Character & Culture

London Christian High is dedicated to the education of students in a safe and caring community that fosters the development of a passion for learning and discipleship, character, courage, and creativity. As such, we hold our students, staff, and parent community to a shared code of conduct which serves to frame our relationships with each other as we strive to educate our students in a Christ-centred learning environment.

The relationship between students must reflect Jesus Christ’s command to “love your neighbour as yourself” and the knowledge that each person is made in God’s image. Loving one’s neighbour and imaging God should be the foundation for student relationships at London Christian High. Our words and deeds should always be those that give encouragement; demonstrate sensitivity, respect, and love; and promote a sense of community.

Students are expected to be courteous and considerate in their interactions with each other and staff. As creatures of the Lord we should all be treated with dignity and respect. At London Christian High, we take a restorative approach to proactively address disciplinary issues. In the case of student behaviour that needs to be address, we strive to approach each situation with the student and the unique context in mind. Please see our Progressive Discipline Policy for further explanation of this approach.

Bullying and Harassment

Any sign of harassment or bullying will not be tolerated at London Christian High. Any activity that degrades and humiliates another person or invades another person’s privacy can be considered harassment or bullying. While impossible to list all potential instances of bullying or harassment, the following are intended to be examples: written or verbal messages; on-line bullying; taking photos, making video or audio recordings and sharing them with others without the permission of the person(s) involved; inappropriate comments, practical jokes; and inappropriate physical activity. Any such activity that intimidates or threatens another student, that subjects another student to stress, embarrassment or shame, or that adversely affects the mental health or dignity of another student can result in parents being contacted, suspension, expulsion, and involvement of the London Police Department. Please see our Bullying Prevention Policy, our Sexual Harassment Policy – Student for specific details. Our expectation is that students treat each other with care, respect, and tolerance for diversity and differences.

If students are experiencing conflict in relationships with peers, witness harassment and bullying at school or school-related activities, or think they are experiencing bullying or harassment, they are strongly encouraged to discuss their concerns with a London Christian High staff person. Concerns may be referred to the Vice Principal.

The relationship between students and staff must reflect the Biblical command of mutual respect, care, and love. Students are called to learn as well as they can under the guidance and authority of the staff and are to help others to learn as well. This responsibility can be fulfilled by respecting the staff, by cooperating with them, and by sharing knowledge with other students in appropriate ways.

Staff are responsible to provide instruction to their students with respect for individuality, understanding that each person is made in God’s image, and with respect for the learning needs of the entire class. In carrying out these responsibilities, staff have authority in the school and are responsible to provide a caring, positive, and open learning environment for students.

For more information, please refer to the Staff-Student relationships policy.

Students are expected to show care and respect to all property (as they would expect others to do for their own) by not using or handling the belongings of others without permission.

The school building and the custodial staff are also to be shown respect by keeping the school building and property neat and clean and treating the building gently and with care. Technology other than the student computers may not be used or handled by students without staff permission. If damage to the building or school property occurs, students are asked to report it at once to a staff member. Replacement or repair fees for willful damage or loss or any accidental damage caused by rough behaviour or negligence (at school, on school buses, on field trips, etc.) will be charged to the student.

It is expected that students will conduct themselves with honesty and integrity when submitting class work, and writing tests, quizzes and exams.

Plagiarism

The Bible calls Christians to be people of integrity, that is, people who are honest, show ownership for the gifts they have, and develop personal accountability for what they do. With this understanding, when submitting assignments, homework, tests, quizzes, etc., students are expected to provide their original work with appropriate citations for words, research, or ideas that are not their own. All written assignments must be properly documented if they contain other people’s words or ideas. This documentation includes information downloaded from the Internet. Plagiarism, the intended or unintended, copying of another’s work, ideas, research, inventions, etc., without proper citation, will not be tolerated at London Christian High.

Responses to Plagiarism

When a first experience of plagiarism is suspected or confirmed, the teacher should emphasize relationship with the student and approach the student directly. At this point, there is an opportunity to clarify the definition of plagiarism and talk with the student about the original sources of the material.

In all instances, the Vice Principal of Program (or designate) will be made aware of the event in writing before any further steps are taken. The Vice Principal, in turn, can advise the teacher of any extenuating circumstances in the student’s life and watch for any pattern of plagiarism with a particular student.

Should the student deny the plagiarism, a third party from administration and a department chair or colleague will be included in the discussion to reach a conclusion.

For a first experience of plagiarism in grades 9 and 10 courses, at the discretion of the teacher and the Vice Principal of Program (or designate), students may be given an opportunity to resubmit the assignment for evaluation. For a second experience of plagiarism in grade 9 and 10 courses or for all plagiarism by students taking classes at a senior level (grade 11 and 12 classes) students must resubmit an original (non-plagiarised) assignment to obtain course credit, but will not have an opportunity to redeem the zero grade for that assignment. In the event of recurring plagiarism within the same course, the student may be removed from the course and the credit in the course may be lost. Parents/guardians will also be contacted to make them aware of the matter.

For more information, please refer to our Plagiarism Policy.

