Code of Behaviour

Rationale

This policy has been formulated in accordance with the Education Act (1998) and the Education welfare Act (2000).
This code of behaviour recognises the mission and ethos of the school under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Church.

Aims

To promote the safety and happiness of all children in the school.
To promote the smooth and harmonious running of the school.
To encourage self-discipline among the children attending the school.
To enhance the learning environment of the school by promoting a sense of mutual respect among members of the school community.
To increase co-operation between home and school.
To implement a system of fair and agreed sanctions and rewards for behaviour.

Content of Policy

Our policy tries to define and clarify the differing roles and expectations of the people involved in the everyday life of the school.

The following statements form the basis of our policy:

Code of Behaviour of Scoil Mhuire N. S.

Be an active learner.
Be respectful of people.
Be respectful of property.
Be careful and play safely in the yard.
Be dressed for school.
Be on time.

Be an active learner

Listen carefully and attentively.
Come prepared for school.
Take part in all school activities including sports: swimming, Community games, Tag rugby, Olympic Handball, Gaelic football, Christmas carols, school drama, intergenerational days, St. Patrick’s day parade and the school band, Christmas shoebox appeal, Bothar and the school choir for special events. In the event of extra curricular activities being very inconvenient for a family parents need to write a note to the school to have their child excused.
Work to the best of your ability and allow others to do the same.
Follow the rules drawn up by your class.
Avoid behaviour that may distract others.
Work co-operatively where possible.
Homework should be completed and tidy.
Homework journal should be signed each evening.
Note from parents/guardians must be written in journal to explain reasons for not doing homework.

Be respectful of people

Respect yourself, your talents, abilities and potential.
Respect all those who work with you.
Your teacher is in charge. Accept his/her responsibility and right to teach and to implement rewards and sanctions.
Show respect to visitors to the school. Acknowledge them, greet them and be helpful. Show courtesy and respect to all visitors to your class room.
Your fellow students expect that you will:
Not bully them.
Show acceptance and respect their differing personalities.
Never insult or belittle them because of differences.
Listen to them and acknowledge them.
Share equipment and resources with them.
Allow them to be part of your group.
Speak to them with courtesy and respect.

Be respectful of property

Never damage or deface any property.
Keep your classroom tidy and clean up after you.
Always leave toilets and wash-hand basins in a clean and tidy condition.
Respect the property of your fellow students.
Return equipment to its proper place after use.
Keep the yard free from litter.
Do not climb walls or roofs, fences or trees, goal posts or anything.
Maintain rental books in the condition in which you receive them.
Lunchtime games must be returned intact to their proper place.
Leave valuable personal property, jewellery, games etc. at home.
Mobile phones are not allowed in school, students may have use of the school phone in case of urgency.
No chewing gum, crisps, glass containers or fizzy drinks are allowed in school.

Be careful and play safely in the yard

Students sit in their classroom with their teacher and eat just before they go out to the yard.
Walk in an orderly manner to and from the yard.
Respect the rights of others to play in a safe and happy atmosphere.
Any staff member on duty in the yard is in charge. If you have any con-cerns speak to these people. If a child misbehaves in the yard he/she will be sent to sit outside the staff room. This can happen for interfering withothers’ games, rough play, use of foul language and going outside the play area.
Stay in the playground during the playtime.
Cycling and skateboarding are not allowed.
Children who are ill should be kept at home until they are fully recov-ered. It is generally felt that if a child is well enough to go to school, he/she is well enough to play outside. Post operation cases etc… must be individually arranged with the Principal by the parent. Children recover-ing from surgery may need to spend some of the playtime inside and/or limit their activity. A note to this effect needs to be sent to the classroom teacher after it has been arranged by the parent with the classroom teacher and the principal.
On wet days students will remain seated inside after eating lunch. Classroom games and activities will be provided for your entertainment.

Be dressed for school

The school uniform consists of :
Light blue blouse / shirt
School tie
Navy blue gymslip / trousers
Navy blue school sweater / cardigan
Black / navy shoes
Navy blue tights / socks
P.E. Uniform – consists of light blue polo shirt, sweatshirt with school logo, plain Navy blue tracksuit bottoms (no stripes, piping, inserts or logo.
- The P.E. uniform is worn on Thursdays and Fridays only. On all other days the full school uniform must be worn.
- Your name must be clearly marked on your uniform.
- The school is not responsible for lost items of personal property.
- For safety reasons, no jewellery apart from watches and stud earrings is to be worn in school.
- No mobile phones.

