Student Life: Behavior Guidelines/Consequences
Behavior Guidelines/Consequences
At Trinity, we mean to be a place where intellectual and artistic risks can be taken and questions asked without fear of ridicule. We mean to be a place where honor, integrity, truthfulness, compassion and accountability are valued. We mean to be a place where hospitality is practiced and where everyone enjoys a sense of belonging. We mean to be a place where beauty is appreciated and truth is revered. We mean to be a place where personal responsibility drives our decisions.
“Just as we are committed to academic excellence, we are committed to the highest standard of behavior. Right character and values are the greatest lessons our students, indeed all of us, will take away from our years at Trinity. They give us a way to steer through life and a way to measure our life’s work. No one can remember all the facts and figures they are taught in a lifetime, but no one forgets the lessons that teach the way of a good and noble, productive and Godly life.”
Fr. Smokey
The Honor Code provides behavior guidelines that help us achieve our goals for students and to live successfully in community. When appropriate, each classroom develops supplemental rules to guide interaction among its members.
We are committed to a discipline program that emphasizes prevention of misbehavior through positive reinforcement of appropriate behavior, positive activities that foster student success and create relationships of trust and cooperation among community members, attentive supervision and clear communication of expectations. Families are urged to share information about student physical and emotional health that is pertinent to our understanding of the student’s behavior so that we can work together to develop appropriate responses to student needs.
When behavior guidelines are not followed, students must experience consequences that provoke learning and internal change. Therefore, consequences will be immediate, restorative, individualized and rehabilitative. Examples of such consequences include: time-out from class; community service to make reparations; revocation of privileges such as field trips until trust is restored; behavior contracts; detention; and administratively-driven suspensions from school life.
Sometimes an appropriate consequence is a referral to the Honor Council, which is responsible for holding community members accountable to one another to live into our Honor Code. The Council convenes to hear from parties involved in violations and then make recommendations to the head of school as to an appropriate plan of discipline. The Council consists of teachers and several middle school students who have applied and been selected to serve for a one-year period. The Dean of Student Life facilitates Honor Council referrals and proceedings. Students in grades four through eight are eligible for Honor Council visits; younger students are held accountable by the community in more informal ways.
On occasion, peer mediation may be the best vehicle for resolving problems. All students are taught conflict resolution skills and, in addition, older students are eligible for training as peer mediators. These mediators can step into conflicts to arbitrate solutions that serve the individuals involved, as well as the community. The Dean of Student Life facilitates the mediation process.
In keeping with the philosophy of Trinity, each student is responsible to conduct him/herself in such a way as to express his/her dignity as a person of moral integrity, to respect the rights and needs of others as well as his/her own and to uphold the values with which (s)he has been entrusted as a full member of the Trinity community. This applies to all students enrolled at Trinity, both during the school year and during vacations, from the time (s)he enrolls until the time (s)he graduates or leaves the School. This also applies to all Trinity-sponsored activities, including athletics and club events on and off the campus. Failure to meet this responsibility, including conduct unrelated to Trinity or Trinity activities or persons, or to comply with the regulations set forth in this Handbook, may result in disciplinary procedures, including dismissal, in appropriate circumstances. Repeated disciplinary infractions may result in expulsion or a request for withdrawal.
The School will exercise its obligation to require the withdrawal of a student any time it becomes evident that the school program is clearly unsuited to her/his needs, that progress is unsatisfactory, that the student's influence does not serve the best interests of the School or that the attitude of the student or of his/her parents is uncooperative and contrary to the values inherent in the goals and criteria of an Episcopal education. The Administration may inform the Trinity community when a student leaves the School, and his/her reasons for leaving.
In the case where the School decides that it may be advisable to require the withdrawal of a student pursuant to any provision in this Handbook, the School shall so notify the student and the parent(s) (or guardian) of its reasons for considering the action and provide a reasonable time for the student or parent(s) to respond to the head of school in writing.
It is Trinity's policy to report documented disciplinary infractions to secondary schools, other educational institutions or programs when formally asked by that institution, or when in the judgment of the School; it would be irresponsible of Trinity not to inform these parties.
Disrespect and Harassment
All students should feel safe and comfortable on our campus. Therefore, harassment - sexual or otherwise - and the use of physical contact in anger, as a means of settling disagreements or as a form or harassment, are not acceptable. A first offense may result in a period of suspension; a second offense will be considered as grounds for dismissal.
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