The general rules of conduct are inspired by our school motto Faith – Excellence - Dedication. As a school community, we demonstrate our faith through service, selflessness, charity, helpfulness and a welcoming attitude towards all members of our community. It is expected that students will develop both the conviction that Mother Margaret Mary is their school, and the realization that they have a vital role in developing and maintaining a healthy educational, social, moral and religious setting. This code of conduct outlines how students have a responsibility to help Mother Margaret Mary be a welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe learning environment.
Rights
Edmonton Catholic schools share a foundational belief that all children are unique, loved by God, and created in God’s image. As such, all human beings are inherently sacred and must be treated with dignity and respect. Based on this belief, the mission of each school is to help students grow as children of God in all aspects of their person: physically, academically, socially, emotionally, morally, and spiritually. We affirm that the rights set out in the Alberta Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are afforded to all students and staff members within Mother Margaret Mary High School. With this in mind, we believe that all members of the Mother Margaret Mary community have the right to:
1. Be treated with dignity, respect and fairness without prejudice;
2. Learn and grow in a secure, non-threatening environment;
3. Enjoy and maintain a clean, safe environment;
4. Hear appropriate language at all times;
5. Have an environment, pursuant to the Alberta Human Rights Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that is free from discrimination of any type. Discrimination refers to any conduct that serves to deny or discriminate against any person or class of persons regarding any goods, services, accommodations or facilities that are customarily available to the public, and the denial or discrimination is based on, but not limited to, race, religious beliefs, colour, gender identity, gender expression, age, physical disability, mental disability, ancestry, place of origin, sexual orientation, family status, or marital status, and,
6. Access a continuum of supports through Mother Margaret Mary Student Services, for those who have been impacted by inappropriate behaviour, as well as those who engage in inappropriate behaviour,
General Responsibilities
All students attending public schools in Alberta have a responsibility to follow Section 31 of the Education Act:
A student shall conduct themself so as to reasonably comply with the following code of conduct:
(a) be diligent in pursuing the student’s studies;
(b) attend school regularly and punctually;
(c) co-operate fully with everyone authorized by the board to provide education programs and other services;
(d) comply with the rules of the school;
(e) account to the student’s teachers for the student’s conduct;
(f) respect the rights of others;
(g) ensure that the student’s conduct contributes to a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging;
(h) refrain from, report and not tolerate bullying or bullying behaviour directed toward others in the school, whether or not it occurs within the school building, during the school day or by electronic means;
(i) positively contribute to the student’s school and community
Expectations for Student Punctuality and Attendance
As outlined in the Section 31 of the Education Act, students must attend school regularly and punctually. Our goal is to work with students and their families to fulfill this obligation.
Mother Margaret Mary High School Lates Policy
Punctuality is an important part of student success. Arriving on time allows students to fully participate in learning and minimizes disruptions to the classroom environment. While valid reasons for being late (e.g., medical appointments, inclement weather) may occur, students are expected to make every effort to be on time for each class.
To ensure accountability and support positive habits, the following procedures are in place:
- 3 lates in a class – Parent/guardian communication initiated by the teacher.
- 6 lates in a class – Parent/guardian communication initiated by the grade coordinator and the student may be suspended for one class.
- 9 lates in a class – Parent/guardian communication initiated by administration and suspension from the class until a parent meeting is held.
Our goal is to help students develop responsibility and self-discipline by consistently arriving at class on time.
Mother Margaret Mary High School Absenteeism Policy
Regular attendance is essential for student success because it ensures continuous learning, full participation in class discussions and activities, and consistent progress toward curriculum outcomes. Students are expected to attend all classes on time and consistently. While absences due to illness or unavoidable appointments are part of the school year, families are encouraged to schedule such commitments outside of instructional hours whenever possible.
For extended absences (e.g., family travel), parents/guardians must notify school administration in advance and ensure that arrangements are made with teachers regarding missed work. Please note that lengthy absences negatively affect learning and achievement.
Attendance Procedures
- 3 unverified absences in a class – Parent/guardian communication initiated by the teacher
- 6 unverified absences in a class – Parent/guardian communication by the grade coordinator and the student may receive a one-day out-of-school suspension.
- 9 unverified absences in a class – Parent/guardian communication initiated by administration and may result in removal of the student from the course.
Our goal is to maximize student learning by ensuring regular and active participation in class. Parents and caregivers are expected to communicate with the school prior to any absence in order for it to be considered excused.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a cornerstone of learning at Mother Margaret Mary High School. All students are expected to act honestly, responsibly, and ethically in all aspects of their education. When completing assignments, projects, or exams, students must follow subject-specific guidelines, rules, and regulations, and always properly acknowledge any sources of information or assistance received from others.
In collaborative work, students must contribute fairly, recognize the contributions of others, and give accurate representation of their own efforts. By understanding their role in their learning, students take responsibility for producing work that is authentic and reflects their own knowledge and skills. This ensures that feedback is meaningful, growth is supported, and grades fairly reflect student effort.
