SAFE AND CARING SCHOOL POLICY
Phil & Jennie Gaglardi Academy
Rationale
At Gaglardi Academy every child deserves an education free from discrimination, bullying, harassment, intimidation and other forms of violence. Student safety is paramount and can only be realized through ongoing focus on fostering safe and caring school communities and ensuring schools have appropriate prevention and intervention strategies in place.
Community Standard
The safe and caring school policy is rooted in the great command of Jesus to love God and love your neighbour (Matt 22:37-40). Our school is an inclusive community. We demonstrate our love for one another in our school community by being willing to conduct our lives – through speech and behaviour – in a way that honours God and gives dignity, acceptance and respect to others.
The entire school community, Board, faculty, students and parents can demonstrate their love by promoting a safe and accepting school culture where all are protected from harassment and bullying, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or belief system.
As a community we are called to:
- Be kind, helpful, and encourage students.
- Stop all bullying behaviour in hallways, classrooms and grounds including teasing, verbal “digs”, cyber-stalking, gossiping among peers, and physically harming another.
- Be inclusive, considerate, and help students respect the diversity of others regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or belief system.
- Do not judge one another.
- Never cause anyone harm whether it be emotional with your words or physical with your fists; don’t fight, bully, harass, or tease each other.
At Gaglardi Academy we strive to:
- develop a positive school culture with the monthly PERK program.
- teach, model and encourage positive social behaviours through the high school student union, regular assemblies, social events, concerts etc.
- respond consistently to incidents in a fair and reasoned manner, using interventions that repair harm, strengthen relationships and restore a sense of belonging (see Discipline Policy – Green Sheet Protocol).
- participate in the development of policies, procedures and practices that promote school safety, including all hazards emergency preparedness.
- engage in continuous learning and professional development to foster safe school communities and address emerging safety concerns
- monitor and evaluate school culture for evidence of continuous improvement
- recognize and celebrate achievements, while acknowledging areas that need improvement.
Gaglardi Academy achieves safe and caring schools through:
- Safe School Coordinator – Bernadette Pitcher
- Regular communication of the School Code of Conduct
- Green Sheet Reporting – incidents and response times.
Other Policies that support the Safe and Caring School Policy
- School Code of Conduct
- Community Standards Policy
Safe and Caring School Policy – approved March 24, 2015
