Note from Pete
/Dear ICE Families –
With school well underway I wanted to review a few policies that are important to our staff. We try to limit the use of policies and approach people and situations as unique however we have all found it helpful to implement the following:
Vaping: Vaping and carrying a vaping device at school are both prohibited. If a student is carrying a device and it is visible it will be confiscated. We will inform a family member and that person can retrieve the device at a later date. Anyone caught vaping on school premises will first lose the privilege to go out during lunch, and subsequent violations will result in detentions and escalate from there. Given the pervasiveness of vaping among young people and the danger we now know it to pose I believe it is necessary to be clear and inflexible.
Cell Phones: Cell phones may be used in between classes and during lunch. During class time phones must be invisible and silent whether in the hallway or in a classroom. If a teacher feels it is necessary to confiscate a phone it will be returned to the student at the end of the school day. If the student refuses to hand over the phone parents will be notified and either Pete or Kristen will ask to collect the phone. We may create individual cell phone use plans if it becomes too challenging for a student to manage their phone use.
Plagiarism and Intellectual Dishonesty: Any time a student submits the work of another person and aims to receive academic credit it is plagiarism. Failure to give credit to the author of any quote or idea is also plagiarism. No forms of plagiarism are acceptable and will result in the student receiving an incomplete for the entire assignment. In addition parents will be notified and disciplinary meetings may occur. Any student who gives their work to a peer will be penalized for this form of intellectual dishonesty.
These policies have been discussed, some of them at length over years, and were not arrived at casually. I present these to you so that you can discuss them with your kids and be aware that there are certain values, and certain rules that we will uphold in ways that do not fit with our laid back school culture. I assure that we will not ever apply these policies randomly or with any goal other than keeping ICE a safe and pleasant place to come to school each day.
Thank you guys – see you all soon.
Pete
