NorthValley High
Student Handbook
These guidelines are intended to make NVH a safe learning environment for all students and staff. To experience success at NVH the rights of each individual are balanced to meet the needs of a larger group. Individual needs cannot and must not adversely affect the safety and learning opportunities of others.
Student Expectations
Student success can be achieved by following these expectations:
-Students are expected to follow the expectations and procedures set out by NVH
-Students are expected to be inregular attendance of all classes, be on time and complete all work on time
-Students are expected to be in their classes, and not in the hallways, during class time
-Students are expected to have all materials with them and be prepared for each class
-Students are expected to respect the property and personal rights of each individual involved with NVH
-Students are expected to behave and conduct themselves in a kind, responsible and respectful mannerAT ALL TIMES, TO ALL PEOPLE. Students displaying rude, disrespectful and/or aggressive behaviour will be dealt with accordingly
-All representatives of NVH are expected to display good manners, courtesy and respect at all times during ANY school activity. Students participating in school sponsored activities (extra curricular activities, field trips, etc) are required to adhere to the standards of conduct as outlined by the supervising teacher.
Locks and Lockers
-Lockers are school property and are to be treated accordingly. Vandalism, or storage of volatile, toxic or otherwise objectionable or illegal materials is not allowed
-The school will not be responsible for lost or stolen items. Students are encouraged to lock their lockers. Locks are provided through the office. Students wishing to use a personal lock must report the model and lock combination to the office
Parking
-Students are to park by the football field, in a manner designated by the principal.
Textbooks
-Textbooks are provided by the school. Students are responsible for the textbook assigned/used by them. These materials should be treated with respect. Students will be charged for lost or damaged materials
Homework
-Homework is considered to be an important part of the education process. Students are expected to, and held responsible for, completing all assignments given by teacher
Smoking
-NVH is a smoke-free facility. Smoking is not permitted in the building or at any entrance. There is one designated smoking area at the end of the sidewalk, off of school property, at the North entrance. Butts and other garbage MUST go in the garbage can
Dress Code (as compiled by students in conjunction with staff)
-Students are expected to dress in a modest manner. This includes:
- Clothing should cover ALL underwear – both males and females. (This includes boxers and straps.)
- Tube tops, halter tops, and spaghetti straps may be worn with a shirt/blouse/sweater overtop.
- The hem of the skirt or shorts must reach to at least the end of one’s finger tips, with arms straight down at your sides
- The midsection of the body should be covered
* These rules apply to the gym as well.
Leaving During School Hours
Once students leave their home in the morning, they are the responsibility of the school. If students are requested to leave during school hours, the parent MUST contact the school and give verbal or written permission.
Leaving During Noon Hour
Town students may go home for lunch. Rural students, grades 7-9, must remain on school grounds unless they have a signed letter of permission from their parents, stating the date of permission to leave. Letters stating permission for the year, or portion of the year, are not permitted. Students in grades 10-12 are permitted to leave school grounds at noon.
Students are NOT REQUIRED to leave school grounds at noon. Parents do not have to give permission if they do not want to.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s words, ideas, thoughts, essays, papers, etc. as if they were your own. It is considered to be among the most serious of academic offences, and at post-secondary levels may result in failure, academic suspension, expulsion, or another academic penalty. Plagiarism is no different from any other form of cheating and will lead to serious consequences.
Information found on the Internet, and other sources can be DOCUMENTED AND USED LEGITIMATELY in your essay or paper. The primary purpose for research essay, paper or project from an educational perspective at the high school level is to learn and develop the research, writing, and documentation skills, necessary to be successful. Plagiarized papers short-change you in terms of learning potential!
Extra-Curricular Activities
Activities offered at NVH:
-Badminton
-Canoe Trip
-Car Club
-Curling
-Drama
-Duke of Edinburgh
-Football
-Golf
-SADD
-SLC
-Soccer
-Track and Field
-Volleyball
-Yearbook
Sports Philosophy: Extracurricular athletics are provided at NVH because they enhance the physical, social, spiritual, intellectual and emotional development of individual student athletes.
The NVH athletics program develops these areas by promoting the:
-Pursuit of personal and team excellence by instilling values such as teamwork, co-operation, respect, time management and self-discipline
-Development of positive lifetime fitness habits
-Creation of as many opportunities for participation as is possible
-Principles of fair play
-Objectives set out by SHSAA
- To encourage schools to provide a program of athletic activities
- To encourage a varied athletics program in schools by restricting play to the recognized school sport seasons
- To encourage the development of citizenship, good sportsmanship, and athletic skills
- To encourage, plan, supervise and administer inter-district competitions
- To encourage participation by students in a wide variety of inter-school athletics
- To encourage the integration of sport activities with other portions of the school program
- To encourage participation by students as representatives of their school and discourage all-star competitions
COACHES MAY HAVE AN ATHLETIC CODE OF CONDUCT (example below):
- All players must make every effort to attend all practices, meetings, or games. Unexcused absences will not be tolerated. Players MUST come prepared to work.
- All players are expected to attend school during the entire season.
- Players MUST be in school the day of and the day after games. Failure to comply may result in missing the next practice or game.
- All players will MAKE A GOOD EFFORT to complete all academic assignments. There is no minimum grade average to play; however, players who make no effort in their classes will be removed from the team at the discretion of the principal.
- Players will be respectful to ALL staff members at ALL times.
- Any player who gets suspended from school for behavior will not be allowed to practice for the duration of the suspension. They will also be suspended from the next game.
Subject Recommendations
In attempt to recognize students who have excelled at academic achievement, overall attitude, attendance and punctuality, grade 9-12 students maybe be granted subject recommends.