Students are responsible for reading, understanding, and following the Academic Integrity Policy of Mother Margaret Mary High School. All submitted work—whether written, oral, creative, or any other form of assessment—must be authentic and demonstrate honest academic behaviour.
Students must avoid:
- Plagiarism: Representing the ideas, words, or work from another source as one’s own. This also includes artificial intelligence.
- Collusion: Assisting or allowing another student to submit work that is not their own, or submitting another student’s work as your own.
- Misconduct: Using unauthorized communication or resources of any form during an assessment.
- Duplication of Work: Submitting the same work for multiple assessment components without permission.
- Inappropriate Communication of Assessment Information: Creating, recording, sharing or soliciting information about an assessment. This includes receiving unauthorized copies, digital or otherwise, of tests or assignments.
Consequences:
Engaging in practices that compromise academic integrity not only hinders a student’s own learning but also disadvantages peers who act honestly. Students are expected to uphold the values of principled, ethical communication and behavior in all learning contexts.
The school administration, in consultation with the teacher involved, may apply one or more of the following consequences if a student is found in violation of this policy:
- A note of the incident recorded in the student’s file.
- A grade of zero assigned for the specific assignment or assessment, without an opportunity of mark replacement.
- Participation in extracurricular activities temporarily suspended.
- Suspension from school.
- Withdrawal from the course and loss of credits.
- Possible loss of Honours distinction.
Consequences will be proportional to the degree of dishonesty.
Mother Margaret Mary High School expects all students to embrace academic integrity as an essential part of their personal and educational development.
Behavioural and Academic Responsibilities
In addition to the responsibilities outlined in the Education Act, students of Mother Margaret Mary must abide by the following academic and behavioural responsibilities.
Students of Mother Margaret Mary High School have the academic responsibility to:
1. Regularly attend class punctually with the necessary materials to be successful
2. Demonstrate strong effective study habits
3. Participate fully and complete any assessments to the best of their ability
4. Refrain from any academic plagiarism or cheating
Students of Mother Margaret Mary High School have the behavioural responsibility to:
- Refrain from participating in any acts of aggression including but not limited to physical violence, bullying, harassment, intimidation, or any other non- verbal/verbal threats, towards students or staff, whether in person or online. Conflict resolution can be achieved by accessing teaching staff, counselors, or our Student Resource Officer (SRO).
- Report any bullying behaviours that occurs within the school, during the school day or by electronic means either as a recipient or witness to their grade coordinator. This may be done either in person, through email, or TEAMS.
- Refrain from encouraging conflict and/or gathering to witness conflict between others. If you witness a conflict, it is your responsibility to notify a teacher, counselor, or the SRO. If, instead, you gather with other students and stay to watch the conflict, you are supporting an aggressive interaction that may otherwise have been resolved non-violently if appropriate support people had been notified.
- Refrain from spreading false messages or gossiping about school community members, verbally or online.
- Use technology (phones, tablets, computers, or other electronic devices) responsibly, including abiding by the ECSD Responsible Use Agreement. Technology must always be used safely and to enhance the learning environment.
- Abide by the safety regulations (including fire alarms, lock downs, and computer lab rules and regulations)
- Refrain from the use or possession of tobacco, nicotine, marijuana, e-cigarettes, vapors, alcohol, or any illegal substance on school property, including the parking lots.
- Refrain from possessing weapons or any other dangerous item on school property.
- Follow the restrictions on mobile devices and social media sites in schools (more information)
- Be in the appropriate area of the school during spares
- Avoid disruptive behaviour in the hallways during spares or during class movement
There is an inherent expectation to a student’s right to privacy within the school, however any reasonable suspicion as to a threat to the safety of the students, staff or school can result in a locker or bag search, or a request for the student to show they are not carrying concealed weapons or illegal material on their person.
Personal mobile devices and social media in school
This is in alignment with Alberta Education’s announcement to limit distractions in classrooms across the province.
A personal mobile device is any device that can be used to communicate with or access the internet and includes:
- Cellphones
- Tablets
- Laptops
- Smartwatches
General Restrictions
- No Use of Personal Mobile Devices During Instructional Time. Students will not be allowed to use personal mobile devices during instructional time unless directed by school staff for learning purposes. .
- Devices Must Be Silent or Powered Off and Stored Away. If students bring personal mobile devices to school, they must be kept silent or turned off and stored in their locker, backpack, or another secure location.
- No Access to Social Media. Students will not be able to access social media on school networks or school devices. Known social media sites will continue to be blocked from Division networks.
Exceptions
Students who require personal mobile devices for health reasons or specialized learning needs can coordinate with school administration to receive appropriate accommodations. Exceptions will be made to ensure that these students have the necessary tools to support their well-being and educational requirements.
As we get ready for the first day of classes, we encourage you to discuss these changes with your child and help them understand the importance of minimizing distractions during school hours. Please contact the school office if you need to reach your child during school hours.
We understand this may be an adjustment, and we appreciate your understanding as we work together to make this a successful school year for everyone. More information can be found on our website, ecsd.net/devices.
