Assistant Principals’ News

Code of Conduct

At Infant Jesus School, we believe that each child is a precious gift from God created as an individual with his or her own unique gifts, talents and abilities. Our aim is to cherish each child and create an environment which enables all children to experience the joy and wonder of our world.

We acknowledge parents as the first educators of their child. We share a strong partnership with each family and encourage parents to become involved in the school. Our home/school relationships are based upon on- going communication, openness and trust. Parents are supported in understanding their role alongside the school and together we support the child to achieve their true potential.

The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to describe minimum standards of conduct in all behaviour and decision making to ensure the safety and well-being of students.

The Code applies to staff, students, volunteers, parents and guardians as applicable. The term ‘parents’ includes guardians.

The Code of Conduct includes the following Conduct Statements –

1. You act safely and competently.
2. You give priority to students’ safety and well-being in all your behaviour and decision making.
3. You act in accordance with the values of the Gospel as defined in the Code of Ethical Conduct.
4. You conduct yourself in accordance with laws, agreements, policies and standards relevant to your relationship with the school community.
5. You respect the dignity, culture, values and beliefs of each member of the school community.
6. You treat personal information about members of the school community as private and confidential.
7. You give impartial, honest and accurate information about the education, safety and well-being of students.
8. You support all members of the school community in making informed decisions about students.
9. You promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in your relationship with all members of the school community.
10. You maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in Catholic schools and the Church.
11. You act reflectively and ethically.
12. You allow students to have a voice in their education, safety and well-being.

During the year we will further explore the Code of Conduct, and in particular, each Conduct Statement where some practical examples will also be provided.

In our next newsletter we will be exploring Conduct Statement One: You act safely and competently.

Student Medical Details

Parents of students who have had a change in their medical information, need to access the Infant Jesus Medical Action Plan on the school website to update medical needs. Parents are required to complete this as soon as possible.

Parents are reminded that an appointment should be made with their child’s class teacher to discuss the Medical Action Plan as appropriate. Furthermore, if the medical needs of the child are significant, then an appointment should be made with the Principal.

Allergies and Anaphylaxis

As there are children enrolled at Infant Jesus School who have allergies to a variety of substances, we ask that children do not share food at school. We appreciate your support in avoiding sending any foods that contain NUTS. A few children may experience very serious and even life-threatening reactions to any food containing nuts or traces of nuts.

School Uniform

The parents and staff at Infant Jesus School expect a high standard of dress to be maintained by all children.  Students attending are required to wear the correct school uniform and sport uniform on the prescribed days. It is important that if children are wearing the school uniform that they wear this with pride.

In Term One all students are required to wear the Summer Uniform. We thank parents for their support and cooperation to ensure their children are wearing the correct uniform.

We encourage children to keep their hair neat and tidy whilst attending school. Hairstyles for both boys and girls should be appropriate and reflect accepted standards. Shoulder length hair or longer, is to be tied up with either scrunchies or ribbons in navy blue or white.  Parents are requested to refrain from allowing children to dye or streak their hair during school terms and the Principal reserves the right to decide the acceptability of hairstyles.

Children should not wear valuable jewellery to school. Apart from the fact that it can be lost or broken it is a distraction to themselves and others around them. For safety reasons the only acceptable earrings are sleepers or studs. Children who wear studs may wear only one in each ear.

Good Manners

Using good manners and being considerate of others is an essential life skill and it is fantastic to see and hear children using these skills in their interactions with their teachers and their peers at school.

Whether we like it or not, people will judge our children on how they handle themselves in the public forum.  It’s much easier to teach good manners while our children are young than it is to break bad habits when they are older. It is important that children are taught to use appropriate manners in all situations for example:

• Waiting their turn and not interrupting other people when they are speaking.
• No name calling. Even if it’s in “fun”, name calling hurts.
• Always greeting someone politely.
• Saying, “Please” and “Thank you” often. It shows respect and appreciation.
• Learning to take turns – putting other people first.
• Cleaning up after themselves. It is their mess, so they need to clean it up.
• Opening doors for others. When going into buildings, allow elders to go first and open the door for them.
• Respecting differences. When people do things differently from your family because of diversity in culture, race, or religion, then this needs to be respected.
• Recognise and appreciate the efforts that people make for them.

Consideration is the most important idea behind good manners. Almost always, being considerate is being ‘well-mannered’. Consideration is simply thinking about the way the other person feels. Let us continue to make an effort to be considerate of others.