Students are expected to demonstrate care and respect in the way they address and/or make reference to others. As a Christian community, students are to speak and act in accordance with the standards of our Christian faith, rooted in love. Our students represent both Christ as Lord and Saviour, and also of London Christian High.

Any expression of disrespect to another student or a staff member by way of spoken words, print media or electronic media is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Racial, ethnic, cultural, or homophobic slurs or any other expression of disrespect against an identifiable group will not be tolerated. The use of vulgar language and curses in the classrooms, hallways or outside during any school function is unacceptable. Any use of language or communication in any form that offends or hurts others will be identified and dealt with as needed. Depending on the situation and the severity of the case, a variety of consequences or next steps will be considered with the student(s).

As a Christian school community it is our goal to honour God and give Him glory in all facets of our lives; our choice of clothing and appearance each day is no exception. The clothes we wear and how we present ourselves are one way of expressing God’s gift of creativity and individuality to us! The purpose of our dress code guidelines is to provide guidance to students in determining appropriate clothing choices for both our school and the broader social context.

London Christian High is an institution of learning and requires a certain degree of professionalism of both staff and students. We often welcome visitors to our building, and our staff and students are often out in the community as ambassadors of our school. Therefore, students are expected to ensure their dress and appearance are appropriate to their duties and responsibilities while learning and are neat, tidy, and reflective of pride for London Christian High and God’s purpose for this school.

The Leadership Team at London Christian High has purposely avoided a prescriptive set of rules governing dress code expectations. While specific rules seem to make enforcement easier, we recognize that they easily become discriminatory, judgemental, provocative and actually make the conversation around dress code more difficult. We are relying on students to be responsible and intentional in their clothing choices, to reflect the expectations outlined above.

A lack of prescriptive rules does not mean that students will always meet dress code. Violations of school expectations of appropriate choices will be addressed by the Leadership team through discussion, conversation, progressive discipline and parental involvement as necessary.

London Christian High is a tobacco and nicotine free environment. Use of any tobacco-related product, including electronic cigarettes or vaporizers, are prohibited during the school day and at any school-related activity. The ‘school day’ is generally defined as starting the moment a student boards a school bus or, if driving/walking, arrives on school property and ends when the student disembarks from the school bus or, if walking/driving, leaves school property at the end of the day. Use may result in suspension and the involvement of London Police Services or tobacco control officers.

For more information, please refer to the Suspensions & Expulsions Policy.

London Christian High is an alcohol, cannabis, and illegal substance free environment. The use or possession of alcohol, cannabis, and illegal drugs during the school day or at school related functions is prohibited. If a staff person has a reasonable suspicion that a student has violated the law and/or the school’s alcohol and drug policies, then the principal,or designate, has the right and authority to detain students, smell their breath, conduct a search of their persons, and/or conduct a search of their book bag, desk, locker, belongings etc. The police will be involved as required.

A student will be suspended indefinitely for the following infractions:

• being under the influence of alcohol, cannabis, or illegal drugs (in the opinion of the principal or his/her designate and a second staff member);
• being in possession of alcohol, cannabis, or illegal drugs or related paraphernalia

If an opportunity is granted for the student to return to the school, the student and his or her parent(s)/guardian(s) will be contacted and required to meet with the Leadership of the school.

Any subsequent violation will result in expulsion for the remainder of the school year and would involve the loss of any potential credits.

A student will be immediately expelled for the distribution or sale of alcohol, cannabis, or illegal drugs during the school day or at school-related functions. Expulsion would be for the remainder of the school year and would involve the loss of any potential credits.

For more information, please refer to the Suspensions & Expulsions Policy.

Fighting at school or on school buses is not permitted. “No touching except to help” is the rule to be followed. Any student who purposely starts a fight can expect to be suspended.

Weapons (anything that can be used to harm/injure another person – guns, knives, etc.) or toy replicas are not permitted on or off school property or on school buses. Possession of a weapon is illegal. Any student who threatens another student can expect to be suspended indefinitely and the police may be notified.

For more information, please refer to the Suspensions & Expulsions Policy.

Attending London Christian High is a privilege. The school may deny that privilege for the following reasons:

• A student is unable or unwilling to following behavioural expectations of the school
• A student’s actions and/or attitudes undermine the purpose of London Christian High
• The school is not able to work with the student and/or their family due to differing values or detrimental behaviour, actions or communications to or within the school community

The Principal, or designate, has the right to suspend a student. Suspensions may be in-school or out-of-school. Depending on the circumstances that led up to the suspension, certain privileges of being a student may also be revoked including but not limited to the following: the suspended student may not ride on the school bus, be on school property, write quizzes or tests, or submit assignments (essays, projects, research papers) which are due during the period of suspension.

In the event that the Principal determines an expulsion is the appropriate disciplinary avenue, the Principal recommends expulsion of the student to the Board of Directors. Generally, the affected student(s) and their parents would be invited by the Board to a meeting to discuss the incidents leading to the Principal’s recommendation for expulsion. After this meeting, the Board will make a decision to support or deny the expulsion. For more information about the suspension and expulsion processes, and the related appeal process, please refer to the Suspension & Expulsion Policy.