Consequences:
First infraction - Warning to student - Dealt with at a staff member/student level. Log is entered into the student file as a warning. Parent not contacted.
Second infraction - Warning to Parent/Caregiver - Student reports to the office to meet with an administrator. Log is entered into the student file. Parent is contacted.
Third infraction - Suspension - Student is sent to the office to meet with an administrator. Log is entered into the student file, and the parent is contacted. Students will serve a one day suspension from school and school activities on the day following the infraction.
Continued infractions - repeat of third infraction consequences.
Additional information
- In all situations the student retains their device.
- If asked to put their device away and the student does not cooperate other consequences will be put in place.
- Any infractions in the presence of a substitute teacher will be handled by an administrator. Students will be asked to report to the office
Standard of Dress
In Edmonton Catholic Schools, students are expected to dress in a manner that honors the dignity of the human person, who was created in the image of God, and that supports an inclusive, welcoming, caring, respectful, safe, and Catholic learning environment that promotes the wellbeing of all. Each school in the Division will have a Standards of Student Dress for their community. Understanding that it is not possible to list all the specific types of acceptable and unacceptable student dress, the purpose of establishing Standards of Student Dress is to empower students to make appropriate choices. Students who do not meet the Standards of Student Dress will be required by the school principal or their designate to meet the standards before participating in Education Activities. Schools will facilitate the enabling of students to meet the standards in such situations whenever possible.
Students at Mother Margaret Mary High School are of an age where they are learning attitudes and behaviors that will make them successful beyond their high school years. We expect all students at Mother Margaret Mary High School to follow these standards of dress.
- Student dress must maintain personal safety and the safety of the school community.
- Students must consider the learning environment and the requirements of a particular state of dress for a prescribed activity. (i.e. Science labs, Foods and Construction, Physical Education and Yoga Fitness, Dance)
- Boxer shorts, briefs, panties, or thongs must not be exposed. These must be covered and remain so during all activities over the course of the school day.
- Shorts or skirts must be long enough to ensure the buttocks is not exposed.
- Low cut shirts must have a neckline no lower than the student’s nipples.
- Sleeveless shirts must fit to ensure that nipples may not be exposed, including viewed from the side.
- Items of clothing that have logos or text must be positive in nature and should be respectful or should imply or encourage a healthy lifestyle/choice for children and youth.
- Students are not permitted to wear articles of clothing, jewelry or accessories that indicate or suggest membership in or affiliation with any group or organization that does not support a welcoming, caring, respectful, and safe learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging.
Students who have not met the standard, as outlined above, will be addressed in the following manner:
- At the first possible opportunity for a private conversation, the staff member who has identified the issue will speak to the student about the concern in a manner that respects their privacy and dignity. Care will be taken to avoid “shaming” or statements of bias.
- The student will be presented with options to bring them into closer alignment with the standard for the remainder of the school day such as:
- Wearing another article of their own clothing which they have at school that is in alignment with the standard
- Contacting a parent or guardian to bring in an article of clothing that is in alignment with the standard
- Borrowing an article of clothing from a friend that is in alignment with the standard.
The principal, in their sole discretion, may determine which articles of clothing, jewelry or accessories indicate or suggest membership in or affiliation with any group or organization that does not support a welcoming, caring, respectful, safe and Catholic learning environment that respects diversity and fosters a sense of belonging.
Consequences of Unacceptable Behaviour
Failure to meet the expectations and responsibilities as a member of the Mother Margaret Mary community may result in one or more of the following interventions/consequences: Problem solving/reprimand; exclusion from class; parent conference; loss of privileges; detention; community service; suspension in and out of the school; removal from a course; expulsion and/or referral to an outside agency. Other consequences may include:
o Preventative procedures as outlined verbally and/or in contract form by the grade coordinator, in consultation with teacher, student and parents.
o Supportive procedures for minor breaches of conduct. Internal supports may include the SRO, or student services staff such as the school counsellor, FSLW, psychologist, Learning Coach, and grade coordinator.
o Fair, corrective intervention to address major breaches of conduct as determined by the principal. Consequences will take into consideration a student’s unique attributes such as age, maturity and individual circumstances. Any suspensions within or from Mother Margaret Mary will be in accordance with Section 36 of the Education Act, and any expulsions from Mother Margaret Mary will be in accordance with Section 37 of the Education Act.
Parent and Caregiver Responsibilities
All parents and guardians of students attending Mother Margaret Mary have the responsibility to follow Section 32 of the Education Act. Our parents are partners in ensuring that our school is a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe place to learn. Parents and guardians of a student also have the responsibility to take an active role in the student’s educational success, including assisting the student in complying with Section 31 of the Education Act.
• Ensure the parent’s conduct contributes to a welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environment,
• Co-operate and collaborate with school staff to support the delivery of specialized supports and services to the student,
• Encourage, foster and advance collaborative, positive and respectful relationships with teachers, principals, other school staff and professionals providing supports and services in the school, and
• Engage in the student’s school community.