engaging in purposeful learning activities

Unacceptable Behaviour

• Disrespecting self, others or property
• Showing irresponsibility
• Creating unsafe conditions
• Special considerations may apply to students with special needs who are unable to comply with expectations due to having a disability of an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or behavioural nature

Consequences

Logical consequences are the responses to unacceptable conduct.  Consequences….

• Are based on the type, severity and frequency of unacceptable behaviour
• Will be appropriate for the situation
• Will be appropriate for the student’s age
• Will be appropriate for the student’s ability level
• Will be restorative rather than punitive, when possible or appropriate

There are raised expectations as students mature.  As students grow older, they have…

• Increasing responsibility for behaviour
• The ability to choose more positive actions
• Increasing consequences for unacceptable conduct

Responses to Unacceptable Conduct

Responses may include some or all of the following….

• Immediate intervention
• Removal from the situation
• Discussion of lesson learned
• Playground incident report
• Critical incident report
• Referral to Principal

Notification

Serious unacceptable behaviour can result in advising….

• Parents/Guardians of offending student
• Parents/Guardians of victim
• District officials, as required by policy
• Police/ other agencies, as required by law

Retaliation Prevention

The Victoria West Code of Conduct includes the standards in the Provincial Standard for Codes of Conduct.  Our Board will take all reasonable steps to prevent retaliation by a person against a student who has made a complaint of a breach of a code of conduct.