According to the WRDSB,  (Board policy 6001, Code of Conduct, section 3 – Standards of Behaviour):

All members of the school community must:
3.1.1 respect and comply with all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws;
3.1.2 comply with all Ministry of Education, school board and school policies;
3.1.3 demonstrate honesty and integrity;
3.1.4 respect differences in people, their ideas and opinions;
3.1.5 treat one another with dignity and respect at all times, and especially when there is disagreement;
3.1.6 respect and treat others fairly, regardless of, for example, their race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, gender expression, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, family status or socio-economic status;
3.1.7 respect the rights of others;
3.1.8 show proper care and regard for school property and the property of others;
3.1.9 take appropriate measures to help those in need;
3.1.10 seek assistance from a member of the school staff, if necessary, to resolve conflict peacefully;
3.1.11 dress in a manner that is appropriate to school activities with regard to exposure, cleanliness and/or message;
3.1.12 respect all members of the school community, especially persons in positions of authority;
3.1.13 respect the need of oneself and others to work in an environment that is conducive to learning and teaching, including by ensuring that cellphones and other personal mobile devices are not used except under the following circumstances (and in compliance with recent directives from the Ministry of Education banning cell phone use during instructional time):
– for educational purposes, if explicitly permitted by the educator;
– for health and medical purposes;
– to support special education needs;

(*At Northlake Woods, Grade 7 and 8 students may keep their cell phones in their school bag or in their locker. Cell phones are expected to be off (not connected to Smart Watches) and away. They should not be in pockets, used for music, or accessed during outdoor recess. At the beginning of each nutrition break, Grade 7 and 8 students will be permitted to check their cell phones at their lockers for any updates from family. The office prefers that families inform their children of appointments ahead of the school day where possible (email nlw@wrdsb.ca ahead of time), but to contact the office by phone should something last minute arise). Students should not be contacting their parents by cell phone when ill. Not only does it go against provincial direction on cell phones in schools, it is also important that the office and other staff are aware when a student contacts home because of illness.

3.1.14 refrain from using abusive and/or identity-based hateful language as defined by the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC) or swearing at another person.

3.2 Safety:
All members of the school community must not:
3.2.1 be in possession of any weapon, including firearms;
3.2.2 use any object to threaten or intimidate another person;
3.2.3 cause injury to any person with an object;
3.2.4 be in possession of or under the influence of alcohol, cannabis and/or illegal/restricted drugs (unless medical approval has been granted);
-for persons under 19, this would include being in possession of electronic cigarettes (i.e., vape), tobacco and nicotine products
3.2.5 provide others with alcohol, illegal/restricted drugs, tobacco, electronic cigarettes, cannabis and related products;
3.2.6 be under the influence of a noxious or intoxicating substance;
3.2.7 be in contravention of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which prohibits smoking (tobacco and cannabis) and the use of electronic cigarettes at schools and on school grounds as well as the sale and supply of tobacco or electronic cigarettes to anyone under 19 years of age;
3.2.8 inflict or encourage others to inflict bodily harm on another person;
3.2.9 engage in bullying or cyberbullying behaviours;
3.2.10 commit sexual assault or sexual harassment;
3.2.11 traffic weapons or illegal/restricted drugs;
3.2.12 give alcohol or cannabis to a minor;
3.2.13 commit robbery or theft;
3.2.14 engage in hate propaganda and other forms of behaviour motivated by hate or bias;
3.2.15 commit an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property, to property located on the premises of the school or to the property of a member of the school community;
3.2.16 record, take or share non-consensual recordings or photos of members of the school community.

Northlake Woods Public School’s Code of Conduct follows the WRDSB Code of Conduct policy.

In addition, our staff have developed common understanding and support student awareness and adherence to site-specific rules and expectations, particularly related to movement in our school between learning spaces, and respectful conduct during learning time, eating time, and outdoor and indoor play during nutrition break.

Please note that we have a “no food sharing” rule and no nut butters or alternatives due to allergy management informed by our mandatory WRDSB staff training “Allergy Aware” offered through Food Allergy Canada.

Our operational rules and expectations continue to be developed. For example, last year, we had a “sticks are not swords” rule at outdoor nutrition break. Struggles to manage sticks appropriately evolved to a “sticks stay on the ground” rule. Seasonally, we have expectations related to snow balls and safe use of snow hills. All of these are situational or seasonal examples that fall under our more general school board code of conduct that uphold respect and safety, as well as regard for one’s self, others, and property. Those tailored to Grade 7 and 8 are available for reference in Google Classroom for intermediate students, staff, and family reference.