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Behavior Policy 

Class Dojo - Sanchez, Jocelyne - Mater Gardens Academy

 

We will use the online interactive behavior system Class Dojo to enforce our behavior policy. Students can earn points for positive behavior and lose points for not following school expectations. Behavior is tracked on a monthly basis. Positive individual student points carry over to the next month. Negative points do not carry over to the next month. 

Parents will be asked to use the Dojo App or website to join their child’s homeroom teacher’s class. Details for how to sign up to receive alerts will be distributed at the beginning of the year. After joining their class, parents will be able to see when their child earns or loses points. Dojo displays information for two weeks, so parents should check their child’s data daily. If parents have questions about their child’s points, they should send the teacher an email to discuss it further. 

How to Earn Points:

Students will receive points for behaviors such as:

Helping Others

Working Hard

Staying in Workspace

Being On Task

Showing Kindness

Showing Positivity

Participating

Following Safety Rules

Following Class Expectations

 

How to Lose Points:

Students will lose one point for the following behaviors:

Disrespectful behavior towards the staff or classmates

Interrupting the teacher or classmates

Leaving your learning area/ classroom without permission

Pushing and shoving

Chewing gum

Minor damage of property (zero cost)

Being unprepared for class

Throwing minor items

Touching others

Shouting out 

Swearing

Not meeting bathroom expectations

Missing Homework

Running in the hallway or classroom

Not meeting lunch & recess expectations

 

Students will lose three points and receive an automatic detention for the following behaviors:

Repetitive threats of violence

Battery/ Fighting (minor injury)

Throwing desks or chairs

Bullying or Cyberbullying

Cheating/ Plagiarism

Repetitive use of obscene language / gestures

Stealing or defacing school property or the property of others (cost)

Repetitive disrespect towards staff or classmates

Use of sexual language or gestures

Cell phone use during the school day

   

Note: Administration, in collaboration with teachers, reserves the right to view incidents as severe enough to warrant automatic removal from an incentive.

Individual Consequences:

Loss of points fall under three categories: Classroom Readiness, Homework Completion, & Behavior. If a student loses 6 points in one category in a month they will receive a detention. Every additional 3 points lost that month results in another detention. All detentions will be served the following Friday from 2:30-3:15 in the STEM Lab with the staff member on duty. If a student receives three detentions, a meeting with the child, parent, teacher, and principal or leadership team representative is required. After 3 detentions are administered in a month, the next detention will constitute an in-school suspension. If there is a detention after that an out of school suspension will be distributed.

Individual Rewards:

Students can redeem their points for various school prizes. We will determine and discuss these prizes with students!

Whole Class Rewards:

If the whole class receives a total number of points determined by the teacher by the end of the month, the whole class will receive a reward (i.e. donuts, extra recess, etc.). We will determine and discuss these rewards with students! Students who have received one or more behavior detentions that month will not have permission to receive the reward.

Trimester Incentive:

Students will participate in an incentive each trimester to acknowledge and celebrate their positive behavior. Students who have received a suspension that trimester will not participate in the incentive. 
If a child is excluded from the trimester incentive they have the opportunity to earn it back by participating in a four-hour, self-initiated service project, which the teacher must approve first. A service project form will be given to the child to fill out. All service project forms must be signed by the parent, the person who received the service, the teacher and the principal. Phone calls will be made to confirm participation in the project. Service projects must be turned in three days prior to the incentive. If a student is held back from an incentive trip, they will be assigned work to fill their class periods. If they are not present on this day, they will still be held accountable for their work meeting the “sick student” deadlines.

Click here for a list of our 2024-2025 rewards & incentives!

Other Topics:

Uniforms:

Students not in uniform will be issued with a uniform referral slip. The expectation is that the very next day the uniform problem is remediated. If new attire needs to be purchased to meet the uniform requirements, a week grace period will be given to make those purchases. If after the grace period the situation is not remediated, the following steps will be taken.

  • Detention for the student (1 week after the grace period)

  • In- school suspension (2 weeks after the grace period)

Tardies:

Students who are late must get a tardy slip from the office in order to be admitted to class. If a student is tardy 3 times within a trimester it will result in an after school detention.