To be eligible for a recommend, a student must have:
- been recommended by their subject teacher
- achieved a minimum class mark of 80%
- accumulated less than ten total absences in the class (under extenuating circumstances the school administrator and subject teacher may permit a recommend if attendance exceeds the allowed limits)
- no unexplained absences or lates in the class
- no skipped classes
- have completed all assignments/completed all course requirements
*** Any out of school suspensions will remove all recommendations (per year)
Each subject teacher may recommend a student for an “extra effort exception.” Students may earn extra effort exception recommends at the same rate as per the grade scale.
A student that earns a recommend for attaining a mark of 80% or higher may choose to write a recommend subject
STUDENTS WILL WRITE AT LEAST 2 FINALS A SEMESTER. ONE MUST BE A COMPULSORY COURSE; THE OTHER CAN BE AN ELECTIVE COURSE.
Examinations
Students in grades 9-12 are required to write final exams, unless a subject recommend was earned. The final exam may be comprehensive in content. These exams are written at the end of the semester during exam week.
School examinations are scheduled by individual subject teachers as and when required. Students are expected to write these exams when scheduled. Under unusual circumstances, students who miss an exam may be allowed to write the exam at another time. (The teacher also has the option to give a parallel exam.) The onus rests with the student to make alternate arrangements with the teacher concerned.
Departmental examinations must follow the regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Education.
Graduation
It is the policy of North Valley High that only students who have completed grade 12 or who are enrolled in courses that, when complete, would make them eligible for a grade 12 standing will be allowed to participate in the school’s graduation exercises.
A student is required to complete 24 credits at the 10, 20 and 30 levels to achieve a grade 12 standing. A student in NorthValley must have at least five (5) of these credits at a 30 level.
Scholarships
There are a number of local scholarships for which grade 12 students are eligible:
Horizon Credit Union $300.00
Conexus Credit Union$300.00
Lemberg & District Lions Club4 @ $250.00
Karl Schick Memorial 4 @ $500.00
Joyce Schultz (medical)$200.00
Abernethy Agricultural Society$500.00
All information is distributed through the career counselor. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that he or she receives all the information and applies before the due dates.
Please note that a number of provincial and national scholarships are based on leadership and community service so your child may want to consider volunteer work before grade 12.
Library – Resource Centre
The objective of the NVH school library-resource centre is to supply the materials and assistance needed by teachers and students to research topics with in the curriculum. A further aim is to provide recreational reading, viewing and listening for students. With a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, magazine subscriptions, and audio-visual materials, the library is able to fulfill student and curriculum outcomes.
The library-resource centre is not a student lounge or arcade, but a quiet, comfortable place where students may read or study without having to contend with distracting noise or interruptions. If students wish to visit and talk with their friends, they are to go to and alternate area of the school.
BORROWING PRIVILEDGES:
-Each new student will be issued an identification card with a bar code number. This card is to be used to check out materials from the library.
-Encyclopedias and reference books are not allowed to leave the library unless approved by a staff member.
-Magazines cannot be signed out. To ensure that all students have access to these materials
-All other materials will have a 14 day lending period. Renewals are permitted. The co-operation of the students in returning books promptly will help the library to provide good service. There are no fines levied by the library, but if a book is not returned or renewed after 21 days, it is assumed lost. The cost of the book is charged to the student and borrowing privileges are suspended. When the book is returned or charges are paid, the restrictions are removed.
-The resource centre has internet access available to students
-Students are expected to be responsible in their use of the Internet, which is intended to be used as a curriculum resource. Abuse of the Internet will result in the students losing the privilege of using it.
It is hoped that all students of NORTHVALLEYHIGH SCHOOL will take pleasure and pride in their library-resource center.
Cell Phone Policy
Cell phones are not to be used inside the school buildings, except during break or at the noon hour ONLY. Students that violate this expectation will have their cell phones confiscated. If a student chooses to make the confiscation of the cell phone an issue they may face long term cell phone confiscation and/or additional consequences for not abiding by school rules as requested.
PDAs may only be used with instructor permission. Violators will have PDAs confiscated as per cell phone confiscation guidelines listed above.
CELL PHONE VIOLATIONS
Step One: Cell Phone Confiscated During the School Day
- Cell phone will be taken to the NVHS office.
- Student name and date will be entered in a tracking spreadsheet as Confiscation #1.
- Cell Phone can be picked up by student at 3:30 pm.
Step Two: Cell Phone Confiscated During the School Day
- Cell phone will be taken to the NVHS office.
- Student name and date will be entered in a tracking spreadsheet as Confiscation #2.
- Cell Phone can be arranged to be picked up by parent after 3:30 pm.
Step Three: Cell Phone Confiscated During the School Day
1. Cell phone will be taken to the NVHS office.
- Student name and date will be entered in a tracking spreadsheet as Confiscation #3.
- Student not complying with school rules and an in-school suspension will be issued.
- Cell phones can be arranged to be picked up by parent after 3:30 pm.
Step Four: Cell Phone Confiscated During the School Day
1. Cell phone will be taken to the NVHS office.
- Student name and date will be entered in a tracking spreadsheet as Confiscation #4.
- Student not complying with school rules and an out-of-school suspension will be issued.
- Cell phones can be arranged to be picked up by parent after 3:30 pm.
Audio Listening Devices
AUDIO LISTENING DEVICES, such as MP3 Players, IPODS, Disc Players, etc, MAY BE USED IN CLASS at the individual teacher’s discretion.
PEDs are valuable electronic devices. The security and storage of these items is the sole responsibility of the owner/user. NVHS assumes NO RESPONSIBILITY for the safety, security, loss, repair or replacement of PEDs that students may choose to bring to school.
Registration
SEE ATTATCHED REGISRTATION FORM
Computer Policy
SEE ATTATCHED COMPUTER POLICY