Behavioural Responsibilities
It is the goal of Wildwood Academy to provide an environment where students achieve academic success, make social gains and love to learn. Both the school and parents play an important role in creating a positive learning environment and in inspiring and maintaining student enthusiasm. An enthusiastic attitude helps maximize student progress. Wildwood Academy seeks to provide a positive learning environment through highly participatory activities, the provision of lessons that create high levels of student success, explicit behavioural expectations and frequent praise for both effort and achievement.
At Wildwood Academy, we teach and model appropriate behavioural expectations. Specifically, values such as honesty, kindness, consideration, good manners and respect are taught. All students, regardless of age, sex, race, or cultural background, are expected to demonstrate these values when interacting with staff members, parents, visitors and other students.
Attendance and Punctuality: At Wildwood Academy, programming and curriculum is purposefully designed to maximize time and effort spent engaged in learning. The timetable has been carefully planned to effectively use class time. Curriculum is coordinated, wherever possible, so that study is cohesive and relevant from subject to subject. Even field trips are carefully planned to co-ordinate with what is being taught in the classroom. Parents can contribute to their child’'s optimum educational development by ensuring regular and prompt attendance at school. Students arriving late will disrupt the flow of lessons and make learning more difficult for others. Therefore, punctuality is highly valued at Wildwood Academy. Wherever possible, professional appointments, such as dental check-ups, should be scheduled outside of school hours. Should it be necessary to schedule appointments during school hours, we would like parents to make every effort to coordinate arrival or pick-up time with recess or lunch breaks. This will help to minimize classroom disruptions.
For safety, Wildwood Academy requires knowledge of student whereabouts during school hours. Students arriving late or leaving early must report to the office to check-in or check-out.
Student Absence: Student absences should be reported to the school office before 8:00 A.M. on the day of absence. In the event of a prolonged absence, we request that you continue to keep the office informed. The success of our program is highly dependent on regular attendance. For reasons other than illness, parents are encouraged not to remove children from regularly scheduled programming for longer than two days. Longer periods of absence will require that students miss clubs and attend catch-up sessions to complete any missed lessons in core academic subjects.
Positive Behaviour: At Wildwood Academy, we teach and model appropriate behavioural expectations. Specifically, values such as honesty, kindness, consideration, good manners and respect are taught. All staff members, students and parents are expected to consistently demonstrate these values when interacting with members of our school community on school property or during off-site Wildwood events. By working cooperatively and respectfully with one another, maintaining a non-judgmental attitude towards all people, respecting each other’s' rights and communicating openly, we can work together to uphold the values of our school.
Parents can support our behaviour policy by discussing expectations with their children. When a staff member notes a particularly noteworthy behavioural accomplishment, it will be reported to parents through a phone call or note in the homework book. Parents are encouraged to show extra praise for these positive achievements. It is important that students feel good about their accomplishments.
Misbehaviour Management: Even with a positive behavioural approach, some students may occasionally misbehave. Most often, misbehaviour can be adequately addressed by simply redirecting the student to more appropriate behaviour. However, behaviour that is highly inappropriate or persistent beyond redirection will warrant the use of a mild punishment, as noted below, to stop the behaviour and prevent its reoccurrence.
Determining when to use mild punishments is not always easy. The staff at Wildwood Academy makes every effort to use mild punishments only when necessary. Whenever a child has required our consistent use of mild punishment, parents will be notified so that home and school may both have opportunity to influence more appropriate choices. Parents are encouraged to talk with their child(ren) about the misbehaviour and discuss positive alternatives.
Parental permission to use the following mild punishments, where deemed necessary by staff members, is assumed as a condition of enrollment at Wildwood Academy.
Time Outs - Time outs are our first course of action when redirection has not stopped a behaviour or when the behaviour is severe. Wildwood Academy uses a system of two redirects before a time out is issued. For example, when misbehaviour occurs, a staff member will redirect the student by saying, “That’'s one.” If the behaviour continues, the staff member will again redirect and say, “That’'s two.” If the behaviour still persists, the staff member will say, “That’'s three, take two,” directing the child to go to a designated time out place for two minutes. Students who are required to take a time out will have an opportunity to meet with their teacher or a director to discuss their behaviour and more appropriate choices. Time outs are also accompanied by a loss of one recess.
Penalties - Penalties include the loss of minutes in choice or preferred activities (e.g., clubs, recess), the loss of field trip privileges, or the loss of one’s opportunity to use special equipment and materials (e.g., gym equipment). Penalties will always have a logical connection to the misbehaviour (e.g., loss of club privileges when the misbehaviour was inappropriate use of learning time).
Zero Tolerance Behaviours
Wildwood Academy has a zero tolerance policy for the following behaviours:
1. any unlawful act
2. possession of a weapon or threatening to use an object as a weapon (pocket-
knives are considered weapons by Wildwood Academy)
3. using controlled substances without a prescription
4. possession of alcohol or illegal drugs
5. physical assault
6. vandalism
7. flagrant disrespect for authority
8. sexual or racial harassment
Students displaying zero tolerance behaviours will receive one of the following penalties:
Suspension - Except in situations of extreme danger, first time offences will be given a two day out of school suspension. Students who commit a zero tolerance behaviour a second time will be kept home for a period of 5 full school days. Conditions for the student’s return may be imposed at the sole discretion of the director(s). At times, the directors may feel that an in-school suspension is warranted. In these instances, the directors will assign the duration of the suspension according to the nature of the misbehaviour.
Expulsion - Students committing a repeat offence for the third time, or a behaviour which places others in extreme danger, will be expelled immediately. Parents will be asked to pick up their child and his/her possessions. The student will not be welcome to return to Wildwood Academy at any time. It is completely at the directors’' discretion to determine if a behaviour has put others in extreme danger. Parents/Guardians of expelled students are obligated to pay for any property damages and any outstanding fees.
When witnessed by staff, zero tolerance behaviours require prompt action to terminate the behaviour. Depending on the severity, staff members have been instructed to issue a strong voice command and/or call the office for assistance. Parents will be notified as soon as possible, and before the end of the day, when a zero tolerance behaviour has occurred.