Be on time

Punctuality is essential if all children are to derive maximum benefit from their education.
School times are 9.15 am – 3.00 pm. The school day finishes at 2 pm for Junior and Senior Infants.
Students are taken to their classroom by their teacher at 9.15 am. Parents are advised that children may not be on school grounds before 9.05 am. Prior to 9.05 am, children are the responsibility of their parents.
Children should be collected at 2.00 pm /3.00 pm as applies.
Try to be in school every day. Please bring a signed note from your parents to explain all absences.

Organisational structure of the school

School Hours

School starts at 9.15 am and finishes at 3.00 pm for all but infant classes who finish at 2.00 pm.

There are two breaks in the day: 11.00 to 11.15 am and 1.00 to 1.30 pm. After eating their snacks, all children are directed to play in the school play-ground. Children recovering from illness should not be sent to school until they are fully recovered as they will be expected to go to the playground at break time. Post operation cases etc… must be individually arranged with the Principal by the parent. It is generally felt that if a child is well enough to go to school, he/she is well enough to play outside.

At break time, the children play in their designated areas. They are not permitted to go back to the classroom on their own. They are not permitted to bring food or drinks on the yard at any time, including before and after school. At the end of the break, the children line up for their teacher to take them back to their classroom.

No pupil may be on the school grounds before 9.05 am. No responsibility is accepted for pupils arriving before that time. Pupils will be supervised between 9.05 and 9.15 am when students are taken to their classroom by their teacher to begin instruction. Students in Infant classes must be picked up no later than 2 pm and escorted home, as the school cannot accept responsibility for looking after the children after that time. The same applies to all other students at 3 pm.

If a child has to leave school early, a note is required by the teacher from the parent, stating that the parent accepts responsibility for the child’s safety. If at all possible, children should not leave school before 3.00 pm.

Communicating with parents

There is a class meeting at the beginning of the first term and a parent-teacher meeting once a year. Parents wishing to talk to the teacher should make an appointment for just before or after school time. School newsletters are sent home regularly. Notices for important events are posted on doors and Parents Boards. Children’s homework journals are used as a means of direct communication between teacher and parent. It is important to ask the child if he/she has a newsletter to pass on, or a note in the journal.

Parents can co-operate with the school by encouraging their children to abide by the school rules and by visiting the school when requested by the Principal and other members of the teaching staff. Parents should also communicate with the school about factors likely to affect the behaviour of their child at school.

Notification of a child’s absence from school

Parents/Guardians must send a note to the class teacher to inform him/her of the reason for a child’s absence from school. This note should be provided to the class teacher when the child returns to school after an absence. Schools are required to provide reports on school attendance and school absences to the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). Where a child misses twenty days from school in any school year, the school must inform the NEWB of this fact and also give details of the rea-sons provided by parents for each absence.

Rewards for Positive Behaviour

The promotion of positive behaviour is of great importance in our school. To achieve this we need to foster great care and support for our pupils, parents, staff and local community.

A weekly assembly is held on Friday mornings. The purpose of the meeting is to assemble whole school and review the week.

At this assembly certificates will be awarded to children in each class room for:

Student of the week
Best effort award
Special award ………… (at teacher’s discretion)

The children who receive certificates will have their name printed in the fortnightly newsletter. Their photographs will be taken and placed on special notice board in hallway.

Within the classroom each child will begin the week with 30 minutes Golden Time which is time set aside at the end of the week for an activity e.g. co-operative games, board games, quiz, sport etc.
Children can lose minutes from this golden time during the week but can also reclaim these minutes with good behaviour.

Teachers will use the gold stars, silver stars and stamps on the children’s homework journals during the week, to indicate good work or behaviour.

Sanctions for Negative Behaviour

Procedure to be followed by staff:

Say child’s name quietly.
Verbal warning.
Seek an explanation from the child.
Change child’s position in class.
If misbehaviour persists seek a meeting with parent.
Time out in another classroom.
Apology to class and teacher on return to classroom.
Meet with parents.