Friday, August 28, 2009

Honor Code and Student Handbook

The beginning of another school year is upon us. The teachers are back in the building preparing their rooms and lesson plans, the facilities are in unbelieveable shape after a summer of hard work by the maintenance department, and we are all waiting for the students to arrive.

After a number of meetings last school year, the faculty came up with some additions to the Honor Code that will help the students clarify what the three pillars of the Honor Code mean in practice.

The Honor Code states:

We strive each day to be selfless servants demonstrating moral courage and commitment. We aim to accomplish this by respecting all people and things, being honest with ourselves and others, taking responsibility for ourselves and others, putting forth maximum effort at all times, and seeking ways to reach out to the community.

Respect, honesty, responsibility, effort, and outreach are the five qualities we work to develop in each one of our students. Calvert's goal is our students will leave Calvert understanding that the pursuit of these characteristics is a life-long endeavor making their (as well as their family, friends, school, and community) lives all the more rich and meaningful.

The Honor Code is now the first page in their planners, so they will see it each day. The three pillars of the Honor Code are still printed on the beams of the middle school hallways. It is becoming a part of the school culture and it is all our jobs to continue to work towards its complete integration.

The policies and procedures included in last year's document have been moved to a Student Handbook. This handbook has been sent to all advisors, posted to an internal student server, and can be found on this blog. It should be reviewed by students, advisors, and parents for all policies and procedures regarding conduct and uniform.